Seba's diary: Chapter 3

"On the other hand, I would not want to forget to collect in this diary the difficult situation that the country lives in right now. In the last few months, the government has fired more than 23,000 employees (know that the Island has a population of a few more than 4M); imagine the proportion of families affected. To that effect today there's a National Strike with great repercussions... I hope no altercations occur, despite that the citizens' mood is comprehensibly more and more agitated."

NOTE: The chapters from this blog are a translation from an original blog written since 2009 by Sebastián Galafate. Translation by Mariana Ortiz-Reyes

Puerto Rico & Corsica: different but similar

Author: Jonathan Delgado

I find between Puerto Rico and Corsica two different but similar people that maintain their own identity, although they are part of a territory from a culture distinct from them.

I visited Corsica for the first time in the summer of 2010, where I had the opportunity of experiencing PEC 04. PEC is the Program for Corsica Studies that the School of Architecture has been offering its students during the last six years through the sequence of conservation studies and the Archive of Architecture and Construction of the University of Puerto Rico [AACUPR]. My interest for participating in cultural trips brought me to form part of this program for foreign studies. The main purpose of the PEC is to document the architectural heritage that was built by the Corsicans emigrants that went to America during the XIX century and later returned to Corsica to make their homes for retirement. In the summer of 2010, during three months I documented some of the buildings that the Corsicans who returned from the diasporas constructed in the city of Bastia and the community of Morsiglia. During the PEC I became aware that Puerto Rico and the Caribbean was an important destiny for a group of Corsican emigrants and that the majority of these emigrants were from the north extreme of the island, specifically from the Cap Corse. 

My participation in the PEC 04 sparked an interest for knowing more about these buildings, or “houses of the Americans”, how they are known in Corsica. This interest grew because once I returned from PEC 04, I had the opportunity of working as Research Assistant at the AACUPR, managing first hand the documentation that was realized during the PEC that summer. As Research Assistant I also returned to Corsica during the 2011 and 2012 summers to assist in the work that PEC 05 and PEC 06 performed to continue the documentation. The buildings targeted were the fruit of the fortunes built in America in the city of Bastia, and the communities of Pino, Luri and Sisco, and also in the north extreme of the island. So much was my interest for the “houses of the Americans” that I developed my Final Project for the Masters in Architecture on the theme of emigration of Corsicans and proposed a Center for Studies of the Corsican Emigration in the community of Pino.

PEC gave me the opportunity to travel, but even more important I was able to live during three summers immersed in a culture very different from mine. These experiences have become a referent to reflect about some of the elements that I find different, but at the same time similar, in my identity as a Puerto Rican and the culture in which I was inserted during my participation in PEC.

The observations that I share should not be interpreted as a definition for the Puerto Rican nor Corsican cultural identity, but rather a reflection about some elements that I identify –from the point of view of my experience in the PEC- as characteristics between both cultures, and that oscillate between differences and similarities. My observations cluster in three main topics, which are: (2) Geography, (2) Economy, and (3) Politics. I think that these observations summarize a good part of my experience in the cultural exchange in Corsica, but also abound about the restlessness for understanding my Puerto Rican cultural identity.

I find it hard to think about Puerto Rico and Corsica without associating the similarities about their geographic references.

Both Puerto Rico and Corsica share the characteristics of being islands, of being situated in seas between continents and of being part of an archipelago. The island of Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea, between North America and South America, and forms part of the Antilles archipelago. Corsica is located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Europe and Africa, in the Tuscan archipelago. The contours of the littorals of both islands determine similar topographic reliefs, the interior is mountainous and from this emerge many rivers and springs, and the valleys are costal. Despite of the similarities in topography, the climate contrasts; in Puerto Rico the climate is tropical while in Corsica is template. It is the proportion of the territorial extension where -in the most graphic form- the difference between the islands is expressed. The northern and southern extremes of the island of Puerto Rico are separated 35 miles, while the east and western extremes separate approximately 100 miles. In contrast, Corsica inverts this proportion. The northern extreme is separate approximately 100 miles for the southern, while the eastern extreme is separate about 50 miles to the western. The orientation of the island of Puerto Rico is predominantly East-West, while in the contrary, Corsica presents an orientation predominantly North-South.

The similarities between the islands can also be found in the image they project about the landscape.

Puerto Rico is known as the Enchanted Island, while Corsica is known as the Island of Beauty. These aliases coincide on presenting both territories as a paradisiacal destination, and promote their natural resources as tourist attractions. During my summer visits I realized that an enormous effort exists for providing the visitors in Corsica general information bulletins about the island and promoting the attractions, indicating that tourism –like in Puerto Rico- is one of the economic pillars. However, a contrast exists between the visitors of Corsica and those who visit Puerto Rico. I observed that the majority of the tourists in Corsica disembark with their motor vehicles to explore and camp; I could see them walking the streets and roads across all the territory of the island, different from the tourist that disembark from the cruise ships at Viejo San Juan to walk the city for a few hours or the ones who confine to the hotel complexes.

At Corsica, similar to Puerto Rico, the majority of the products that are consumed are imported but other edible products are local. Sausages, cheeses and produce are some of these. The local chestnut reminded me of the creativity Puerto Ricans have for preparing the plantain is varied forms. In Corsica the chestnut is prepared in different ways; during winter it is put in the fire, and they also do jam, custards and even beer. In fact, the main local beer is made with chestnut. Pietra is the commercial name of a local beer that competes successfully with other imported brands, equivalent to the Medalla beer brand of Puerto Rico.

Yet the majority of the differences-similarities between Puerto Rico and Corsica are reflective of the one I consider the main one: politics.

I found that Corsica is a politic mirror to Puerto Rico. The geographic attractiveness of Corsica and Puerto Rico is not limited to tourism, invaders, and conquerors. The location of Corsica and Puerto Rico attracted those who wanted to establish a new naval military domain in the region. 

Since the Spanish conquest, Puerto Rico became the coveted “key” that would open the threshold to the New World. If we look at the history of Corsica, its dominance played a similar role in the Mediterranean, although from earlier.

Corsica, different from Puerto Rico, developed a very long and complicated geo-political history, of continuous invasions, that register from pre-history. Despite of its small size, the outcome of the territorial dominance was many times particular to some regions and not necessarily general to the whole island. Ruins and others vestiges are evidence in Corsica of the establishment of Etruscans, Pisans, and Genovese, among others dominant civilizations.

By the end of the XVIII century some Corsican regions, above all in the northern region, had managed to detain the parade of invasions and achieved emancipation for a short while. Pascal Paoli, supported by England, was a leader of that rebellion. The uprisings were in the beginning against Genoa, who had imposed its yuke during the last five centuries in the island. France took advantage of that moment and managed to snatch the insular domain of the Genovese in 1769. The subversion against France continued thereafter that moment. Napoleon Bonaparte I (born in Corsica) directed the French and eventually achieved total domination of his home island.

Map of the island of Corsica identifying the communities that were documented during my experience in PEC. 

Puerto Rico and Corsica share a political future tempered by invaders and conquests, but also by frustrated attempts for independence. 

The invasion by the American in Puerto Rico in 1898, and the domain of France over Corsica frames the essence of the political mirror; both islands are the spoils of war that the two emerging powers acquired. In both cases the military domain was followed by an intense attempt for cultural domain: Americanization of Puerto Rico and Corsica Frenchified.  

One can observe, nonetheless, a resistance that remains successful -although each time more fragile- before the attempts of cultural domination.

In both people there exists an identity that is particular, and among other elements, characterized by a language foreign to the invader. In Puerto Rico, in spite of the “English only” attempts, Spanish is maintained in daily use, distinguished by particularities that differ from other Spanish-speaking people. France, different from the U.S., achieved to establish French as official language in Corsica, however –although with a tinge of folklore- the Corsican language has been kept alive.

About this last observation it is needless to emphasize that the French domination in Corsica was established 129 years before the U.S. in Puerto Rico. This gap of just over a century makes me think: Will it be the latter difference only a matter of time?

Encuentro en Puerto Rico y Córcega dos pueblos distintamente  similares que mantienen una identidad propia, aunque sean parte del territorio de una cultura distinta a la suya.

Visité Córcega por primera vez durante el verano de 2010, allí tuve  la oportunidad de vivir la experiencia del  PEC 04.  PEC es el Programa de Estudios en Córcega que la Escuela de Arquitectura ha ofrecido a sus estudiantes durante los últimos seis años por medio de la secuencia de estudios en conservación y el Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico [AACUPR]. Mi interés por participar en viajes culturales me condujo a formar parte de este programa de estudios en el extranjero. El  propósito del PEC es principalmente documentar el patrimonio arquitectónico que edificaron los emigrantes corsos que zarparon hacia América durante el siglo XIX y luego regresaron a Córcega para hacer sus moradas de retiro. En el verano del 2010, durante tres meses, documenté algunas de las edificaciones que los corsos que regresaron de la diáspora construyeron en la ciudad de Bastia y la comunidad  de Morsiglia. En el PEC cobré consciencia de que Puerto Rico y el Caribe fueron el destino de un importante grupo de emigrantes corsos y que la mayoría de estos emigraron desde el extremo norte de la isla, específicamente desde el Cabo Corso [Ilust.1]. Mi participación en el PEC 04 despertó un interés por conocer más sobre estas  edificaciones o “casas de los americanos”, como se les conoce en Córcega. Ese interés fue creciendo ya que cuando  regresé de mi experiencia de PEC 04 tuve la oportunidad de trabajar como asistente de investigación en el AACUPR, manejando de primera mano las documentaciones que se realizaron en el PEC ese verano. Como asistente de investigación también regresé a Córcega en los veranos de 2011 y 2012 para asistir en los trabajos que realizó el  PEC 05 y PEC 06 para continuar documentando las estructuras fruto de las fortunas hechas en América en la ciudad de Bastia, las comunidades de Pino, Luri y Sisco, también en el extremo norte de la isla. Tanto fue mi interés por “las casas de los americanos” que desarrollé mi Proyecto de Fin de Carrera para el grado de Maestría en Arquitectura como un Centro de Estudios sobre la Emigración Corsa para la comunidad de Pino.

El PEC me dio la oportunidad de viajar, pero más aun, de vivir insertado durante tres veranos en una cultura distinta a la mía.  Estas experiencias se han convertido en un referente para reflexionar sobre algunos elementos que encuentro distintos, pero a la vez similares, en mi identidad como puertorriqueño y la cultura en la que estuve insertado durante mi participación en el PEC.

Las  observaciones que  comparto  no deben interpretarse como una definición de la identidad cultural puertorriqueña o la corsa, sino más bien como una reflexión sobre algunos elementos  que identifico –desde la óptica de mi experiencia en el PEC- característicos entre ambas culturas y que oscilan  entre diferencias y similitudes. Mis observaciones se agrupan en tres temas principales, estos son: (1) Geografía, (2) Economía y (3) Política. Creo que estas observaciones comprimen buena parte de  mi experiencia de intercambio cultural  en Córcega, pero  expanden también la inquietud por entender mi puertorriqueñidad.

Me resulta muy difícil pensar en Puerto Rico y en Córcega sin asociar  las similitudes en  sus referencias geográficas. Tanto Puerto Rico como Córcega comparten las características de ser islas,  de encontrarse en un mar entre dos continentes y de ser parte de un archipiélago. La isla de Puerto Rico se encuentra en el Mar Caribe, entre América del Norte y América del Sur y forma  parte del archipiélago de  las Antillas.  Córcega se encuentra en el Mar Mediterráneo, entre Europa  y África, en el archipiélago toscano. El contorno de los litorales en ambas islas determina un relieve topográfico parecido, el interior es montañoso y de éste brota una gran cantidad de ríos y manantiales, sus valles son costeros. A pesar de la semejanza en su topografía, el clima contrasta, en Puerto Rico el clima es tropical mientras que en Córcega es templado. Es en la proporción de su extensión territorial donde se manifiesta- quizás de la manera más gráfica- la diferencia entre estas islas. Los extremos Norte y Sur de la isla de Puerto Rico se separan 35 millas, mientras que los extremos Este y Oeste se separan aproximadamente 100millas. Córcega, en contraste, invierte esta proporción. El extremo Norte se distancia aproximadamente 100 millas del Sur, mientras que el extremo Este se distancia cerca de 50 millas del Oeste. La orientación de la isla de Puerto Rico es predominantemente Este-Oeste,  por el contrario, Córcega presenta una orientación predominantemente Norte-Sur.

Las semejanzas entre estas islas también se pueden encontrar en la imagen que proyectan de su paisaje. Puerto Rico se le conoce como la isla del encanto, a Córcega como la isla de la belleza. Estos alias coinciden en presentar  ambos terruños como un destino paradisiaco,  promocionan sus bellezas naturales como atracciones turísticas. Durante mis visitas de verano  me percaté que existe un gran esfuerzo por hacer accesible a los visitantes en Córcega boletines con información general sobre la isla y  promociones  de sus atracciones,  indicando  que el turismo –como en Puerto Rico- es uno de sus pilares económicos. Existe, no obstante, un contraste entre los visitantes en Córcega y los que visitan Puerto Rico. Observé  que la mayoría de los turistas en Córcega desembarcaban y embarcaban  en sus vehículos de motor para ir a explorar y acampar, se les veía recorriendo  las calles y caminos en casi toda le extensión territorial de la isla, distinto a los turistas que desembarcan de los cruceros en el Viejo San para  caminar la ciudad por unas horas o los que se confinan en  recintos  hoteleros de y visitan  lugares específicos como El Yunque o Condado.

En Córcega,  similar a Puerto Rico, la mayoría de los productos que se consumen son importados pero se destaca el consumo de algunos productos alimenticios locales. Embutidos, quesos y frutos, son algunos de éstos. La castaña es un fruto local que me hizo recordar la creatividad que los puertorriqueños hemos desarrollado para confeccionar de maneras tan variadas el plátano. El fruto del castaño se prepara de diversas formas también, al fuego (en invierno), mermelada, flan y hasta en cerveza.  De hecho, la cerveza local principal  en la isla es de castaña. La cerveza Pietra (nombre de la marca comercial) es de los pocos productos que compite exitosamente contra otras marcas importadas en el territorio insular, equivalente a la cerveza Medalla en Puerto Rico.

Pero  la mayoría de las similitudes-distintas  entre Puerto Rico y Córcega son reflejo de lo que considero la principal: la política. Durante mi experiencia en PEC encontré en Córcega un espejo político. El atractivo geográfico de Córcega y Puerto Rico no se limita al turismo,  invasores  y conquistadores  a lo largo de sus historias sintieron la necesidad de adueñárselas. La localización de Córcega y la de Puerto Rico atrajo a los  que buscaron establecer en su momento, el dominio naval militar de la región.

A partir de la conquista española Puerto Rico se convirtió en “la llave” codiciada que abría el umbral del Nuevo Mundo. Si echamos un vistazo a la historia de Córcega, parece que su dominio  desempeñaba un rol similar en el Mediterráneo, aunque desde mucho antes.

Córcega, a diferencia de Puerto Rico, desarrolló  una historia geo-política muy larga y complicada, de continuas invasiones, que se registran desde la pre-historia. A pesar del pequeño tamaño que tiene,  el desenlace del dominio territorial  fue muchas veces particular a unas regiones y no necesariamente general a toda la isla. Ruinas y otros vestigios evidencian en Córcega el establecimiento  de etruscos, pisanos y genoveses, entre otras civilizaciones dominantes.

Para finales del siglo XVIII algunas regiones de Córcega, sobre todo en  la región norte, habían logrado un paréntesis al desfile de invasiones y alcanzaron emanciparse por un breve periodo de tiempo. Pascal Paoli, apoyado por Inglaterra, fue el líder de esa rebelión. Los levantamientos fueron en un principio contra Génova, quien había impuesto su yugo los últimos cinco siglos en la isla. Francia aprovechó el momento y logró arrebatarles el dominio insular a los genoveses en 1769.  La subversión contra Francia continuó a partir de ese momento. Napoleón Bonaparte I (nacido en Córcega) dirigió a los franceses y logró eventualmente dominar totalmente su isla natal. De modo que Puerto Rico y Córcega comparten un devenir político matizado por invasores  y conquistas, pero también por intentos de independencia frustrados.

La invasión de los Norteamericanos en Puerto Rico en 1898 y el dominio de Francia sobre Córcega enmarca  la esencia del reflejo político, ambas islas son el botín de guerra que adquirieron  dos potencias que emergieron. En ambos casos el dominio militar fue seguido de un intenso intento de dominio cultural: americanización en Puerto Rico y afrancesamiento en Córcega.

Se observa, no obstante, una resistencia que se mantiene  exitosa (aunque cada vez más  frágil) ante los intentos del dominio cultural.  Existe en ambos pueblos una identidad propia y particular, caracterizada entre otros elementos, por una lengua ajena a la del invasor. En Puerto Rico, pese a los intentos de “english only”, todavía el español se mantiene en el uso cotidiano, caracterizado por particularidades que nos distingue de otros pueblos hispanoparlantes. Francia, distinto a los Estados Unidos, logró  establecer en Córcega el francés como idioma oficial y cotidiano, pero no obstante - aunque con matices de folklor- la lengua corsa se ha mantenido viva.

 Sobre esta última observación  no sobra destacar que el dominio francés en Córcega se estableció 129 años antes que el estadounidense en Puerto Rico. Ese desfase de poco más de un siglo me lleva a pensar: ¿será a caso esta última diferencia solo cuestión de tiempo?

Artist Introduction: Naimar Ramírez

FEATURED ON OUR HOME PAGE! 

We introduce new collaborator, artist Naimar Ramírez! Read more about her work below.  

A mask is an intermediary between its wearer and the outside world: a filter, screen or shield.

Photographs of textures from my (current) environment are sculpted, free-form, into heads with unclear identities. In order to transform the object into subject, they are documented, translated back into an image, which is presented on a paper similar to that of which they are made.

In the simplest terms, it is a covering. It can be created in solitude, as an individual expression; it can also be part of a ritual, a cultural action, a response (in agreement or opposition) to society. It can be and do many things at once: it can provide protection or disguise, it can transform and decorate, it can cast a likeness or provide as well as remove an identity, and it can establish a social/cultural connection. It can be deliberate, unintentional or forced upon.

Naimar Ramírez is an artist who concentrates in photography and sculpture. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 2011 with a degree in Environmental Design and Photography, and is currently enrolled in the Photography M.F.A. at Savannah College of Art and Design. A deep interest in cultural encounters and language as well as the inevitable effects of translation on communication, fuel a search for similar mutations in her visual work. The transformations from abstract thought to concrete words are reflected in the photographic explorations, where often images are transformed into empty threedimensional pieces that are presented with an air of 'objectness.'

Artist Profile: Anabel Vázquez

FEATURED THIS WEEK! 

Meet Anabel Vázquez! Anabel is an artist and curator based in Boston, MA. It was an unexpected but great surprise to have met her in Milledgeville, GA at the Georgia College Museum where her art and co-curatorial work Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected is being exhibited. The day before the opening and with the exhibition set-up in the background, I had the chance to sit with Anabel to talk about her trajectory.

Boston is Anabel’s home since 1998, when she transferred from the University of Puerto Rico to Mass Art (Massachusetts College of Art and Design). The creative atmosphere she encountered at Mass Art, alleviated the cultural shock she felt in her transition from Puerto Rico. At Mass Art she majored in photography with a minor in film, skills she masters in her practice by mixing photography with painting and film.

Anabel’s move to Boston coincided with major political and social clashes in Puerto Rico such as a general strike provoked by people’s unrest about the privatization of the telephone company, and the struggle against the U.S. Navy’s military presence in the island-municipality of Vieques. Looking at these situations from a distance and immersed in another culture, made Anabel realize and value the unique combatant nature of her people back in Puerto Rico.

The social atmosphere after September 11 also had great impact on how she saw people feel and act in her surroundings. In 2002, for the commemoration of the anniversary of 911 she was invited by legendary avant-garde filmmaker Saul Levine to participate in a one year anniversary 911 show that he curated at his weekly show Massart Film Society. Soon after she was inspired by the other artists and their work in the 911 show, and invited some of  them to be part of her first series of monthly multimedia shows at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge, From the first show, Kill The Body And The Head Will Die, the core of Esprit de Corps Art collective was conceived.

Focused on political art and in mixed media, Esprit De Corps Art Collective traveled to many cities to share the message. The collective was an international mix of people reaching 15 artists at a time, being Anabel the only Latin American. At this point it became very important for Anabel to continue her work in Boston. for spreading the word about what is going on in Puerto Rico and make the connections with the activism in the U.S.

Since then she has done many curatorial work focused on exchanging cultural values through art. For this she has brought international artists to Puerto Rico, as well as Puerto Rican art to other international cities. Discordia Films, is one of the curatorial projects in which Anabel collaborates with Argentinian and Chilean colleagues for showing international films through tours around South America, North America and Europe.

Anabel currently works in different contexts: as digital archivist of antique collections at the Boston Public Library; manager for a film professor; and also frames exhibitions. Living at one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. requires great sacrifice, reason for which Anabel considered moving back home to continue graduate studies. This plan was abruptly stopped when a curator position at La Galería at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, a program of Boricuas Inquilinos en Acción.

Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción is a non-profit organization that serves low-income communities in Boston, mainly Puerto Rican communities. This organization’s history goes back to 1968 when a group of Puerto Rican activists came together to take control over the displacement of their neighborhood. With this organized effort by the community, Villa Victoria was approved and the government of Boston granted the land.

Uploaded by Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion IBA ETC on 2012-01-31.

Anabel has been the curator since 2010 of La Galería. Through this position she has been able to bring Puerto Rican artists to Boston, and more recently invite Beto Torrens to co-curate Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected. 

More at: 

Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected @ Georgia College [A Review]

Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected @ Georgia College [A Review]

FEATURED THIS WEEK! 

Curated by artist/curator Beto Torrens and artist/curator based in Boston Anabel Vázquez . Georgia Museum curator Shannon Morris

Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected takes you in a journey into Puerto Rico's contemporary art scene through the work of 35 artists. The exhibition has already traveled to Boston, MA, New York City, and Chicago, IL, and is now stationed temporarily at Milledgeville, GA. Inspired on the portability of the artworks, which were literally transported from Puerto Rico to Boston in carry-on luggage, the mixed media collection expresses the complexity of both the individual artists and the cultural reality their work portraits. 

Take a peak at some of the work being showed: 

Aby Ruiz . Abey Charrón . Admín Torres . Alberto Mier . Anabel Vázquez . Aslan . Alexis Bousquet . Bobby Cruz . Beto Torrens . Bubu Negrón . Gerardo Cloquell . Elsa María Meléndez . Héctor Rafael . Iván Girona . Ismo . Jorge Rito Cordero . Jason Mena . Joelly Rodríguez . Juan Negroni . Karlo Ibarra . Lara Calo . Norma Vila Rivero . Nina Méndez Martí . Nepo . Manuel Rodríguez . Myritza Castillo . Melvin Martínez . Alexis Díaz (La Pandilla) . Omar Velázquez . Omar Banuchi . Omar Obdulio . Quique Rivera Rivera . Rafa Miranda . Vincent Diaz Negron . Yolanda Velázquez . Zinthia Vázquez Viera 

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You are still in time! Visit the exhibition through May 10, 2013.

Georgia College Museum 221 North Clarke Street Milledgeville, GA