Frances
Writes:"With all the hullabaloo that is my life, I forgot to
post a picture of my new student, Marco, who's been here for
5 weeks. He's nine years old from Mexicali. He was new to
sign language. I started from scratch in teaching him how to
move his hands, basic vocabulary, how to hold a pencil and
handle books properly, and how to function in a classroom.
He struggles with obeying. So, there are days when he is
very good at pushing my buttons.
Here he has just returned from the bathroom. Before he went,
I warned him not to take too long & not to wander, which he
is prone to do. He brought me a flower. Hard to stay annoyed
when he does such a sweet thing." READ STORY
Jíbaros.com
About This Website
by Don Jibaro Orlando Some time ago, I was playing guitar in a restaurant in Los Angeles,
where I met an intelligent young Puerto Rican man who, as 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" were to different things. From
then on, I kept seeing the phenomenon of identity as a virtual
necessity to express that ethnicity.
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
The Affair Phone Rings.....
“Hello?”, “Hi honey. This is Daddy. Is Mommy near the phone?”
“No Daddy. She’s upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Paul.”
After a brief pause, Daddy says, “But honey, you haven’t got an Uncle Paul.”
“Oh yes I do, and he’s upstairs in the room with Mommy, right now.”
Brief Pause. “Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do. Put the phone down
on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door and shout to Mommy that
Daddy’s car just pulled into the driveway.”
“Okay Daddy, just a minute.”
A few minutes later the little girl comes back to the phone. “I did it Daddy.”
“And what happened honey?” he asked.
“Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around
screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now
she isn’t moving at all!” “Oh my God!!!
What about your Uncle Paul?” “He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on, too.
He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimming
pool. But I guess he didn’t know that you took out the water last week to clean
it. He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he’s dead.”
***Long Pause***
Then Daddy says,
But... We don't have a swimming pool !!!
…. WAIT! Is this 555-5731?”
The Search The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent but
had not phoned in sick one day. Needing to have an urgent problem with one of
the main computers resolved, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was
greeted with a child’s whisper. ‘Hello ?’
‘Is your daddy home?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?’
The child whispered, ‘No .’
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, ‘Is your Mommy
there?’ ‘Yes’
‘May I talk with her?’ Again the small voice whispered, ‘No’
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked,
‘Is anybody else there?’
‘Yes,’ whispered the child, ‘a policeman.’
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, ‘May
I speak with the policeman?’
‘No, he’s busy,’ whispered the child.
‘Busy doing what?’
‘Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman,’ came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the
earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, ‘What is that noise?’
‘A helicopter’ answered the whispering voice.
‘What is going on there?’ demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered,
‘The search team just landed a helicopter’
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, ‘What are they
searching for?’
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle…
‘ME.’
Identity Today
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. MORE
¿Are Thou Politically
Correct?
Political correctness or political correctitude (adjectivally,
politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is an
attitude or policy of being careful not to offend or upset any group
of people in society who are believed to have a disadvantage.
You
and I know that every one passionately strives to be "cool,
avant-garde, and, of course, politically correct." You can hardly
say anything to anyone anymore, because they might get "offended" if
a tiny speck of boo-boo falls in their politically correct 'botella
de lechita'... or better said, "lacteous nourishment container."
How about "homeless" becoming —"outdoor urban dwellers"?
Hearest thou an Amén?
Nowadays, children hit and disrespect their parents and you
can't spank 'em anymore, cuz they lock you up! Prisoners now sue
their victims... and as my Tio Genaro used to say "Birds shoot back
at the shotguns." Gasp!! I know no' mo'.
Read More
"It's better to have loved. Period."
Don Jíbaro:
Who Dat Man?
Interview
by Les Rivera
One of his quotes from jibaros.com reads: “A Puerto Rican shall not be
boring.” so,
to describe Don Jibaro as anything less than
riveting would be an understatement of his own
philosophy.
Don Jibaro is the owner/operator
of some of the world’s busiest Puerto Rican websites,
Over the years, Orlando (his real name) has also left a
legacy of volunteer work in the Los Angeles area... Read Here
"It's better dry bread in peace, than a feast in a house
full of fighting." Prov.17:1
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
HOW TO SPEAK AMERICANO pt.3 ¿Dumb Oxymorons? Edited by Don Jibaro
Along with the Spanish, I studied proper English and it's
literature in the schools of Puerto Rico from 1952 to 1964.
My teachers made shure that the phonetics and dictions were
executed flawlessly.
However when I came to USA in 1973, I found that English was
spoken much different to the stuff I had learned. They had
stuff called "SLANG that could be used to fit on any
lirterary exchange. But that's another story. Behold! I now
bring you the American Oximoron, a set of words dedicated to
and spoken by the idiots that roam the land... READ MORE
Origins of Spanish names
All our Hispanic names come from Spain; different regions
where families ruled towns or haciendas. If you live in
Hacienda Rosa you'd be Fulano De La Rosa... and so on...
Spanish surnames developed from four major sources:
Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames - Based on a parent's first name, this
category of surnames includes some of the most common
Hispanic surnames. These Hispanic surnames originated as a
way to distinguish between men bearing the same given name
by specifying the name of their father or mother.
Grammatically, Spanish surnames may sometimes be an
unchanged form of the father's given name, with the
difference in pronunciation. However, Spanish patronymic
surnames were most often formed by adding suffixes meaning
"son of, such as -es, -as, -is, or -os (common to Portuguese
surnames) or an -ez, -az, -is, or -oz (common to Castilian
or Spanish surnames) to the end of the father's name. (Leon
Alvarez - Leon son of Alvaro).
Geographical Surnames - Another common type of Hispanic last name,
Spanish geographical surnames are often derived from the
location of the homestead from which the first bearer and
his family came from or resided in (Ricardo de Lugo -
Ricardo from the town of Lugo). Medina and Ortega are common
geographical Hispanic surnames, as there are quite a few
towns in the Spanish speaking world bearing these names.
Some Spanish geographic surnames refer to landscape
features, such as Vega, meaning "meadow," and Mendoza,
meaning "cold mountain," from mendi (mountain) and (h)otz
(cold) + a. Some Spanish geographic surnames also feature
the suffix de, meaning "from" or "of" (Desoto - of soto, of
"the grove").
Occupational Surnames - these Hispanic last names are based on the
person's job or trade (Roderick Guerrero - Roderick the
warrior or soldier).
Descriptive Surnames - Based on a unique quality or physical feature of
the individual, these surnames often developed from
nicknames or pet names (Juan Delgado - John the thin) or
Chucho El Roto (Chucho The Broken)
We must stop perpetuating gossip, half-truths and detrimental
bitterness just because we crave sympathy.
Never be bitter about the things you deserved but
didn't get, but be grateful for what you got that you didn't
deserve.
Never fear your critics... They're just people who boast
themselves of being hard to please because nobody tries to please
them.
"Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather
determine this-- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a
brother's way." Rom 14:13
Don't answer some fool according to his foolishness,
or you'll be just as foolish as he is. —Proverbs 26:4
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails
to do it, for him it is a transgression." James 4:17
"Everyone has two opinions: The one they really
believe in and the one they want
the world to think they believe; and they seldom merge into
one." ----Don Jibaro
Love yourself... just in case nobody does.
Don't spread rumors, good or bad; instead SPREAD Love and Kindness
LET MY PEOPLE GO TO FLORIDA
DEPT..
The Puerto Rico That Was Not by Don Jibaro Barbablanca
ith
the Internet phenomenon, I have found that most of my
pals of the R&R youth years are still doing well... in
Florida. Although many Puerto Rican rather have the island's
landscape beauty, others feel the economy there is
detrimental for the kind of lifestyle they want. College
grads, policemen, teachers, artists and a slew of other
professionals are seeking Florida. WHAT happened? Is the
local economy THAT bad? Where's the money gone? (Please
don't say the Governor's shoes) READ STORY
The irony of this photograph is that you
can see this type of carriage in Latin America, specially in
Cuba where time stopped for decades.
Antes de brincar el charco por Dr. Edgar León
Es una pena ver a las familias de Puerto Rico mudarse a los
Estados Unidos de Norte América porque en la isla perdieron
su trabajo. Muchos pierden la esperanza de encontrar otro
trabajo similar al que tenían y se dan cuenta que ya las
cosas económicas de la isla son diferentes y la época de la
bonanza se fue con Los Panchos.
Is
Vulture Hedge Funds
Killing PR?
by Don Jibaro
The continual Exodus of Puerto Rican into the United States
has created a fear in the USA investors that basically
control the local economy. This is because there will be
less people to suck the blood out of. Nevertheless the
Island is in bad shape with a multiBILLION debt that doesn't
want to go away.
Puerto Rico's, now defaulted, $72 billion debt crisis is based on the
principle of CAUSE and EFFECT. The CAUSE is, of course, the
politicians who dress themselves with $1,500 shoes and
$3,000 suits. Multiply that by 78 towns with 78 mayors and
city councils and you get a lot of political "magician's
sleigh of hand" making a lot of promises and fulfilling none
of them.
READ MORE
¿Why Worry?
It has been said that there are two days that people worry most about but should
actually worry least about: Yesterday and Tomorrow. We worry about yesterday -
the mistakes we've made and what we would like to do over or differently. Yet,
there is nothing we can do to change yesterday. Our worries are wasted.
We also worry about tomorrow - the problems it may bring and the challenge we
may face. Yet, we cannot control tomorrow. It is out of our grasp. So again, our
worries are wasted. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. —Matthew 6:34
The Pedro Albizu Campos' Sad Story
Pedro Albizu
Campos (September 12, 1891 – April 21, 1965) 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.
READ MORE
Puerto Rico 1941... If you traveled through the
countryside roads you could stop at these small markets (colmaditos)
with zinc walls and signs of the merchandise they sold.
R.I.P. Dave Valentin,
...a Grammy Award-winning Latin jazz flutist who recorded
dozens of albums and performed on six continents, died on
Wednesday in the Bronx. He was 64.
The cause was complications of a stroke and Parkinson’s
disease, said his manager, Richie Bonilla.
ABOUT DAVE
How to
Understand The Bible This is still an easier way to learn about the Bible and
introduce it to others, done in simple terms.
1. Observation - what the Bible verse says. If a verse says
that "they broke bread," you're primarily concerned with the
fact that they broke bread, took a piece of bread and broke
it, period, whatever that might mean. So, what it says, is
actually the words that you read...
READ MORE
Ivonne
Figueroa...
is one of my inspirations for Internet work
concerning Puerto Rico, its culture and its people.
She's an internet pioneer with her website about
Puerto Rican folklore dating back to 1995...
Both her website and her monthly magazine are
dedicated to our descendants, the children of Puerto
Ricans, so that they can remember our culture, learn
about their roots and history, and be proud to call
themselves Boricuas and Puertorriqueños. EL BORICUA,
see her work HERE
www.elboricua.
Small neighborhood in
Puerto Rico
People would just go and "invade" the land owned by the
government and create small villages. They were seldom
evicted. (click photo to enlarge)
The Empty Bed The Fallacy of
Friendship (A fallacy is a belief based on a
misconception that leads to an alternate truth.)
...A
few years ago I was playing my guitar at home. I came
upon this old tango my Dad used to quote... La Cama
Vacía" (The Empty Bed). I remembered the lyrics and went
on to sing it as I played. Half way through the song I
began to weep. I didn't stop playing, and my singing
became a cry of sadness.
With tears in my eyes, I
stopped! The words were too sad, so sad that I had the
image flashing in my head while my heart was pounding in
my chest. I was "living" the story... the empty bed... I
was so brokenhearted that I had to translate this tango
into English and share it in my website. The sadness
lies in "the fallacy of friendship" and the fact that
the words of the song are so true... so moving that you
can't avoid "living" the story. DJ READ the FALLACY
What Love Really Is
by Don Jibaro Orlando
Parenthetically speaking, the love we share with others goes with an invisible
clause that makes us believe that such love will be returned or reciprocated.
That fallacy makes us vulnerable to be hurt WHEN IT'S NOT. Is it possible then
to love and expect next to nothing or not much or very little?
We make mistakes and then we HURT inside; pain that we cause
ourselves by not knowing how to LOVE one another. YES, not
knowing. You might say, "Nonsense".... but what I might not know
in practice, I do know in theory. Love is the gracious
(unmerited to others) self-giving of ourselves as unselfish
human care. NO debate needed. READ ALL ABOUT IT
e
see over the centuries that flattery, lying,
pretending or living on borrowed glory has created a way
of life for most people who honestly believe that must
not be all that bad.
"PR's New Economy" - Caricatura de Dr.
Edgar León
Puerto Rican
HISTORY 101
USA colonists had developed large
sugar plantations and "centrales" and had the capital to
invest in the Atlantic slave trade, but when the land
got dry the plants were closed and the industry move to
the Philippines... BESIDES, In comparison to the
different states of the United States, Puerto Rico is
poorer than Mississippi (the poorest state of the U.S.)
with 41% of its population below the poverty line.
FURTHERMORE... Manufacturing sugar in Puerto Rico
was no longer profitable by the late 40s. We can argue
that local economic policy was responsible for the
industry’s demise. In the 1930s and 1940s, the local
Puerto Rican government enacted policies to stifle the
growth of large cane-farms. As a result, starting in the
late 1930s, farm size fell, mechanization of farms
essentially ceased, and the Puerto Rican sugar
industry’s productivity rapidly declined until the
industry collapsed. by the late 50s... SO... DOES THAT
LOOK LIKE the profits stayed in the ISLAND?
When I was a kid, Sugar, Tobacco and Coffee were KING
and held the industry HIGH up, but by the late 1960s not
even the large pharmaceuticals like Eli Lilly could save
the local economy. It's colonial pattern... The Puerto
Rican debt crisis is an ongoing financial crisis related
to the amount of debt owed by the government of Puerto
Rico. The island has more than $70 billion USD of
outstanding debt, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of about
68%.... IT'S SCARY !!! MORE on HISTORY
Bitterness
and Resentment
Edited by Don Jibaro
Bitterness is the response of anger or hatred toward the
perception of unfairness of wrong done to or FROM
people; triggered by anger, spite, and contempt directed
toward a perceived higher-status; or a perceived
equal-status that differs from one's opinion. Contempt
plays the part of anger directed toward a perceived
lower-status individual who's OK but not as good as
one's status.
People who tend to be bitter do so without realizing the
damage that it does to self. Imagine having your brain
tied in a knot or kicking your foot against a big thorn
or an anvil. READ
MORE
Don Jíbaro's Daughter:
Missionary in Mexico
DON
JIBARO'S NOTE: Frances, after a successful missionary quest
in Cuba in 2009, has embarked in a new endeavor: Mexico,
where she'll be teaching deaf and mute children.
Here's her story: "At the age of 18, while listening to a missionary speak
at a youth camp, God touched my heart and opened my eyes to
a broken world that needed to experience His transforming
love. At that moment, I knew I wanted to "travel the world
for Jesus" and the mission field would be my goal. It would
be at age 30 where I would be spiritually mature enough to
take that first step of faith towards making it a lifestyle.
Little did I realize that I have been taking steps of faith
throughout my life preparing me for this moment. I believe
this is an act of obedience to the Lord and a huge leap of
faith to pursue such an opportunity.READ STORY
Hypocrisy:
Do We Hate Phonies? by Don Jibaro hyp·o·crite
—ˈhipəkrit/ noun a person who indulges in hypocrisy — synonyms:
pretender, dissembler, deceiver, liar, pietist,
sanctimonious person, plaster saint;
A simple Definition of
hypocrite: a person who claims or pretends to have certain
beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that
disagrees with those beliefs Many Puerto Ricans who are born
outside of Puerto Rico get a real thrill when they finally
get to visit the island for the first time. It's like
"seeing the bride that you've been betrothed to all your
life." READ MORE
DROP the
RICAN ACCENT Dept.
To Be Understood in the USA, You Must
Kill the Words as You Pronounce Them
In
the early 1950s, Puerto Rico had just become an official
"Commonwealth" of the U.S.A. and we, as children,
learned English as a supplemental way to enrich our
horizons. Inasmuch as it was mandatory in public
schools, we didn't "need" to learn it, but when we did,
we learned the "classic" verbiage. We read "Dick and
Jane" ad learned to pronounce the words properly in case
we ever needed to come to the States.
"Run, Spot, run." —said Jane
"Run fast, Spot." —said Dick
Well, we came to the States and nobody spoke like that.
Everyone spoke... idioms, slang, dialects, lingo,
mumbo-jumbo... etc.
Today we kill the words in the English language... which
is nothing new. We kill the words differently than our
ancestors did. Shakespeare spins within his grave. READ MORE
HOW TO SPEAK AMERICANO III Dept.
What's an Oxymoron? Edited by Don Jibaro
Along with the Spanish, I studied proper English and
it's literature in the schools of Puerto Rico from 1952
to 1964. My teachers made shure that the phonetics and
dictions were executed flawlessly.
However when I came to USA in 1973, I found that English
was spoken much different to the stuff I had learned.
They had stuff called "SLANG that could be used to fit
on any lirterary exchange. But that's another story.
Behold! I now bring you the American Oximoron, a set of
words dedicated to and spoken by the idiots that roam
the land...
An oxymoron (plural "oxymora")
(noun - not to be confused with Oxymoron (band).)
is a figure of speech that combines two normally
contradictory terms (e.g. "anarchy rules"). Oxymoron is
a Greek term derived from the adjectives oxys ("sharp,
keen") and moros ("blunt, dull"). Oxymora are a proper
subset of the expressions.... READ MORE
Glossary of Boricua Cooking
Terms (Thanks to Hector Valera)
A Caballo - a folkloric
expression that means a plate of rice and beans with a
fried egg "mounted" on top. Aceite con Achiote - annatto oil. Aceite de Maiz - corn oil Aceituna - olive. The olive most
used in Puerto Rico is the manzanilla, which is a pitted
green olive stuffed with pimiento. Acelga - Swiss chard. Used to make
caldo Gallego (Galician Soup)
Acerola
- West Indian or Bardados cherry. This fruit is best
known for its high vitamin C content. Traditionally it
was used to make refresco de acerola, or acerola juice.
Achiote or Achote - annatto seeds. Achiotera - a container used to store
annatto oil with its seeds. The oil is heated every
time it is needed so the seeds can release their
yellow color.
Let Jesus Christ
into Your Life 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 grandma knew that!
READ MORE
The Amazing Power of Gratitude
There's Always Someone Worse Off Than You!
----by Don Jíbaro
The Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, tell us that Jesus passed through a village
where ten lepers, men with a very serious skin disease, met Him. They stayed
at a distance because they were not allowed to approach anyone who was
healthy. From a distance they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, master,
have mercy on us!” As He told them to go and show themselves to the Priest,
all ten men were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. “One of them,
when he saw that he had been healed, came...
READ MORE
" The proof of the pudding is not merely in the eating,
but in how you feel after you've eaten it." — Don Jibaro
The Flag Of Puerto Rico
The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted
by the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be
traced to 1868, when the first Puerto Rican flag, "The
Revolutionary Flag of Lares", was conceived by Dr. Ramón
Emeterio Betances and embroidered by the great Mariana
"Brazos de Oro" Bracetti. This flag was used in the
short-lived Puerto Rican revolt against Spanish rule in
the island, known as "El Grito de Lares".READ MORE
SPAM
& EGGS
SPAM - Unwanted Email...
Clogged Bandwidth and the problem with “Cutesies”
Special Commentary By Don Jibaro y
friend from Bayamón, Chebo and I no longer share the
philosophy of life through email anymore. Now he just
sends me "forwards" that he collects from the Internet
or that people send to him. What once was a profound
exchange of "nuggets of truth" between friends has
become a bombardment of "cutesies". Cutesies (cute
things) are those snippets that you get forwarded from
someone who got it forwarded to him by someone who...
well, you get the idea, don't you? READ MORE
My Incredible Tío Genaro
“Yo conozco el Buey Que Faja y La Víbora Que Pica.”
("I know the bull that charges and the snake that
bites.") —by Don Jibaro The memories of my Uncle Genaro... go back to
1956, when I was eight years old living in El Barrio La
Cambija in the town of Bayamón. His name was Genaro
Reyes Vázquez and he was blind, but he wasn’t always
blind. Before suffering glaucoma, the eye disease that
blinded him, my uncle was a picturesque man that knew
everyone in town and everyone knew him. He never got
married. Instead he traveled about the island of Puerto
Rico by bus or “pisicorre pública” (sort of station
wagon taxi that many people share in one trip). He loved
to go to the town’s “plaza” and watch the old timers
play dominó… while holding his chin with one hand, elbow
with the other hand and muttering “Mmmm” occasionally.
He seldom played, but he knew a lot of “tranques”
(blocks). READ MORE
The Art of
Pleasing Others
Oh, I've gotten Hell on Earth for voicing my opinion
here and there... Sometimes I feel like I need to buy me a
shotgun and shoot the computer.... ...and just go back a notepad
and a pencil. But you know, I can't live by myself, I'm too
gregarious to not even have a dog that I could boss around...
"Mira, apéate del sofá, sato asqueroso..."
Consequently, I compromise... I go to my psychiatrist who
teaches me the two arts: the art of conquering misanthropy (no
offense) and the art of fitting into an environment I don't like
it!!!... My neighbors, they all wanna lock me up. So what do I
do? Compromise! That's what I do, yes sir! Compromise is a
concept of finding agreement through communication, through a
mutual acceptance of terms… yada yada —often involving
variations from an original goal or desire… blah blah... and
BLAH! READ DONKEY
El Valle de Collores Poema de Luis
Lloréns Torres 14 de mayo de 1876 — 16 de junio de 1944,Juana Díaz, PR
Cuando salí de Collores, fue en una jaquita baya
por un sendero entre mayas arropás de cundiamores.
Adiós, malezas y flores de la barranca del río,
y mis noches del bohío, y aquella apacible calma,
y los viejos de mi alma, y los hermanitos míos. READ MORE
The First Puerto Rican Astronaut Ralph Acaba will never forget the day his son Joe called to let him know
his life had astronomically changed. "He called me at work, so I answered as I
used to do, 'Hi, this is Ralph,' and my job title," said the father, who was a
private-school administrator. "He said, 'Hi, this is Joe, astronaut.' There are
very few things in life that one remembers forever."
Nearly five years after that phone call, the Acaba family is counting the days
until Joe's first trip aboard space shuttle Discovery, which
is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12.
He'll be America's first astronaut of Puerto Rican descent. READ STORY
¿Why
Do We Worry? by Don Jibaro t
has been said that there are two days that people worry most
about but should actually worry least about: Yesterday and
Tomorrow. We worry about yesterday - the mistakes we've made
and what we would like to do over or differently. Yet, there
is nothing we can do to change yesterday.
Our worries are wasted. Meaning? Give way to anxiety
or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or
troubles. a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or
potential problems.
READ MORE
ASK
DON JIBARO Dear Jibaro
What does it mean "turn the other cheek"? Curious
Dear Curious:
FIRST, It's Don Jibaro, oite?... Good question! It certainly doesn't mean
that you go around gathering gasnatá handmarks on your face or be a dummy
for all to abuse. The spirit of the remark, as stated in Luke 6:29, means
that you don't have to pay evil for evil or seek revenge when someone wrongs
you. That you can let one slide, or two or maybe three times if necessary. I
know that's unusual but is not that difficult to do. I've done it and I
still have my whole face. Don Jibaro
The Amazing Gospel of Garlic!
To use the word “gospel” is no heresy… after all, the word
"gospel" just means “Good News” by Don Jíbaro 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
Anger=Danger
By DonJibaro
My son and I were at the local market when and we heard a
toddler crying loudly in the next aisle. I left my son with
the cart and went to see... Well, there was a lady comparing
the price of two items AND a 3 or 4 year old boy kicking the
shopping cart and screaming "I want that toy, I want that
toy NOW !!!"
I rushed back to my son and said something like: "Somebody
is taking over." Of course... I meant the kid over his mom.
"That kid will definitely have major issues with self
-control when he grows up," --I added. You see, I am not a
psychologist by trade but in 61½ years I've had a great deal
of anger related experiences; both with family and
friends... to the point that I have created a need to
understand anger, oppression and even death.... READ MORE
Breeding Ethnicity By Mrs. Don Jíbaro n our house, everyone knows that there is a
Puerto Rican father living here. The neighbors know it. The congregation of
our church knows that there is a Puerto Rican among them. My relatives know
that I am married to a Puerto Rican. Even the people at my job know it! What
does that tell you? He is who he is and he’s proud of it. In our house we
eat Puerto Rican meals.
There are Puerto Rican flags in the living room along with wood photo
plaques of typical country scenes adorning the walls: ceramic coquis, wooden
pilones, lace fans and a three by one foot wooden clock in the shape of the
island.
READ MORE
HOW NOT 2 GET BEAT UP by POLICE
by Chris Rock:
"If the police stops you, for whatever reason,
SHUT your mouth and follow their instructions."
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 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
As an amateur historian, I have no intention of re-writing
history... so please abstain from shooting in this direction
if you happen to disagree with me. I just want to, if you'll
allow me, add a little bit more of light unto the data we
already have. Remember... "a picture is worth a thousand
words." Therefore, memory is worth having, especially for
those of us who weren't there. If you travel to some
areas in Puerto Rico, you might be able to see some traces
of all those years ago. Everything was simple, significant
and impacting. Your Grandma told you about those times.
¿Didn't she?
Caserio en Ponce 1942 --- The first housing
projects were not concrete apartments as became in the 1950s
and 60s, but individual houses with their own outhouses
(letrinas) --- READ MORE
Love yourself... just in case nobody does.
Don't spread rumors, good or bad;
instead SPREAD Love and Kindness
Don Jíbaro’s Keyboard Shortcuts Windows System Key Combination Tips
F1: Help
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
ALT+F4: Quit program
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
Windows Program Key Combinations
CTRL+C: Copy -- CTRL+X: Cut -- CTRL+V: Paste --
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+B: Bold -- CTRL+U: Underline CTRL+I: Italic MORE HERE
Bingo The Dog Plays The Drums
Who Was Juan Tizol?
The Puerto Rican Trombonist that
Made up Duke Ellington's Band
One of my favorites jazz tunes of all times is "Caravan"
but I never knew that the composer was a Puerto Rican.
Juan Tizol was born in San Juan Puerto Rico on Jan. 22,
1900, started music lessons early, was trained as a
valve trombonist and as a teenager played in the San
Juan Municipal Band. Tizol moved to the U.S. in 1920 and
became valve trombonist in the pit band of the Howard
Theatre in Washington DC, was a member of the Marie
Lucas Orchestra, Bobby Lee’s Cottonpickers, and the
White Brothers Band. His big break came in August of
1929 when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra... READ MORE
You Gotta See this: LOS PERROS
SALSA
CLASSICS
Two of the most remarkable classical
pieces in music history have been converted into salsa by
the genius of Sverre Indris Joner... Wait! This the
Symphonies like you never heard them before. Pay attention
to the syncopation and the relationship between two or more
melodies that are independent in contour and rhythm and are
harmonically interdependent. WoW! Air in G - Air Bach
ith
the Internet phenomenon, I have found that most of my
pals of the R&R youth years are still doing well... in
Florida. Although many Puerto Rican rather have the island's
landscape beauty, others feel the economy there is
detrimental for the kind of lifestyle they want. College
grads, policemen, teachers, artists and a slew of other
professionals are seeking Florida. WHAT happened? Is the
local economy THAT bad? Where's the money gone? (Please
don't say the Governor's shoes) 
Is
Vulture Hedge Funds
Killing PR?
¿Why Worry?
Pedro Albizu
Campos (September 12, 1891 – April 21, 1965) 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. 
This is still
an easier way to learn about the Bible and
introduce it to others, done in simple terms.
Ivonne
Figueroa...
Bitterness
and Resentment
In
the early 1950s, Puerto Rico had just become an official
"Commonwealth" of the U.S.A. and we, as children,
learned English as a supplemental way to enrich our
horizons. Inasmuch as it was mandatory in public
schools, we didn't "need" to learn it, but when we did,
we learned the "classic" verbiage. We read "Dick and
Jane" ad learned to pronounce the words properly in case
we ever needed to come to the States.
used in Puerto Rico is the manzanilla, which is a pitted
green olive stuffed with pimiento.
There's Always Someone Worse Off Than You!
SPAM
& EGGS
t
has been said that there are two days that people worry most
about but should actually worry least about: Yesterday and
Tomorrow. We worry about yesterday - the mistakes we've made
and what we would like to do over or differently. Yet, there
is nothing we can do to change yesterday. 
ASK
DON JIBARO
Pasteles
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. 
