When I was Puerto Rican Questions

Jbara, pages 7-18

1. Esmeraldas mother cautions her against wanting to be a Jibara despite the fact
that they are a glorified people in Puerto Rico, and that Esmeraldas current
living circumstances resemble that of a Jibara. What values and admonitions did
you learn in your family that might be similar to this instance in the book. Think
about education, work, and life style. How might your family background have
influenced your views of things like this? Had you grown up in a very different
setting, like Esmeraldas for example, do you think your values and admonitions
or belief system would be different for you? What kinds of discrepancies might
you have come across in your thoughts about these questions?
2. On Page 12 in the second paragraph the passage reads,
Early each morning the radio brought us a program called The Day Breakers
Club which played the traditional music and poetry of the Puerto Rican country
dweller, the Jibaro. Although the songs and poems chronicled a life of struggle
and hardship, their message was the Jibaros were rewarded by a life of
independence and contemplation, a closeness to nature coupled with a respect
for its intractability, and a deeply rooted and proud nationalism.
How connected or disconnected from the larger world was your family, your
school, or your town? How much did you understand about conflict and struggle
in your world or beyond? How did you make sense of people who had material
wealth and people who didnt?
Someone is Coming to Take Your Lap, pages 37-60
1. In the second paragraph on Page 39 Negi mentions her observations and
feelings on the Catholic School children she walks past in the morning,
Their hair was neatly combed, and they looked cleaner than anyone Id ever
seen. I envied them the order of their lives, the precision with which they
marched with no prodding and no harsh glances, the mysterious black figures
beside them like veiled anchors. I wondered what their lives were like, how many
sisters and brothers they had, if they slept in their own beds or had to share, if
they ate rice and beans and salted codfish with onions. I knew they were

different or rather I was different. Already Id been singled out in school for my
wildness, my loud voice, and large gestures better suited to the expansive
countryside but out of place in concrete rooms where every sound was magnified
and bounced off walls for a long time after Id finished speaking. What a Jibara
children jeered when I recited a poem in the dialect of Dona Lola.
In this part of the passage it seems that Esmeralda is being singled out based on
her background and how she has grown up acting in a community that other
students are not familiar with. Do you see anything that is problematic about
this? Think of different groups of people in your life, family, friends, people you
look up to, and so on. For each of these groups or contexts, think about whether
you feel like an outsider or not within these groups, and how that status affects
your desire to spend time with the group.
2. Gentrification has often been argued as a competent solution for poverty. On
Page 56, Mami comments that instead of being able to experience the
modernized conveniences that Rockafellars hotel will bring to their community,
they are most likely to experience displacement. Who really benefits if at all in
this type of development decision-making? How would you question the
elements of inclusion or exclusion in gentrification and who the stakeholders are
in each? You make look at the quote from Page 39 in the question above as a
conduit into the mind of someone who has experienced gentrification to help you
think about this question.
The American Invasion of Macn, pages 63-83

1. The nutritionists that come to the island seem to give helpful suggestions for
how the native Puerto Ricans should try to improve their health. However, from
Esmeraldas point of view, it seems that the nutritionists are trying to teach them
healthy habits that also involve neglecting their native culture. As the chapter
goes on we start to see how American life begins to operate as a dominant culture
that permeates and replaces cultural aspects of Esmeraldas life.
Take a moment to think of modern day parallels that can be drawn from this
instance in our nation, or even the city of Philadelphia, where social forces allow
one culture to dominant another and deem it inferior. Can you make a list of
ways in which Americas dominant culture has left an imprint on you? If you

have trouble making such a list try to think about why this particular exercise is
difficult for you.
2. It is very obvious that you will be going to Puerto Rico soon. Take a minute to
imagine yourself being there, and in the presence of someone who voices
grievances that are directly connected to American imperialist actions on the
country of Puerto Rico. How would you approach people who voice this
problem? How would you go about being in solidarity with them? What could
you offer? Does this make you think of any issues in your own community, or the
city of Philadelphia that have been raised by people of color, or indigent
populations?
Mami Gets a Job, pages 107-130
1. Womanhood seems to be an important theme in this chapter as Eseralda is
constantly confronted with the responsibilities that come along with being a
woman. However, it is also important to note that Esmeralda is about the same
age that you are now. As an adolescent, what are you currently learning about
self-sufficiency and independence at this point in your life? How do you feel
about asking for help when you need it? Do you think your background affects
how self sufficient and independent you are? Would you feel that you are as
independent as Esmaralda? If so please elaborate, and if not please explain why.
2. (Mostly For Girls But guys can provide thoughtful insight on this question to if
they desire) Two factors that heavily influence woman hood are cultural
background and environmental surroundings. Think about mainstream
American culture and how this along with your environment might directly or
indirectly influence your own perception of what woman hood means, or what
becoming a woman currently may look like for you. How do you feel that
dominant American culture and your current environment would affect your
perceptions of women hood at this age if you grew up in a third world or
developing country? If you are a young lady and this is your reality please share
your experience.
El Mangle, pages 133-151
1. Make a list of 5-10 things that you feel contributed to your success as a student.
Next think about the following quotes:

Pages 138-139, Didnt you learn fractions at that school for Jibaros you came
from? The kids laughed. Sra. Leona smiled. Her teeth were small. I was so cold,
me knees shook. We were just beginning I see. Those country schools are
always so far behind. Thats why we have so many ignorant Jibaros Im not
ignorant. She grabbed the chalk from my hand and wrote some numbers on the
board. I stepped toward my seat. No young lady. You stand right there and
watch, so you can learn.
Page 149, Id never hated going to school before. But I couldnt stand Sra. Leona,
and even though this was the nicest school Id ever seen, I didnt want to go
there. Sra. Leona didnt like me either. She called on me when she thought that I
didnt know the answer. It irritated her that most of the time I did. I read ahead
in my books, so she couldnt catch me, so she could ask me all she wanted. I
refused to give her the chance to make fun of me.
By looking at these quotes it is easy to see that Sra. Leona has some a bias
towards Esmeralda that manifests itself in how she perceives people from her
background. What might this suggest about academic success in schools? Can we
believe that a students success is completely based on how hard they work, or
are there more forces at play in schools that might unfairly determine a students
academic and intellectual success? How would you feel if you were Esmeralda,
and you had to come to a class like this everyday? Do you think your academic
experience would be afflicted if you were currently being taught by a teacher like
Sra. Leona at The Philadelphia School? Please provide a rationale for this
question.
2. Recall the last two paragraphs on Page 151 at the end of the chapter. How do
you think your parent(s)/guardian(s) would have reacted to you receiving the
type of negative treatment Esmeralda receives in Sra. Leonas class? Although we
are not able to tell what exactly took place in the conversation with Esmeraldas
father and Sra, Leona, we are able to tell that she has a bias towards people from
a rural and impoverished background. If Esmeraldas father had confronted Sra.
Leona about her treatment of Esmeralda in her classroom, how do you think she
would respond given his background? Would you be inclined to think that she
would respond to Esmeraldas father any differently if he was a well-educated
individual who had a lucrative profession? What might this suggest about
treatment of students in the classroom? Are students viewed as impartially as
they should be in schools?

Angels on the Ceiling, pages 213-240

1. Have you ever felt like have had to occupy different cultural realities out of
necessity? If Yes please explain and if not, why? Think about Esmeraldas
experience at her new school. She describes her feelings of guilt as she learns to
eat Pizza and more importantly speak English, something that was not necessary
for her education in Puerto Rico. Throughout this chapter, it seems like
Esmeralda is still trying to figure out how to operate in her new school and living
space. What instances can you think of in this country in which people who are
not immigrants have to occupy multiple realities in and outside of their home
environment? Why might they have to do this? What might this say about
American Culture/Society.
2. Why do you think all of the kids in Esmeraldas school sit in their own separate
ethnic groups during lunch? Why do you think the Morenos and Italians fight
with each other all of the time? Have you ever been in an environment where
such racial partitioning has been frequently present? Please describe it. Why do
you think this type of partitioning happens?

You Dont Want to Know, pages 243254

1. What kind of warnings and life lessons is Esmeralda given as a young girl in
this chapter and how are they linked to her environment? How might these
lessons be different or similar to the lessons you have been given, and are
currently being given as a young adult? What do you think this might suggest
about the daily hardship of people who live in such communities, and how these
hardships mold them as individuals?
2. Why do you think Esmeralda and her mother refuse to ask for help from their
family members? If you were experiencing economic hardships do you think you
or your parents would be comfortable asking other family members for help?
Why or why not?
A Shot at It, pages 258-266
1. Although Esmeralda lives in a place that is considerably better than the places
she lived in Puerto Rico, she still wishes she lived there despite the absence of all
of the amenities she currently has. Do you find it possible for her to still be happy

without out everything that she has now in America? Why? What might this say
about ways of living?
2. Like Esmeralda, many children in urban communities do have hopes of finding
a way out of their circumstances through education. How would you feel if you
lived in Esmeraldas neighborhood in Brooklyn, and were denied entry into a
school that you felt would be a way for you to escape your neighborhood?
Epilogue: One of These Days, pages 269-270
1. How would you interpret the judges interpretation of Esmeraldas audition as
comical? What might their reactions say about who is and is not favored in this
country?