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Puerto Ricans Vs. Dominicans, Myth, Envy or Grudge?
Written December 2003
By Robert Ruiz
Who are the Puerto Ricans? Who are the Dominicans? Is it hate or Envy? How can two
islands, so close geographically, hold such hatred towards one another?
Some of you are sitting back right now wondering, what is this guy talking about? Some of you
are preparing for (gossip) debate? Those of you who live on the west coast have no clue, to
what I am writing about. However, those of you who live on the east coast know exactly what
I'm writing about. For those who didn't know, for some reason here in New York, there is an
ongoing grudge match between these distant cousins. Cousins not by blood but by
association.
This tension has been going on for as long as I can remember. A tension that these two
cultural cousins keep alive not by physical harm, but by words. However, as you will notice by
the several interviews that I conducted, no one has any idea from where it originated. I
interviewed four people. To maintain partiality, I interviewed two Puerto Ricans (Nuyoricans)
and two Dominicans. To even it out a little more, two of my subjects were females and the
other two males. The question that I asked these four individuals was straight out to the
point. Where did this negativity against one another come from?
So here I was looking for my first interview. I thought to myself where can I find the ideal
Puerto Rican candidate? I sat for a moment in a gaze, I thought to myself "Spanish Harlem
you idiot." So I jumped on the 4 train to 116th street, in search for my ideal candidate. What I
came up with was Angel Santiago.
So here we were, me and this thirty-four year old Nuyorican. He was medium built and most
of all unemployed. So I invited him for some coffee. We sat there for a minute looking at each
other, then I sprung the question. At first I thought he had no idea to what I was talking about.
However, after a deep breath he preceded in answering the question. He said " well Mr. Ruiz,
that's a tough question. I think it's because of the crime. You see Mr. Ruiz, all Dominicans
deal drugs and kill people for living. What happens is, since Puerto Ricans are the known
Hispanic group, we get the blame. I think this is where the hatred developed from."
I sat there motionless waiting for something else to sneak out of his mouth. However, that
was it! We sat there little while longer, discussing the issues of old Spanish Harlem.
My next interview had to be a Dominican male. I took the A train to little D.R., better known as
Washington Heights. There I found a young gentlemen by the name of Guillermo. Guillermo
was a dark, medium built, curly haired Dominican. I even believe he was employed.
However, he definitely fit Angels stereo typing of Dominicans. I came to that conclusion when
he refused to go get some coffee.
I conducted the whole interview on the corner of 163rd and St. Nicholas. We spoke for a while
about nonsense, while he conducted his business. Then I sprung the question. Guillermo
had no problem answering the question. He said" Those dirty Ricans are lazy. They just
jealous, because we come here and hustle. We take their spots and their women. They just
jealous cause they Americans and wanna be Spanish." I cut him off quickly only because I
heard stupidity can become contagious. Obviously we were getting nowhere very fast.
From Washington Heights I took a train ride down to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. That's where I
found Maria. Maria was a twenty-two year old Puerto Rican female who is also attending
Kingsborough Community College. We spoke about college life for a while. Then I sprung the
question.
Maria thought for a minute, then dictated her thoughts. She said " Well Rob, I have heard of
the tension between us, but I don't know where it came from. I think it's because of the all
around blame game."
I asked " What blame game?"
She responded "You know the blame game. Every time a Dominican commits a crime we
(Puerto Ricans) get the blame."
I asked "So you mean Dominicans are the cause of the Puerto Ricans bad reputation?"
She answered" More or less, you see Rob, we live in New York. There are about a million
Puerto Ricans that reside here. Even if a Mexican committed a crime, the Puerto Ricans will
get the blame."
That was probably not the root of the rivalry. However, she made more sense than the other
two idiots. As I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed there was a waitress that was going on
her break. I wasn't sure if she was Dominican, so I approached her and asked. With her
broken English she replied "jes". I then asked her if I can accompany her on her break. At first
she looked at me as though I had three heads and told me "no". However, when I explained
who I was and what I was trying to accomplish, she changed her mind.
Since Clara was on her lunch break I didn't want to take up to much of her time. Since she
already knew the question, she just started to answer it. With her heavy accent she said "I
think it's because the Puerto Ricans think that they are better than we are. They feel, they are
the best because they are Americans. The Dominicans suffer here in New York. We suffer
because a lot of us are illegal. I think the Dominicans are little envious. At the same time the
Puerto Ricans envy our success rate. Dominicans come here with one thing in mind, money.
Whether we open up a business or dealing drugs, we make money. What ever we do, we do
to the best of our ability. Look at me, I'm a waitress in this shit whole. No, Puerto Rican
woman would take this job. They prefer staying home and collect welfare." We pretty much
ended the conversation there.
When I reached home, I sat down and went over my notes. I realized a couple of things. I
realized that Angel and Guillermo are idiots. They give the whole Hispanic or Latino culture a
bad name. Let's think for a moment, we are not judge by our individual characteristics. We
are judged as a community. A Hispanic community.
Out of all the interviews I conducted Clara and Maria were probably the most productive. Even
though no one had a correct answer, however, Clara and Maria came up with the most
sensible answers. I don't think anyone has an answer to where this hatred originated from.
We would have to travel back in time to figure this one out.
However, I would like to take a crack at it. I believe it's a mixture of many things. I believe
Maria might have had a point. The Puerto Ricans pretty much paved the way for the other
Hispanic immigrants in New York. Puerto Ricans pretty much represented the Hispanics in
the Civil Right battles here in New York. Just like the Mexicans did in the western states and
the Cubans in the lower Southern states. So if the Puerto Ricans get a little sour when they
receive the blame for all of the crime that are committed by Hispanics, they have the right to.
However, they also have to remember we are all looked at as one entity. That unity is what is
going to put us on the political map. Clara had a good point too. New immigrants are hungry.
They came here to move ahead, just like the Puerto Rican immigrants were in the 1920's and
30's. I believe there just might be some envy in the Puerto Rican community. They have lost
their hunger. Puerto Ricans have to start feeding off this positive energy.
Nonetheless, we are keeping alive a qualm that has no real root. I ask of you to feel shame
when you encounter acts of stupidness. Don't brush it off as some other groups problem.
Remember if you are of Hispanic descent and live in New York you are Puerto Rican. If you
live in California, You are Mexican. If you live in Florida consider yourself Cuban. We are
Hispanic Americans and be proud. Stop the hatred, there's no reason.
About The Author:
Robert Ruiz is an editorial writer who writes for many publications. He is also the founder and
senior editor for Latin Society;silent voices www.latinsociety.com. He also has a monthly
column in The New Tomorrow. Also writes for the web magazine Did You Really Believe
www.didyoureallybelieve.com.
Written December 2003
By Robert Ruiz
Who are the Puerto Ricans? Who are the Dominicans? Is it hate or Envy? How can two
islands, so close geographically, hold such hatred towards one another?
Some of you are sitting back right now wondering, what is this guy talking about? Some of you
are preparing for (gossip) debate? Those of you who live on the west coast have no clue, to
what I am writing about. However, those of you who live on the east coast know exactly what
I'm writing about. For those who didn't know, for some reason here in New York, there is an
ongoing grudge match between these distant cousins. Cousins not by blood but by
association.
This tension has been going on for as long as I can remember. A tension that these two
cultural cousins keep alive not by physical harm, but by words. However, as you will notice by
the several interviews that I conducted, no one has any idea from where it originated. I
interviewed four people. To maintain partiality, I interviewed two Puerto Ricans (Nuyoricans)
and two Dominicans. To even it out a little more, two of my subjects were females and the
other two males. The question that I asked these four individuals was straight out to the
point. Where did this negativity against one another come from?
So here I was looking for my first interview. I thought to myself where can I find the ideal
Puerto Rican candidate? I sat for a moment in a gaze, I thought to myself "Spanish Harlem
you idiot." So I jumped on the 4 train to 116th street, in search for my ideal candidate. What I
came up with was Angel Santiago.
So here we were, me and this thirty-four year old Nuyorican. He was medium built and most
of all unemployed. So I invited him for some coffee. We sat there for a minute looking at each
other, then I sprung the question. At first I thought he had no idea to what I was talking about.
However, after a deep breath he preceded in answering the question. He said " well Mr. Ruiz,
that's a tough question. I think it's because of the crime. You see Mr. Ruiz, all Dominicans
deal drugs and kill people for living. What happens is, since Puerto Ricans are the known
Hispanic group, we get the blame. I think this is where the hatred developed from."
I sat there motionless waiting for something else to sneak out of his mouth. However, that
was it! We sat there little while longer, discussing the issues of old Spanish Harlem.
My next interview had to be a Dominican male. I took the A train to little D.R., better known as
Washington Heights. There I found a young gentlemen by the name of Guillermo. Guillermo
was a dark, medium built, curly haired Dominican. I even believe he was employed.
However, he definitely fit Angels stereo typing of Dominicans. I came to that conclusion when
he refused to go get some coffee.
I conducted the whole interview on the corner of 163rd and St. Nicholas. We spoke for a while
about nonsense, while he conducted his business. Then I sprung the question. Guillermo
had no problem answering the question. He said" Those dirty Ricans are lazy. They just
jealous, because we come here and hustle. We take their spots and their women. They just
jealous cause they Americans and wanna be Spanish." I cut him off quickly only because I
heard stupidity can become contagious. Obviously we were getting nowhere very fast.
From Washington Heights I took a train ride down to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. That's where I
found Maria. Maria was a twenty-two year old Puerto Rican female who is also attending
Kingsborough Community College. We spoke about college life for a while. Then I sprung the
question.
Maria thought for a minute, then dictated her thoughts. She said " Well Rob, I have heard of
the tension between us, but I don't know where it came from. I think it's because of the all
around blame game."
I asked " What blame game?"
She responded "You know the blame game. Every time a Dominican commits a crime we
(Puerto Ricans) get the blame."
I asked "So you mean Dominicans are the cause of the Puerto Ricans bad reputation?"
She answered" More or less, you see Rob, we live in New York. There are about a million
Puerto Ricans that reside here. Even if a Mexican committed a crime, the Puerto Ricans will
get the blame."
That was probably not the root of the rivalry. However, she made more sense than the other
two idiots. As I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed there was a waitress that was going on
her break. I wasn't sure if she was Dominican, so I approached her and asked. With her
broken English she replied "jes". I then asked her if I can accompany her on her break. At first
she looked at me as though I had three heads and told me "no". However, when I explained
who I was and what I was trying to accomplish, she changed her mind.
Since Clara was on her lunch break I didn't want to take up to much of her time. Since she
already knew the question, she just started to answer it. With her heavy accent she said "I
think it's because the Puerto Ricans think that they are better than we are. They feel, they are
the best because they are Americans. The Dominicans suffer here in New York. We suffer
because a lot of us are illegal. I think the Dominicans are little envious. At the same time the
Puerto Ricans envy our success rate. Dominicans come here with one thing in mind, money.
Whether we open up a business or dealing drugs, we make money. What ever we do, we do
to the best of our ability. Look at me, I'm a waitress in this shit whole. No, Puerto Rican
woman would take this job. They prefer staying home and collect welfare." We pretty much
ended the conversation there.
When I reached home, I sat down and went over my notes. I realized a couple of things. I
realized that Angel and Guillermo are idiots. They give the whole Hispanic or Latino culture a
bad name. Let's think for a moment, we are not judge by our individual characteristics. We
are judged as a community. A Hispanic community.
Out of all the interviews I conducted Clara and Maria were probably the most productive. Even
though no one had a correct answer, however, Clara and Maria came up with the most
sensible answers. I don't think anyone has an answer to where this hatred originated from.
We would have to travel back in time to figure this one out.
However, I would like to take a crack at it. I believe it's a mixture of many things. I believe
Maria might have had a point. The Puerto Ricans pretty much paved the way for the other
Hispanic immigrants in New York. Puerto Ricans pretty much represented the Hispanics in
the Civil Right battles here in New York. Just like the Mexicans did in the western states and
the Cubans in the lower Southern states. So if the Puerto Ricans get a little sour when they
receive the blame for all of the crime that are committed by Hispanics, they have the right to.
However, they also have to remember we are all looked at as one entity. That unity is what is
going to put us on the political map. Clara had a good point too. New immigrants are hungry.
They came here to move ahead, just like the Puerto Rican immigrants were in the 1920's and
30's. I believe there just might be some envy in the Puerto Rican community. They have lost
their hunger. Puerto Ricans have to start feeding off this positive energy.
Nonetheless, we are keeping alive a qualm that has no real root. I ask of you to feel shame
when you encounter acts of stupidness. Don't brush it off as some other groups problem.
Remember if you are of Hispanic descent and live in New York you are Puerto Rican. If you
live in California, You are Mexican. If you live in Florida consider yourself Cuban. We are
Hispanic Americans and be proud. Stop the hatred, there's no reason.
About The Author:
Robert Ruiz is an editorial writer who writes for many publications. He is also the founder and
senior editor for Latin Society;silent voices www.latinsociety.com. He also has a monthly
column in The New Tomorrow. Also writes for the web magazine Did You Really Believe
www.didyoureallybelieve.com.
| Articles Written By Robert Ruiz |
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House, Become a
Nightmare? - College Years and Your
Credit. - Think Smart!
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