1. EDF- 2085, INTRODUCTION TO
DIVERSITY FOR EDUCATION. MARCH
30,2012
My family in from San
Juan, PR. In the 1940’s
my grandparents
moved to New York,
NY (Spanish Harlem).
They did go back and
forth but most of my
family lived and grew
up in Bronx, NY. We TOP PHOTO IS A FAMILY CRUISE IN JULY 2011. THE
now mostly live in OTHER IS GIRLS ONLY FAMILY CRUISE IN FEBRUARY
2010. THEY BOTH SYMBOLIZE HOW MY FAMILY TRIES
Florida. TO FIND TIME TO SPEND TOGETHER. IT IS GETTING
HARDER TO GET TOGETHER ON A REGULAR BASIS , SO
WE HAVE DECIDED TO TRY AND VACATION
TOGETHER. IT IS OUR WAY TO SPEND QUALITY TIME
TOGETHER.

2. My grandparents had
seven children. Their
children had a total of
sixteen children. My
generation has a total of
twenty-seven. The next
generation has begun with
two more additions. Most
of us are in Florida with
two arriving just two
weeks ago. There are only
six that still reside in
Puerto Rico.

3. SOME OF US SURPRISE
As a surprise in January of 2004 I
attempted to get as many family
members as possible to celebrate my
grandfathers 82nd birthday. Not
everyone was able to make it but those
of us who did enjoyed the precious
time we spent together celebrating. It
is a day he said he would never forget
because he never had a birthday party.
We did not think he would be around
much longer but he really has
surprised us and eight years later he is
still around. He has outlived my
grandmother whom we all miss
greatly and three of his children. This
year we will begin plans to have a
family reunion and are hopeful that we
will have everyone and that he will be
celebrating with us.

4. A LITTLE HISTORY OUR FLAGS
 Puerto Rico became a
territory of the United
States in 1898 due to the
Spanish-American War
and Puerto Ricans
became US citizens in
1917. The people of
Puerto Rico have chosen
to not become a state of
the United States.

6.  We love to party and do not need an excuse to throw
one.
 Music like with most any other culture is very
important to us. Salsa is the music of choice for PR . We
not only love to listen but to also dance to Salsa music.
 It is normal for us to care for our parents and/or
grandparents in their old age.
 The thing we value the most is our families. We fight
hard but never stop loving.
 We also value where we are from and very proud.
Some people think we get offended when we are
mistaken for another Hispanic culture but we are all
just extremely proud of our island.

7. My Family Traditions
and Customs
Traditions that my family has are
for holiday and birthdays. Mostly it
includes my immediate family
members. For the Christmas
holiday we all get together at my
sister’s house for Christmas
breakfast/brunch and gift
exchange. This is followed by
dinner at my mothers house.
Where we have the traditional
foods of rice and peas, roast
pork, pasteles and salad. We never
forget our spanish desserts of flan
and arroz con dulce (candies rice).
All other holiday consist of mostly
the same foods except for the meat
portions. For birthdays we all get a
cake and dinner of our
choice, usually made by my mom.

8.  Food is a big part of my
family getting together and I
hope that what my
daughters see today the will
continue when they have
families.
 Family is very important and
time spent together needs to
be more then weddings and
funerals.
 That is something we as a
family are trying to do and it
seems to be working. I am
hopeful that we will
continue to find ways to
spend quality time with the
entire family.