Biographical Link from the Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United States. Edited by Nicholas Kanellas. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. Lotus Magazine's interesting piece on Colon
Biographical Link from the Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United States. Edited by Nicholas Kanellas. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. Lotus Magazine's interesting piece on Colon In the early 1900s, Puerto Ricans, among other groups, were migrating to the United States in search of what many perceived to be the American Dream. These immigrants settled in large cities like New York and Miami, bringing their cultures with them and refusing to be assimilated. One of these immigrants was Jesus Colon. His only published volume of essays 'A Puerto Rican in New York and other sketches', sheds light on those early days of 'reverse colonization'.
Born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, he stowed away on the S.S Carolina in 1918 and landed, like so many other Puerto Ricans, in New York. In the city, he worked at various menial jobs including dock-worker and in factories. This exposed him to the atrocities and exploitation of the 'unskilled' workers and soon he was championing their cause. In Puerto Rico, Colon had lived behind a cigar factory. The workers at the factory employed 'readers' or lectores who would read aloud to them while they rolled cigars. Many of these lectores were political activists and when they migrated to the United States they brought their political ideals with them.
Living in New York, these immigrants faced discrimination which left them at the bottom of the social ladder. Colon despised the image that had been created of Puerto Ricans by the media. Newspaper articles described them as "unwanted, unassimilable Puerto Ricans". In his speech 'How to know the Puerto Rican' included in the Boricuas anthology edited by Roberto Santiago, he sought to answer the eternal question of why there were so many Puerto Ricans in New York. Recognizing the fact that Puerto Ricans had been exploited for centuries, having important pieces of their culture removed to be used as displays in museums, he answered: "We come to take back our bells." They were there to reclaim their liberty that had been stolen.
Writing about the experiences of the working class Puerto Rican in New York, he recognized their disadvantaged position. Many of them had, back in their homeland, been educated and skilled artisans. Now they were labeled as 'unskilled' and were forced to work at menial jobs. Colon was politically active and, like most of his compatriots, supported Communism. In 1969, he ran for political office.
Colon wrote about his own experiences as well as those of other immigrants. He also recognized the importance of reclaiming the heritage of his people who were so misunderstood by the American people. He wrote about the immigrant experience, not from the nostalgic point of view but about their day to day experiences with racism and other forms of discrimination. His writings set the stage for future writers like Piri Thomas who valued their heritage and did not believe in assimilation. These writings served to introduce the real Puerto Ricans to the American society in general.
One of the least publicized Puerto Rican writers, Colon has had a remarkable impact on the perception of Puerto Ricans in the United States. Addressing racism, ethnicity and the immigrant experience, his newspaper articles and speeches have spoken the truth about a people who, in essence belong to the United States. The United States does not belong to them, however.
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