I’m so proud to be Puerto Rican.  A country so rich with culture and agriculture, it makes me wonder why the island struggling so much. You can drive through Puerto Rico and see miles and miles of bananas, plantains, coffee yucca, and the list can go on. In the 1950s Puerto Ricans left the island looking for better jobs and a better life to give their children. Unfortunately while Puerto Ricans where leaving looking for what America had to offer: Cubans and the few Puerto Ricans that stood behind made a fortune. They would by land for a 1000 dollars or less that would be worth allot within 20 years. They prospered and built allot of small businesses on that land, that still going strong m today at least some of them are. Many of those people sold off those properties for hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Many of their children were educated and rich in the culture. They hit a home run with the rich island.

The others that fled to America also did ok, but most found the American nightmare. The ghettos, of New York are what they inherited along with   rat-infested apartments, racism, welfare, drugs, gangs, and violence. They saw their children overdose on the streets and die of gun-shot wound trying to play gangster. Few can say they didn’t. The Viet-Nam war would put the icing on the cake. They would send poor whites, blacks, and Latinos to Southeast Asia, to fight a communist that didn’t even know where America was and never had any conflicts with America. That war would turn the United States into drug frenzy for many soldiers came home addicted to heroin or alcohol. Most were suffering from the effects of the war and the hospitals had their hands full. Drugs scattered like cancer although it was around way before, but in my opinion the 60s and 70s is where we had our drug revolution. Puerto Ricans that were living in New York learning the business of drugs took it to our beloved island and started changing the culture. Puerto Ricans nodding on corners and the selling of narcotics become attractive to those looking for the quick buck. The island would maintain, but as the decades past and drugs took over the island along with gangs and addicts stealing for a fix: we started to become a ghetto ourselves. We bought that ghetto mentality to our island and destroyed our only salvation away from the racial gringo.

To end my post I say this the way we destroyed it I believe we can fix it. Its won’t be easy but the law has to get rough and take the island back away from the thugs that got people locked in their houses like prisoners by 7 pm. The island has the resources to make money and welfare is not the answer. The politicians for some have tried many have just taken the money and spent it wrongly on themselves. Many changes are needed on the island and maybe we can start now by writing and sending our concerns to the proper authorities or build something ourselves. I know some of us are comfortable here in the beautiful United States, but I’m also worried of us losing our island and becoming homeless culturally. I may not have the answers but I/m willing to help anyone who does have one. “”Our island is our soul and a person without a soul is dead.””

By Tyrone Garcia; . Author of the book “Soap That Doesn’t clean” available on amazon.com