How much do you need in order to represent?
So, flashing tattoos on your chest or flags on our cars is just a way to say: "I talk the talk." But, one also needs to "walk the walk." Our culture is very deep... with more than just customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of our social groups. We also have sets of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes what being Puerto Rican is all about. We share those through education and tolerance, knowing that there are Boricuas out there that are going though some kind of identity crisis because they were born in Alaska or New Zealand and have have no idea what a "PIONONO" or a "GUANIME" is.

Why Jíbaros.com?
About This Website
by Don Jibaro

Someone told me once: "I've had a perfectly wonderful time, but this wasn't it." —Groucho Marx

Some time ago, I was playing guitar in a restaurant in Los Angeles, where I met an intelligent young Puerto Rican man who, was we sipped some espressos, told me about his struggles with the duality of the ethnicity of Puerto Ricans in the United States. By the inflections of his speech, I understood that to be "what you appear to be" to society and "what you are in reality". From then on, I kept seeing the phenomenon of identity as a virtual necessity to express that identity.

As part of the Diáspora, we take the Christmas, Easter and most holiday seasons too deep to heart. That's good. Our rich cultural traditions dominate the essence of our thinking... a cuatro... guiros... pasteles... La Plaza del Recreo...!!! Ah... We can't help but to have a couple of "pasteles" and maybe a cup of "coquito" in the back of our minds. Unfortunately, after January, all seems to fade away.

Like other ethnic groups, we, as Hispanic immigrants into the U.S.A., rely on that identity to establish our position in today's society. It's vital for us to accept it, since the world urges us to recognize ourselves as it recognizes us, not as we really are or anything else. READ MORE

Pasteles
FILLING
two pounds boneless lean pork meat
six tablespoons sour orange juice.
In a pilón, crush and mix:
4 sweet chili peppers,w/o seeds
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp whole dried oregano
1 tbsp salt
4 fresh culantro leaves
Cut into cubes 1 lb lean cured ham
1 green pepper, seeded]
1 onion, peeled
1 can garbanzos, inc. liquid =1 cup water
24 green olives, stuffed with pimientos,
11/2 tbsp capers
6 tbsp Achiote

Wash and dry pork meat. Cut into very small cupes. Mix meat with sour orange juice. Add the crushed chili peppers, garlic, oregano, culantro leaves and salt.
Add also ham, onion and green pepper. In a sauacepan, bring to a boil everything including garbanzos, and water. Drain the liquid over the meat mixture . Remove skins from chickpeas and add chickpeas to the meat mixture. Add olives and capers. Add ingredients all together, mix well, cover and set in refrigerator until the masa is ready. MORE RECIPES HERE

The Importance
of Jesus Christ
by Don Jíbaro
Is Jesus Christ really part of your lives
or is He just an Icon at Easter and Christmas?

We "talk the talk" and more often than not, we "walk the walk."  It's consequently and imperative that we get to know that part of our culture that our ancestors staked the essence of their existence on... their faith in The Lord Jesus!  Yes, Jesus Christ is Lord to at least 2.35 BILLION humans throughout the world, even respected by those who don't even know Him. There's no doubt, we distinguish The Lord Jesus from other "deities". Your know that!... READ MORE

Why Are We So Tired?
Research by Don Jibaro
tired (tīr'd) adj. — in need of sleep or rest; weary. FATIGUED, exhausted, worn out, weary, fatigued, dog-tired, dead beat, bone-tired, ready to drop, drained, zonked, wasted, enervated, jaded;

Have you ever noticed that you are just so tired and do not know why? Medical Fatigue is not tiredness caused by running a mile or two. Fatigue (exhaustion, tiredness, lethargy, etc.) is a subjective feeling of tiredness which is distinct from weakness, and has a gradual onset. Unlike weakness, fatigue can be alleviated by periods of rest.

Physical fatigue is the inability of a muscle to maintain optimal physical performance, and is made more severe by intense physical exercise. Mental fatigue is a transient decrease in maximal cognitive performance resulting from prolonged periods of cognitive activity like A LOT of UNNECESSARY THINKING. It can manifest as somnolence, lethargy, or attention fatigue and system collapse. READ MORE

Identity: To Be or Not To Be
by Don Jíbaro
The Cultural Quest for Identity is an incredible phenomenon. It has been the theme of countless works of science, art and literature. One's personal identity can be manifested in any part of the world. All you need is behavior. You are who you are no matter where you stand. We are Boricuas when we behave like Boricuas; otherwise we're John Does. Some live at home and some live abroad. Some behave, some don't... but, what makes one a Boricua?

The answer to that question is so deep that I'd need to write a book to convey the many aspects of the human character that makes us who we are. Suffice it to say that the right to be Boricua can't be imputed by others nor monopolized by those how feel they have studied more or display more of the traits that would characterize a Puerto Rican.

Identity is a state of mind in where there's an urge to manifest one's origins. That urge is prompted by many sociological and psychological factors... the most common is being absent from the Island surrounded by different types of peers from all parts of the globe. Another factor lies deep beneath the personality traits we show. It is simply the fact that we've been a colony, a protectorate, a territorial possession , et al... for over 500 years. Did you hear that? FIVE HUNDRED YEARS!!! More than any other land in the world.

Identity can be distinguished by the essence of its content. You don't need body language. Any degree of contempt motivated by of lack satisfaction that someone might think is due to him/her is shown in our identity. So, the gap that exists in the Newyorican vs. Islarican exchange is real. Each society treats you differently. I have seen it. I have experienced it. Friends tell me about it and how much it worries them. It goes so deep as to the socio-political dividing asunder of our people because of the place where we live. Yet, the identity remains the same. Pura Cepa.

When it comes to defining Boricua ethnicity, some people "shoot" blindly at whatever moves with a flag. And because their inability to see the glass "half full", they demand a satisfying answer from those who do not meet a certain Puerto Rican criterion. Such dissatisfaction come from a preconceived view on what is and what's not Puerto Rican. Being BIAS equates to being PARTIAL which leads to being IGNORANT which comes from, obviously enough, not having enough information to formulate a wholesome assertion.

When you examine the USA-rican culture and the ISLA-rican culture, both cultures are based on the same roots that grow different DUE to the environments in which they develop... both accrue on enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training that is given by BORICUA peers, hopefully before you leave the home ... parents being the MAIN influence.

IF YOUR parents don't teach you to be Puerto Rican (in cultural behavior, that is... not in ethnical identification) you'll grow to being or thinking that you are anything, whatever... EVEN an eskimo or a viking... WHILE deep IN REALITY you are a BORICUA, "mancha'o con plátano."

Moreover, because the racism and inequality that ethnic groups suffer in the USA, the BORICUAS there have suffered their part of the unfairness and turn apprehensive when revealing personal aspects of their culture. The crisis is there… the cultural gap is for real. That prompt us to seek out our "panas" and form communities in where everybody says: WEPA! …and QIUBO? Incidentally, that phenomenon has proven futile in cities like Los Angeles (where I live) where there's virtually no Puerto Rican community. Because of that, a Boricua here will stop any other car that has a PR flag hanging from the mirror just to ask: “Oyee!, ¿De qué pueblo tu erej?”

Are we obligated to represent in order to identify?
A Puerto Rican's acquaintance with taste in Boricua arts, humanities, and some aspects of Puerto Rican social arts and politics (as distinguished from vocational and other technical skills) IS a responsibility that is HIS OWN in order to nurture a healthy self esteem. Ignorance is never an excuse. Knowledge of ALL those things is culture. Subsequently, NOT knowing enough Spanish or Jibaro lingo to be a TRUE RICAN would not be acceptable. The same rule would apply to a “Borinqueño” from Utuado or Corozal going to New York without knowing some English to, at least, stay out of trouble.

Aaah, but that changes if you live in Puerto Rico. In the ISLAND the culture is around you and binds your existence daily. You can't miss it. The PR ISLANDERS don't have an identity crisis... The Jibaros of Comerio don't need to know that they are jibaros, they know that already. Nevertheless, you still see there Puerto Ricans wrapped up in flags and "pavas"... because our perspective is global... THE WHOLE WORLD is watching us!

So, we are also responsible, almost mandated, to spread, not impute, the patterns of Boricua culture, knowledge and customs to those who lack them. That rests upon our capacity for learning and teaching. We are the ones who transmit knowledge to succeeding generations. BOTTOM LINE: It's up to us.

How much do you need in order to represent?
So, flashing tattoos on your chest or flags on our cars is just a way to say: "I talk the talk." But, one also needs to "walk the walk." Our culture is very deep... with more than just customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of our social groups. We also have sets of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes what being Puerto Rican is all about. We share those through education and tolerance, knowing that there are Boricuas out there that are going though some kind of identity crisis because they were born in Alaska or New Zealand and have have no idea what a "PIONONO" or a "GUANIME" is.

Let me end by saying that... those who "talk the talk" can also "walk the walk" by the means of promoting culture rather than just showing culture. I hope that as co-patriots we can keep our culture thriving and our ethnicity untainted.
Pa' encima, pues...!!!

donjibaro@gmail.com

“Live in such a way that no one blames the rest of us 
nor finds fault with our work.” —(2 Corinthians 6:3)