Oprah Says Don’t let Other People Write Your Script & I Say: I alone write my own story We are on the eve of yet another new year. We may make resolutions. We may keep some resolutions. More than likely we will do neither. However, many of us […]
The year the cat disappeared and beheadings rose: My emotional connections to some of this year’s top stories For me, this year was partly about the disappearance of the cat. Yes, you know. If aliens were to arrive on earth and look at social media postings they would […]
Excitedly awaiting the arrival of the new year for it will not be meek: Happy Chrismukkah Growing up Puerto Rican in the South Bronx meant that Christmas time was a time of coquito (a rum Puerto Rican eggnog-like concoction), parrandas (caroling with maracas, drums and guitars) and family […]
A Lingering Presence: Admonitions, Names and Stones A few years back I visited the Accademia Gallery in Florence, to see firsthand David by Michaelangelo. In that venue, no one is allowed to take photographs which seemed to trigger shock reactions in many of those seeking to get a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse […]
Here we go again: Nuyorican, Gringa, and Puerto Rican what shall I be labelled? Nuyoricans are a funny bunch. They have a mixed cultural identity that is extremely strong that forms a strong core component of their being. The term broadly refers to the Puerto Rican diaspora experience. […]
My sister and me: Oil and water but love runs deep in the veins My sister and I are of two different generations or so I believe. Some generation commentators may lump us in the same generation but we could not be any more different than what we […]
Let the Puerto Rican Superstition Be: I will not wear bobby pins to sleep tonight My mom was a very typical Puerto Rican woman. She voted in every election and passed that habit onto me. She spoke Spanglish with gusto. She loved rice and beans and dark, […]
I am Pandartados: warrior goddess for social justice with a sense of curiosity, whimsy and humility I am revved up this morning as I run on the treadmill. I’m a bit peeved at the daring idiocy of some people. I should know better than to read work emails […]
Winter is Coming: Where are the bright lights? If you watch Game of Thrones or the 100, your viewing consciousness is filled with ominous warnings that “winter is coming.” Such a term signals that a certain brooding darkness is coming. Of course, those of us in places that […]
Traveling the world with my son: seeing the struggle, resilience and endurance of people As a girl who grew up in deep poverty in the South Bronx where crack was plentiful and milk was not, I learned a thing or two abut resilience and endurance along the way. […]