My visit to the National Zoo this week! In an effort to attend more events in D.C I attended a foreign
policy panel series put on by the World Affairs Council. The topic of the talk was, “The Future of Puerto Rico: Statehood, Status Quo, or Independence? “ Speakers Included: Manuel Rivera, Jeffrey L. Farrow, Juan Dalmau Ramirez, and moderator Phillip C. French.
All of the speakers were highly reputable, and were both intelligent and informative regarding their opinion on the subject at hand. Additionally, the event brought about some personal reflection of my own culture and experiences.
Truthfully, I am not as well informed about the status of Puerto Rico as I should be. Juan Dalmau Ramirez spoke first. He is an attorney, as well as candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico. He stressed that 54% of Puerto Rican registered voters rejected Puerto Rico’s territorial status, asserting there is, “no consent by the governed.” He was a strong spoken leader and I was interested in his points.
The next speaker was Jeffrey L. Farrow, a consultant on government affairs in Washington D.C. and chairman of the Oliver Group Inc. He formerly worked for the Clinton administration, serving as principle coordinator of policy concerning Puerto Rico until 2001. Personally, I thought he was the most informed of the three speakers. His proficiency in history and policy seemed to exceed the others. I believe this is due to his professional experiences in D.C. some interesting points in discussion included:
-The history of Puerto Rico and its territorial status.
-The current unequal treatment of Puerto Rico
-His personal experiences regarding the issue
A lasting sentiment of his discussion asserted that Puerto Rico is a possession and not a part of
the United States. That statement woke me up regarding the seriousness of the
issue
The last speaker was attorney Manuel Rivera. He stressed the negative effects that America has had on Puerto Rico’s economy and infrastructure. Attorney Rivera was very informed with statistics, and humor. He made some interesting points to contribute to the discussion, but it was clear he thought the affect America has
had on Puerto Rico has ben detrimental. Furthermore, he contributed to the discussion by citing that “colonialism is a business." This statement further increased the spirit of the discussion, and brought up some
interesting questions.
So, for what reasons (besides going to DC event on an interesting topic) did I attend? My ethnicity has something to do it. My father is a hundred percent Italian and my mother is a hundred percent Puerto Rican. My mother has made the honest effort to immerse her children in her culture. I confess I am not fluent in Spanish, but I believe my culture goes so much beyond that. This event was a personal effort to increase my awareness of Puerto Rico, currently and beyond. I value my culture, and want to preserve what I know. A fear of mine is not being able to pass on my culture. My grandparents are one hundred percent, off the boat , true Puerto Ricans. I
love them and never want to lose their traditions and culture. Without be too cheesy, I will say that I will always be proud to be Boricua. Events like this one help enhance my knowledge.
Overall, the event was engaging, important, and worthwhile. I was happy to attend!
On a completely separate note, the government is no longer shut down and I went to the National Zoo! Enjoy my lovely picture of a cheetah.
policy panel series put on by the World Affairs Council. The topic of the talk was, “The Future of Puerto Rico: Statehood, Status Quo, or Independence? “ Speakers Included: Manuel Rivera, Jeffrey L. Farrow, Juan Dalmau Ramirez, and moderator Phillip C. French.
All of the speakers were highly reputable, and were both intelligent and informative regarding their opinion on the subject at hand. Additionally, the event brought about some personal reflection of my own culture and experiences.
Truthfully, I am not as well informed about the status of Puerto Rico as I should be. Juan Dalmau Ramirez spoke first. He is an attorney, as well as candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico. He stressed that 54% of Puerto Rican registered voters rejected Puerto Rico’s territorial status, asserting there is, “no consent by the governed.” He was a strong spoken leader and I was interested in his points.
The next speaker was Jeffrey L. Farrow, a consultant on government affairs in Washington D.C. and chairman of the Oliver Group Inc. He formerly worked for the Clinton administration, serving as principle coordinator of policy concerning Puerto Rico until 2001. Personally, I thought he was the most informed of the three speakers. His proficiency in history and policy seemed to exceed the others. I believe this is due to his professional experiences in D.C. some interesting points in discussion included:
-The history of Puerto Rico and its territorial status.
-The current unequal treatment of Puerto Rico
-His personal experiences regarding the issue
A lasting sentiment of his discussion asserted that Puerto Rico is a possession and not a part of
the United States. That statement woke me up regarding the seriousness of the
issue
The last speaker was attorney Manuel Rivera. He stressed the negative effects that America has had on Puerto Rico’s economy and infrastructure. Attorney Rivera was very informed with statistics, and humor. He made some interesting points to contribute to the discussion, but it was clear he thought the affect America has
had on Puerto Rico has ben detrimental. Furthermore, he contributed to the discussion by citing that “colonialism is a business." This statement further increased the spirit of the discussion, and brought up some
interesting questions.
So, for what reasons (besides going to DC event on an interesting topic) did I attend? My ethnicity has something to do it. My father is a hundred percent Italian and my mother is a hundred percent Puerto Rican. My mother has made the honest effort to immerse her children in her culture. I confess I am not fluent in Spanish, but I believe my culture goes so much beyond that. This event was a personal effort to increase my awareness of Puerto Rico, currently and beyond. I value my culture, and want to preserve what I know. A fear of mine is not being able to pass on my culture. My grandparents are one hundred percent, off the boat , true Puerto Ricans. I
love them and never want to lose their traditions and culture. Without be too cheesy, I will say that I will always be proud to be Boricua. Events like this one help enhance my knowledge.
Overall, the event was engaging, important, and worthwhile. I was happy to attend!
On a completely separate note, the government is no longer shut down and I went to the National Zoo! Enjoy my lovely picture of a cheetah.
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