1898 Puerto Rico in Photographs

Utuado Mountainside 1898 Puerto Rico two men ride horses on dirt road

When I think of Puerto Rico
in my minds eye

I feel a dance ...

her sway

centered

in the protective embrace

of the deepest blue ocean

and salty sapphire sea 

gentle caresses

bubbling white foam

rhythmic waves

adoringly

lapping at her edges

lush green mountains

rustling

wind caresses

upon every

peak, crest

and valley

 

island sounds

secret songs only parrots

and frogs know

memory

of love

forever home

Central mountainous zone 1898 Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico stuck in the persistent state of 1898.  Unwilling to change.
A one hundred year old child.

Military Road Juana Diaz 1898 Puerto Rico Horse drawn carriage

Caguas, Puerto Rico 1898 village

Economically poor then and now.

San Juan Railroad 1898

Puerto Rico is 1898 encapsulated.

 

Puerto Rico refusing to change remains a common wealth, suppressed. A prize of the Spanish American war.  An American possession needing protection since 1898.  Protection from what exactly, I cannot explain.  Culturally rich, with traces from every corner of the planet proudly waving two flags.  Bearing children with double identities.  Holding on tightly to illusions of self government.  Forever scrambling in frustration caused by this duality. 

Puerto Rico, there is no denying your richness, beauty and my love for you.




Images from Puerto Rico: its conditions and possibilities
By William Dinwiddie