My Enchanted Island

Acknowledgement

This book is dedicated to my loving family, especially my sister Adelin and my father Juan. They are both gone; however, they live very deep in my heart. They were always there when I needed them.

Introduction

FAMILY STORIES

I can only say that we should treasure each moment of our lives. I am sitting here remembering about my childhood. Wow, there are many pleasant memories. Some are gone; however, they live very deep in my heart.

STORIES or TALES

Some of my stories will help my readers realize that life is too short.

Even though this is a recollection of my life and others in my family, it will help young adults relate to their own family ties.

As you begin reading, you will notice that I began with the history of my island. It is not only interesting, but important to know the origin of any individual….

Contents

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Chapter 1. Puerto Rico My Enchanted Island

Chapter 2. Grandma’s Stories

Chapter 3. Spaniards in Puerto Rico 1493–1898

Chapter 4. Enslaved Africans in Puerto Rico

Chapter 5. The Melting Pot of the Caribbean

Chapter 6. The Birth

Chapter 7. Father and Son fighting for the Same Cause

Chapter 8. Waiting for the Worst

Chapter 9. The Christening

Chapter 10. Growing Up in Puerto Rico

Chapter 11. The Visit September 1959

Chapter 12. New York City

Chapter 13. Do you believe in Angels?

Chapter 14. First Christmas in New York

Chapter 15. New Year 1960

Chapter 16. Returning to Puerto Rico 1972

Chapter 17. January 1999

Chapter 18. Dolores Rodriguez Quiles

Chapter 19. Memories of my grandpa will last a lifetime

Chapter 20. Guadalupe Rodriguez De Pagan

Chapter 21. The Process of Life

Chapter 22. My Sister

Chapter 23. My Nephews

Chapter 24. My brothers: Juan José Pagán Morales Julio Manuel Pagán Morales

Chapter 25. My Mother and her In-laws

Chapter 26. Vicente Pagan Rodriguez

Chapter 27. Liduvina Perez Echevarria

Chapter 28. My Best Friend

Chapter 29. My kids have paws

Chapter 30. Life After Retirement

Chapter 31. Afterword

References

About the Author

Chapter 1

Puerto Rico My Enchanted Island

Did you know that Puerto Rico is only a two-hour flight from the continental U.S.? How convenient is that? If you live in the states, you could be on a plane tomorrow to America’s Caribbean territory and relax on untouched beaches in no time.

Maybe you’ll check the art museums in San Juan and shop at chic boutiques. At night, you could sip piña coladas and salsa dance. Vacationing in Puerto Rico provides you with this and more.

Come and discover the best island in the Caribbean, my Puerto Rico.

San Juan, the bustling capital city, was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521 and is the second-oldest European- founded city in the Americas. It’s somewhat crowded with 4 million sanguineous.

But don’t let this deter you from exploring the metropolis which mixes modern and colonial architecture.

Just walk around the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan and you’ll see UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the governor’s mansion and fortifications.

You must go to El Balneario de Carolina and catch some sun on one of San Juan’s best beaches. You may even want to parasail. To immerse yourself in history, head to Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a 16th-century fortress and explore the surroundings.

After that, go to Condado’s Avenida Ashford and shop until you drop by designer boutiques.

Your visit to San Juan wouldn’t be complete without sailing on San Juan Bay. First, you’ll be welcomed aboard and given safety instructions.

You’ll also learn the basics of sailing. Next, it’s time to set sail for a two-hour sailboat cruise. You’ll relax and sip complimentary drinks and eat fresh strawberries or appetizers, extra purchase, as your guide tells you the history of San Juan, share cultural insights.

The perfect waters will mesmerize you and as you look for dolphins, sea turtles and stingrays.

Also, notice various seabirds. Tours are usually limited to six people and make for a more intimate experience.

Grab your raingear and enjoy a half-day trip to the El Yunque rainforest. It’s here that you’ll find waterfalls, spectacular views, the habitat of Puerto Rico’s plants and endangered wildlife, and nature trails. In fact, the 2.6 trail puts you upon the summit at 3,496 feet.

If you want to enhance your hike, go along Forest Road 10 to the Mt. Britton observation tower and climb the spiral staircase that leads to a viewing platform. Bring your camera, so you can take photos to share with family and friends.

When the sun goes down, you don’t have to call it a night. Have a kayak adventure on a lagoon at Las Cabezas de San Juan Reserve and you’ll see how the water sparkles and shines underneath you.

How does this happen? When your paddle or hand brushes through the water, plankton glows in fluorescent colors, making your water adventure an enchanted experience. You can even swim in the water to make it even more of a magical moment. How cool is that?

The blend of Spanish, Indian and African influences give Puerto Rico an international charm. It’s easy to see why Puerto Rico attracts millions of visitors and is called the Island of Enchantment by locals.

Not only does the country offer fun in the sun, but it has cool bars and lush rainforests, too. It’s the perfect getaway because there’s something for everyone. Let’s face it, you won’t be able to resist the charm of Puerto Rico’s adventurous history and tropical land.

When you get tired of the north part of Puerto Rico, come and visit us jibaritos on the south part of the island….

This might sound like an advertisement but is not. I live on this island. I was born in Ponce, and now I live in Mayaguez.

I sometimes get angry because all you hear is about San Juan. The whole island is beautiful. Tourism only concentrates in San Juan. I bet they have never visited our 78 towns. Each town is unique in their own way.

This book will explain everything about my island.

PUERTO RICO!

Chapter 2

Grandma’s Stories

My dear abuelita, Ceferina Figueroa Bellos. She was my mother’s mother. She was a very quiet and gentle person. Ceferina was quite a storyteller. She used to tell me many stories about the Taíno Indians and many more.

I remember running to her house every afternoon right after school. Grandma would have a pitcher of lemonade and freshly baked cookies. My brother Julio and I never missed our story hour. It was rather pleasant listening to abulita’s sweet angelic voice.

Believe me, it was better than any T.V. program. She should have written everything she narrated because they were enjoyable legends for the entire family.

She began each event as followed:

I want you, Normy and Chiqui, to never forget where you came from. It is important to treasure our customs and traditions. Also, I want both of you to pass it on to our future generations.

Abuelita’s voice was magical. We were transported into the past the minute she began talking…

The Island of Puerto Rico was originally populated by the Taíno Indians. It was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus for the Kingdom of Spain….

The Taíno Indians were divided into two categories:

The Naborias and the Nitaínos

The Naborias were the commoners and the Nitaínos were the nobles. They were governed by male chiefs known as Caciques. Both groups were advised by priests or healers known as Bohiques.

The Caciques

The Caciques liked the privilege of wearing golden pendants called guanine. They used to live in square bohíos, instead of the round ones of ordinary villagers. They always sat on wooden stools to be above the guests they received.

Now let’s take a look at the Bohiques

The Bohiques were well respected because of their healing powers. They had the ability to speak with God. The Bohiques were consulted and were the only ones to grant the Taíno’s permission to engage in important tasks.

The Matrilineal System

The Taíno had a matrilineal system of kinship, descent and inheritance. When a male heir was not present, the inheritance or succession would go to the oldest male child of the deceased’s sister.

The Taíno had post-marital residence, meaning a newly married couple lived in the household of the maternal uncle. He was more important in the lives of his niece’s children than their biological father.

The uncle introduced the boys to men’s societies. Some Taíno practiced polygamy. Men, and sometimes women, might have two or three spouses. A few caciques had as many as thirty wives.

HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS

The Taíno women

The Taíno women were highly skilled in agriculture.

Those women really had a green thumb. Planting was very important for the whole tribe. Everyone depended on it. The vegetables and fruits were part of their daily meals.

The Taíno men

The men’s job was to go fishing and hunting. They made fishing nets and ropes from cotton and palm trees. Bows and arrows were used for hunting. They developed the use of poisons on their arrowheads.

Their dugout canoes were made in various sizes. The canoes were so big that they could hold from two to one hundred and fifty people. An average-sized canoe would hold about fifteen to twenty people.

Hair and clothing style

A frequently worn hair style for women featured bangs in front and longer hair in back. They sometimes wore gold jewelry, paint, and or shells. Taíno men sometimes wore short skirts. Taíno women wore a similar garment after marriage.

Living Quarters

The Taíno lived in settlements called yucayeques, which varied in size depending on the location. Those in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola were the largest. They had smaller yucayeques in the Bahamas.

In the center of a typical village was a central plaza, used for various social activities such as games, festivals, religious rituals, and public ceremonies.

The plazas had many shapes, including oval, rectangular narrow and long. Ceremonies were the deeds of our ancestors. They were called areitos.

Areítos were especially common among the Classic Taíno of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, but they were held in all Taíno areas. Areítos were held for a variety of reasons.

Explanation of the Areitos

In the early days of European colonization, Taíno chiefs hosted areítos for Spanish visitors, who recorded information about the ceremonies.

According to the historical documentation, areítos often featured assemblies of nobles dancing and singing to music played with rattles and drums.

The ceremonies invoked elements of the Taíno culture and religious practice. These practices included worship of the zemi and ancestors. Areítos were held in designated spaces, specifically the public plaza or dance ground outside the chief’s house.

Classic Taíno villages often featured an elaborate dance court, an outdoor area surrounded by earthwork banks and sometimes stone carvings of the zemi.

Often, the general population lived in large circular buildings bohios, constructed with wooden poles, woven straw, and palm leaves. These houses, built surrounding the central plaza, could hold ten to fifteen families.

The cacique and his family lived in rectangular buildings called Caney of similar construction, with wooden porches.

The Taíno‘s home furnishings included cotton hammocks, hamacas, sleeping and sitting mats made of palms, wooden chairs dujo or duh with woven seats, platforms, and cradles for children.

Caguana Ceremonial ball court or batey were outlined with stones. At the batey the Taíno played their ceremonial games. Those games on the batey are believed to have been used for conflict resolution between communities.

The most elaborate ball courts are found at chiefdoms’ boundaries. Often, chiefs made wagers on the possible outcome of a game.

Those games were very organized. They had opposing teams with ten to thirty players. Each team used a solid rubber ball. Normally, the teams were composed of men, but occasionally women played the game as well.

Arawak Language

The term Arawak originally applied specifically to the South American group who self-identified as Arawak or Lokono. The Taíno Indians spoke Arawak. They did not have written communication.

Arawakan was a term meaning good or noble that some is used to distinguish their group from the neighboring Island Caribs.

In 1871, ethnologist Daniel Garrison Brinton proposed calling the Caribbean population Island Arawak. This was due to their cultural and linguistic similarities with the mainland Arawak.

After a while, the scholars shortened this convention to Arawak, creating confusion between the island and mainland groups.

In the 20th century, scholars such as Irving Rouse resumed using Taíno for the Caribbean group to emphasize their distinct culture and language.

These are some Taíno words that have been incorporated into Spanish and English:

For warfare, the men made wooden war clubs, which they called macana. It was about one inch thick and was like the coco macaque. By the way, we still use the word macana.

Sometimes Mama Nina would explain how the Taínos made their meals. As she explained it, she prepared delicious treats of casabe.

Taíno ate balanced meals. Their nutrition included vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish. There were no large animals native to the Caribbean, but they captured and ate small animals, such as hutias which are from the rodent’s family. The Taíno also ate earthworms, lizards, turtles, and birds.

The Manatees were speared. The fish were caught in nets, speared, trapped in dams, or caught with hook and line. Wild parrots were decoyed with domesticated birds. The iguanas were taken from trees and other vegetation.

The Taíno stored live animals until they were ready to be consumed: fish and turtles were stored in dams, and hutias and dogs were stored in corrals.

Due to this lack of large animals, the Taíno people became very skilled fishermen. One technique was to hook a remora, also known as a suckerfish, to a line secured to a canoe and wait for the fish to attach itself to a larger fish or even a