Puerto Rico, better known here in America as the shining star of the Caribbean, is one of the five islands that are part of the United States, but they don’t count as states. Puerto Rican people have the American citizenship, but they cannot vote for the president, and also, nowadays this territory is suffering because of the natural disasters, as the hurricanes or the earthquakes. The worst part is how the American government just look away from the problems of the island; now this territory faces a poverty rate worse than any other state of the union: 44,9 percent.
Yanise Del Toro is a Puerto Rican young woman living in South Jersey. Since 2015 she moved to America for start the university and search a better future. In this interview Yanise talks about her hometown and life in America.
What place do you think defines you?
There is a bar in San Antonio where we go with my friends each time that I visit Puerto Rico. It’s a good place because there I can be with them and we don’t see each other very often, because I’m just able to go back to Puerto Rico like one or two times per year. I left Puerto Rico as soon as I finished my high school and because of the age I couldn’t enjoy of go out alone with my friends to a bar just for drink and have a good time, I lost that opportunity. So that’s why I enjoy each time that we go out to this bar with my friend. Also, there is other place, in the tourist parts of Puerto Rico there are stores that we call “chinchorros”. They sell typical food; you can see how they prepare it. You just can’t pass in front of one of these stores and don’t order for one of their plates. My favorite food is one call Mofongo, that made with roasted bananas.
So why do you decide to move to America?
In Puerto Rico there is this believe that the opportunities are here in the US. I just knew that I’ll move anyway, if I didn’t do it for my studies, then I’ll do it in a few years for my job. I wanted to be a doctor, but not a doctor in Puerto Rico, I wanted to be a global doctor, that’s why I though it will be easy or better if a studied here. Also, there’s always something happening in Puerto Rico that’s why study there is difficult; I have friends that they must be already graduated, but they are not because of the cancellation of classes. And I was able to move first to Florida because my godparents are there, other way it wouldn’t have been possible for me to move by my own. Although as a Puerto Rican you know that here are the opportunities, I know friends that because of money can’t move here. You not only need to pay the university that’s a lot more expensive, but also you must get a car and a dorm. Now that I’m here in New Jersey by myself I have to work for pay all that.
Do you think there was a clash when you first arrived to the US?
When I first arrived no that much, because I was in Miami that’s full of Latin people and also I was with my godparents. In that time I attended to the Florida’s community college and maybe I felt that there was in a different place, because I just couldn’t start speaking Spanish and the Latinos are not going to say to you “hey, I’m latin”. So, you have to figure out for yourself.
One time here a woman told me “oh, I’m so confused, because you don’t look like a Latina”, and I though “how a Latina is supposed to look?”. In Puerto Rico I attend classes with white people, asians, black people, we all looked different. So yes, maybe some people have misconceptions that sometime makes you feel uncomfortable.
Nowadays, do you think in the USA as your home?
I realized that this country is now my home and my life since I went to Puerto Rico and life just feel different. I mean, I have my family there and I know that they support me in the distance, but I haven’t been part of the family dynamics for five years. My oldest brother is married and have two little girls and I just met them the last year, when one of them was already three years old. I didn’t see them grow, nothing of that. And the other day all my family decide to go to Dominican Republic for vacations and I only knew it when they were already there, and my mom call me from the beach. You know, maybe it’s sad, but this is the life that I chose.
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