Will the “Real” Puerto Rican Culture Please Stand Up? Thoughts on Cultural Nationalism

Abstract

Few people will disagree that arroz con gandules is part of Puerto Rican culture, but few will agree that mangú or rape are also a part of it. Are reggaetón, hip-hop, and punk as much a part of Puerto Rican culture as danza, plena, and jíbaro music? Is boricua culture a selective agglomeration of our collective virtues or does it also include our worst vices? How do we deal with the fact that what looks like a “virtue” to one person can appear as a “vice” to another? The answers to these questions vary greatly as arguments regarding what Puerto Rican culture is have been (and are still) central to the most cohesive discourse of boricua community building, namely, cultural nationalism.

Keywords

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Few polemicists set out to prove that their ancestors invented blood sacrifice, the sexual double standard, or the ambush.

Sidney Mintz, Caribbbean Transformations¹

Hay cultura establecida y cultura estableciéndose. [There is established culture and culture establishing itself.]

Vico C, Interview with Author²