The Importance of Garlic
By Don Jíbaro Orlando
When I was a ten year old child in Puerto Rico sometimes I’d eat dinner at my friend’s house next door, if I happened to be there at dinner time. My friend’s mother cooked the most delicious “arroz y habichuelas colorás” that I had ever tasted. Yummee! That lady could cook! Her rice and beans needed no meat! When I asked her how did she cooked such tasty beans and if I could learn to cook like that, she said her secret was “culantro y ajo” (coriander and garlic) but the main ingredient was garlic.
 
I was turned on to the marvelous world of Garlic by a passage in the Bible where the Hebrews don’t want to follow Moses anymore after he has given them the Ten Commandments. Instead, they want to go back to Egypt where, as slaves, they were kept strong for making bricks for the Pharaoh's pyramids with a diet of GARLIC! Read More

Recently, man harassed a woman wearing a Puerto Rico shirt because she "should not be wearing that in the United States of America". These are ignorant bullies that harass the innocent, especially women. Had it been a 6' 4" Boricua Mulatto full of muscle wearing that Puerto Rican t-shirt, it would have been a different story.

Mi Incredible Uncle Genaro
When the weather was hot and humid in Bayamón, my blind Uncle Genaro used to say... "¡Que caló, mi amo, que caló... pero no ej el caló, ej el vapó!".

YES! My uncle was an exceptional man...

Everyone has an uncle or member of the extended family that stands out from the rest. Whether it’s the “barrigón” bachelor uncle who drinks a lot of beer or the church going purist aunt who doesn’t shave her legs, we all have one. Well, I have one, too! And if you allow me say it, my uncle Genaro was very special.
READ HIS STORY HERE

The Puerto Rican Black Eye
by Don Jíbaro Orlando
The Black Eye Syndrome is simple. Let's say you have an uncle who's in jail for burglary, that's a "black eye" to the family. You have a sister who wears red and works the street corners... that's a "black eye" to the family. If any of the above is caught on TV Radio or Newspapers... that's a BIG "black eye" to the family and they're on Facebook or Twitter, that's a HUGE "black eye".

So,,, whenever someone in a community does something wrong or illegal, it reflects on the rest of the community. Furthermore, whenever a Puerto Rican does something wrong, the stereotype will impute the blame on the rest of the Puerto Ricans. READ MORE EYE

Chebo's Heart of Unbelief
When I was a kid our neighbor gave a party and invited the whole barrio (hood). Once at his house, I noticed my friend Chebo was outside by the window, peeking in.

"Come on in, Chebo" I said. But he said: "No, I wasn't invited."
I replied: "But, the whole neighborhood was invited, come in."

But Chebo insisted: "No, I wasn't invited." So he stayed outside.

Chebo's heart was hardened by the deceitfulness of his own heart and unbelief. He lived a life of jealousy, envy and bitter remorse because he didn't always get what he wanted, but hated those who did.

"See to it that none of you has a wicked
heart of unbelief that turns away from
a living God." —Hebrews 3:12

Just a Note:
Because of the failure in the enforcement of laws people are doing whatever they want, rather that what they should. They fail to follow the instruction of police officers when stopped for a simple traffic violation. They run when nobody is chasing them... Such lawlessness will backfire and prompt the government to say: "THAT'S IT! --- No more freedom." This will lead to them tightening the grip they already have on the citizens leading us to a totalitarian degraded world where you will have a microchip embedded in your wrist in order to be able to buy, sell or go about your business. So obey the local laws of the land... It's for your own good!

You can tell that the hut was hand made, with materials found all around. Those were simple days. They didn't have much for what they had was enough... and an oil drum full of water.

Puerto Rican 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.  READ MORE

How Pedro Albizu Campos Got a Bad Deal
(September 12, 1891 – April 21, 1965)
Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading figure in the Puerto Rican independence movement. Gifted in languages, he spoke six; graduating from Harvard Law School with the highest grade point average in his law class, an achievement that earned him the right to give the valedictorian speech at his graduation ceremony.

However, hostility towards his mixed racial heritage would lead to his professors delaying two of his final exams in order to keep him from graduating on time. During his time at Harvard University he became involved in the Irish struggle for independence. READ MORE

The Ponce Massacre of 1937
...was a police slaughtering over a peaceful civilian march, taking place in 21 March 1937 at 3:15 pm, in Palm Sunday, Ponce, Puerto Rico, that killed 19 people and wounded over 200 others. It is the largest massacre in Puerto Rican history. The march had been organized by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish National Assembly in 1873. The march was also protesting the U.S. government's imprisonment of the party's leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, on alleged sedition charges. READ MORE

The Religions of the World
A man falls into a hole and realizing he can't get out desperately calls out for help. He hears someone walking nearby:

BUDDAH --- "Use the precious human life and the intelligence and mind that you now possess for the understanding that because you create your own suffering, you can also create your own true liberation and a way to get out of the hole." He then walks away...

SHIVA-VISHNU --- "There is one God who manifests in the form you choose and he is also within you now! So choose the form wherewith God shall deliver you from that hole." He then walks away...

ISLAM --- "Total submission to Allah as ordained in Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad Sallam's ISLAM... Once you have attained such favor and killed some infidels Allah might help you out of the hole." He then walks away...

JESUS --- "Give me your hand so I can pull you out."

Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a person of a certain race on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior, rather than on individual suspicion. More commonly in the United States, racial profiling is referred to regarding its use by law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, and its use leading to discrimination against people in the African American, Native American, Asian, Latino, Arab, and Muslim communities of the U.S. In European countries, the term "ethnic profiling" is also used instead of racial profiling.

One of the main reasons we have racial profiling in the inner city is not just the color of the skin as it is the continuity of offenses done by those ethnic groups in the past. If you’re hispanic and you spit on the church floor, then all hispanics are now church floor spitters. So, you must live in a way that we don’t get blamed for what you do.

Puerto Rico Has a Problem
It's true, even before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had a big problem. Whatever USA thought about overseeing the problem it stayed at just observing the mess and hold their chins. We can agree that the problem lies in lack of Puerto Rican leadership and that maybe the reason why it PR can't get any help from the USA.

They think the island has failed and the governor has a giant stack of money somewhere in some secret bank while asking The Feds for $100 billion to fix the problem. READ MORE HERE

My father (RIP) used to say "The birds are now shooting at the hunters", when he heard of some jail man suing the victim of his crime. The legal system has become so scary that the best thing to do is to stay AWAY from everybody's way, lest you be sued for spitting on the sidewalk... YIKES !!!

Protests are now so common that people will go and picket for anything: cloth napkins, more sleep, etc. But many don't have a purpose, no leadership or solutions. They just want to COMPLAIN. Why? Because it's their right and they must exercise it. "We Demand!" ...and the Gov't sez: "Not now, children."

A glimmer of hope... The strength that comes to you when you know you have to move on forward, beyond your inabilities and obstacles, towards that prize of satisfaction of a job well done.

Our lives are determined by our choices. We must then, choose wisely. Wisdom comes from knowing how to use the information and experiences for our own good, Most people are not wise. The Scriptures offer wisdom by giving us advice and telling us about how fools make the same mistakes over and over (ex: Book of Proverbs, Psalms,etc).

Folks don't want to be told what to do or how to do it. They repeat their mistakes. I choose to give encouragement and motivate my friends towards a better life. We all can use that kind of friendship. Most people appreciate and respect me. That's encouraging. Someone who's there that makes you feel comfortable telling them your problems, listening to you.

The world is not going to change to my liking, so I HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE IN IT... with all the idiots and crazies... and wise men (if you can find them). My wife and my children are happy and successful because we have always make time for them.

There's no greater love that a man laying down his life for a friend. I want friends like that, and when you find them TREASURE them, because they are rare!!!

The Birth of Fake News
by Don Jíbaro Orlando
In the 1960s Jimi Hendrix wrote a song about extraterrestrials visiting Earth... He quipped: "Thank you. As you well know, you just can't believe everything you see and hear, can you?" So today, we hear and see about wars, rumors of wars, people dying, discoveries and a myriad of news. The term "fake news" or "alternative news" comes to mind. It's everywhere and we have to do a bit of research before we bet our lives on them.

News is a big business and news people must have something to say in order to sell information. Some news sources have opted to fabricate news in order to sell sensationalism. Sometimes you read about some celebrity that "bought a new rug" !!! Time Magazine recently twitted an article about what some famous people eat or breakfast

Let's live, therefore, to lift up the reputation of our culture through GOOD works... The culture that others sadly continue to defile. It's up to US to thrive and bring back the Honor and Respect. Think about it. HONOR and RESPECT.

Ask Don Jibaro
Dear Don Jibaro,
Why is it that there are some Boricuas that think they are white even though 94% of us are mulatto, trigueño, negro, or taino. I know we are a mixture of 3 races (African, Taino, and Spaniard). Many Boricuas are ignorant of their roots. What do you think?
—Thanks, Jesse Ramos

Dear Jessie...
WELL... White is erroneously equated with "better", and I noticed that you've anglicized your name which is probably José, right?
Anyway, my mother (RIP), who was from Corozal, PR was blond, had green eyes and had no idea what a white person is, as opposed to a brown or black, et al. It's all in the upbringing. If your father told you that you can go "through" walls, you're gonna end up with a lot of bumps on your forehead and a broken nose many times over (unless you get the hint) You are what you are, and what you are is based on how much you know about your roots, more than your upbringing... I wrote an article on Puerto Rican Identity that will shed some light on this dark matter. (pun intended) READ ARTICLE HERE