"Did she, like her contemporary Arturo Schomburg (1874-1938), have intergenerational family ties to the French Caribbean islands? Was she somehow of French descent, like Luisa Capetillo? The absence of such basic information in Belpré's papers is striking since she offers so much information about her adult life. Either Belpré, a gifted storyteller, preferred not to talk too much about her family's history or simply did not know much about it. It is probably not a coincidence that three of the most important stateside Puerto Rican public intellectuals of that period-Belpré, Arturo Schomburg, and Jesús Colón (1901-1974)-as diverse as their worldviews and interests were, were each quiet about or prone to fictionalizing their family histories in Puerto Rico. Intriguing too is that all three of these prominent Boricuas were a darker shade of brown, and therefore must have suffered racialized discrimination not only in the larger U.S. society but also within the Puerto Rican community itself."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Pura Belpré
17 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Pura Belpré →
Related Quotes
"[S]torytelling is a living art, and each teller embellishes, polishes and recreates as she goes along without losing …"
"I searched for some of the folktales I had heard at home. There was not even one. A sudden feeling of loss rose withi…"
"To appreciate the present, one must have a knowledge of the past…to know where we go, we must know from where we came…"
"In this present struggle to fight poverty, hunger and fear, and to bring some semblance of peace and security into th…"
"This paper should be filled with statistics, but no statistic can show the joy of a child who runs around the room to…"
"Puerto Rico is a beautiful island, with a culture enriched by old, old stories gained from many people. Traces of thi…"
"Statehood will destroy Puerto Rico's national identity in short order, while the present Commonwealth system will des…"
"Research is always necessary for accuracy in a story. But once you begin the process of writing a story, forget the a…"
"When you remember these three basic things about readers in general-that they like suspense, that they want to see th…"
"I would also make the following general suggestions. Don't get enthralled with your own vocabulary. Avoid flashbacks.…"