Lizmarie Delacruz   

Department of English, The City College of New York   

Writing for the Social Sciences (ENGL 2100)   

 Professor Crystal Rodwell

February 10, 2025

The individual I intend to interview is Gabriela Martinez; she gave me consent to share her identity. She is an 18-year-old Puerto Rican woman who I met in high school. Coming from a Dominican background, I am limited in information about Puerto Rican culture. Puerto Rico is a beautiful island which, by going back in history, was colonized by the United States. This event has lasting effects on the people there and their traditions and identity.

The cultural shift after Puerto Rico was colonized included the Americanization of the Puerto Rican flag and the forceful implementation of American citizenship on its people. The island’s official languages are Spanish and English, but with stereotypes such as Puerto Ricans not knowing Spanish, I wonder if this is all due to Americanization. The Idea of Spanglish, a unique blend of English and Spanish, further shows what effect American culture has left on the island.

With Bad Bunny’s new Album relating to so many Puerto Rican viewers, I am very interested in knowing how Americanization has impacted Gabriela as well as the Puerto Rican people. I also want to learn more about gaining a deeper understanding of Gabrella’s experience through my interview. I want to come to a deep understanding focusing on cultural experiences and how connected this has made her to her traditions and native language, Spanish. I wonder if Puerto Rico’s loss of individuality has changed her sense of belonging and if she considers the United States a catalyst that shaped her identity throughout this time. I hope that by showing how islands such as Puerto Rico are damaged by colonization, it sheds light and awareness to those who are unaware of this generational damage.