Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings - An Anthology

MANY CULTURES * ONE WORLD "Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Boricua is a powerful word that tells the origin and history of the Puerto Rican people." --From the Introduction From the sun-drenched beaches of a beautiful, flamboyan-covered island to the cool, hard pavement of the fierce South Bronx, the remarkable journey of the Puerto Rican people is a rich story full of daring defiance, courageous strength, fierce passions, and dangerous politics--and it is a story that continues to be told today. Long ignored by Anglo literature studies, here are more than fifty selections of poetry, fiction, plays, essays, monologues, screenplays, and speeches from some of the most vibrant and original voices in Puerto Rican literature. * Jack Agueros * Miguel Algarin * Julia de Burgos * Pedro Albizu Campos * Lucky CienFuegos * Judith Ortiz Cofer * Jesus Colon * Victor Hern ndez Cruz * Jose de Diego * Martin Espada * Sandra Maria Esteves * Ronald Fernandez * Jose Luis Gonzalez * Migene Gonzalez-Wippler * Maria Graniela de Pruetzel * Pablo Guzman * Felipe Luciano * Rene Marques * Luis Munoz Marin * Nicholasa Mohr * Aurora Levins Morales * Martita Morales * Rosario Morales * Willie Perdomo * Pedro Pietri * Miguel Pinero * Reinaldo Povod * Freddie Prinze * Geraldo Rivera * Abraham Rodriguez, Jr. * Clara E. Rodriguez * Esmeralda Santiago * Roberto Santiago * Pedro Juan Soto * Piri Thomas * Edwin Torres * Jose Torres * Joseph B. Vasquez * Ana Lydia Vega

Roberto Santiago is a journalist who lectures around the nation on Latino issues. He received the 1991 Inter American Press Association Award for Commentary and won first prize in the 1990 Hispanic Magazine Short Story Contest. A former reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Santiago has written for Omni, Rolling Stone, and Essence. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.