AT 12, Carmen Vasquez said goodbye to her beloved Puerto Rico and a reluctant hello to America.
Not speaking a word of English, she arrived on the mainland (the term Puerto Ricans used to refer to the United States) where her mother and three sisters had immigrated to earlier.
It was a story familiar to most Puerto Ricans; her mother had come first in 1938 and gradually brought the children over.
“What I faced was a complete culture shock; here I was, from a small island to a metropolis. I could not understand why people lived above one another,” she said, referring to the apartments.
Central Park, with its large space and fresh air, kept her sanity.
“That was where I went to gather my Spanish thoughts,” she said, reminiscing of those days 50 years ago. “By the time I was in eighth grade, I was okay.”
A promising career in sales awaited her. At one time, she became vice-president of a huge textile company, handling millions in sales.
But three years ago, Vasquez decided to give that all up and focus instead on helping Puerto Ricans. Now, she is the community affairs director of Hope Community Inc that works towards improving Spanish Harlem, a New York City neighbourhood seen as the cradle of Puerto Rican life since the 1930s.
Latinos formed about half of its 118,000 population; Puerto Ricans the majority at 32% according to the 2000 census.
It is here in Spanish Harlem, the only place in New York City where Puerto Ricans can find food just like those available in their homeland, especially dishes for the holidays, said Vasquez, whose US-born son speaks Spanglish.
But Spanish Harlem (or El Barrio) in the early days was not a pretty picture.
Taxi drivers refused to ply this working class neighbourhood as it was deemed fraught with crime, according to Vasquez.
“In those days, the newspapers would blatantly accused Puerto Ricans for any crime committed by a Spanish-speaking person because we were the majority among immigrants,” she said.
Today, many Puerto Ricans have made good, thanks to access to education, some even becoming influential politicians. “They are absolutely better off than the new immigrants from Mexico.”
But many others at the Spanish Harlem are facing displacement, thus missing out on the American Dream.
“Other communities are flowing in because the rent is comparatively lower. This has led to landlords raising their rates. The newer immigrants who can’t afford to pay the new charges are gradually being pushed out,” she said.
A number of them are opting to leave for the suburbs.
That is where Hope Community plays its role. For the past 38 years, this community-housing organisation has acted as a landlord where it now owns 70 buildings that are let out to 13,000 households at affordable rates. There is also a building for senior citizens aged 65 and above.
“We also provide programmes to engage the tenants. There are educational and literacy projects besides health and economic training workshops.”
Since the community was often viewed as poor, she said, Spanish Harlem did not get the best supply of food.
“We get lower quality of vegetables and fruits here as the sellers do not think we can afford better ones,” she said.
As the biggest Latino group in New York City, Vasquez noted that her community had the most opportunity to make changes to public policies.
“For instance, young Spanish-speaking immigrants who attend American schools here will be taught in their mother tongue in their first year until they can adapt to English,” she said, explaining that this was a change brought upon by the Puerto Ricans.
The huge presence of Latinos has led to many job openings clearly stating the “bilingual preferred” criterion.
“We are very proud of our heritage,” she said, adding that most Latinos do not wish to be known just as Hispanics.
But with the threat of displacement getting real, will Spanish Harlem lose its flavour?
“We are trying hard not to let that happen,” she said.
