From a rippled zinc shack in rural Puerto Rico to "the better life" in a decaying Brooklyn tenement, Esmeralda Santiago's Puerto Rican childhood is...
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Nov 09, 2008
Kerry
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When I Was Puerto Rican is the memoir of Esmeralda Santiago, and her journey from a poor young girl living in rural Puerto Rico, to a successful writer based in New York City.
Her story begins in a tin house in Macun. Esmeralda, affectionately called Negi-a shortened version of negra, the Spanish word for black, is the eldest of three children. She has two younger sisters, Delsa and Norma. Her father is a hardworking man, who spends hours of his day outside the home. Negi's mother also More...
Her story begins in a tin house in Macun. Esmeralda, affectionately called Negi-a shortened version of negra, the Spanish word for black, is the eldest of three children. She has two younger sisters, Delsa and Norma. Her father is a hardworking man, who spends hours of his day outside the home. Negi's mother also More...
Oct 18, 2007
Yvette
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This story was wonderful. I love how Esmeralda makes us see life through the eyes of that little girl she once was. Her words are so beautifully descriptive – they took me to the many places she lived and to the era. I also like how honest she was about her parents. She was able to show their tender and loving side as well as their human side, people who made mistakes, even with their children. Many times we forget that our parents are someone other than our mom and our dad.
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Mar 02, 2009
Gabriel
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My coworker once called me a Jibaro because I have family who live in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. Actually at this very moment, my parents who retired, now live there. I remember that beautiful island. Surviving a hurricane, eating mangos, guavas, arroz con gandules, tostones, getting slapped for being a wild child and just being a child growing up on the pearl of the carribean. I enjoyed this book very much, even though my opinion may be biased. Reading this made me greatful for the childhood of whi
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Mar 11, 2009
Purlewe
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Jan 15, 2012
Beth
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I initially read an excerpt of this book in the composition text I was using at Globe University. I enjoyed the except enough to order the book and I was not disappointed.
Esmerelda Santiago was born in Puerto Rico and spent the first twelve years of her life there. Her family life was somewhat chaotic and they moved frequently - from a very rustic life in the country without electricity or running water to various homes in the outskirts of San Juan. The family had seven children in th More...
Esmerelda Santiago was born in Puerto Rico and spent the first twelve years of her life there. Her family life was somewhat chaotic and they moved frequently - from a very rustic life in the country without electricity or running water to various homes in the outskirts of San Juan. The family had seven children in th More...
Nov 21, 2011
When I was puerto rican by esmeralda santiago was a memoir about a young girl named Negi who lives in macun with her mother father and her sibilings. Her parents had a bad relasionship and would argue because of her mom. What attracted me to the book was how big of a heart Negi has struggling to help her mom with her brothers. Which is something common because its always the oldest who help take care of her sibilings.
The story is viewed by Negi's point of view and she expresses her fe More...
The story is viewed by Negi's point of view and she expresses her fe More...
Nov 10, 2011
Bookworm
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I had to read this book for school as a summer reading. Living in Puerto Rico, this is supposed to teach us the value of our country or something like that but I just hated it. The author has great talent though. Especially with her descriptions. And there were some quotes that really stood out for me. Anyway, the book itself was just boring and there was barely any plot. It's the content of the book that bothers me. It's not that it's bad, it's just not my type of genre. Another thing I really
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Dec 17, 2010
Elona
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Elona Myftaraj
The book cuando era puertorriquena took place in two kinds of communities a rural neighborhood in Macún, Puerto Rico, and the urban culture in Brooklyn. The story was about a young girl named Negi. Negi was the main character and the narrator of the book she started explaining her life in Macún it seamed to be more on the traditional side as to when she moved to Brooklyn; a more modern and carefree world. While in Macun she described her life as very challenging, she had More...
The book cuando era puertorriquena took place in two kinds of communities a rural neighborhood in Macún, Puerto Rico, and the urban culture in Brooklyn. The story was about a young girl named Negi. Negi was the main character and the narrator of the book she started explaining her life in Macún it seamed to be more on the traditional side as to when she moved to Brooklyn; a more modern and carefree world. While in Macun she described her life as very challenging, she had More...
Apr 04, 2010
Jasmine
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I really wanted to read this novel because I felt that it could teach me more about what it means to be a Puerto Rican. I read this novel from the perspective of a second generation Puerto Rican, who has never been to Puerto Rico as an adult. The perspective I read this novel from greatly impacted what I got out of this novel. What struck me more than anything about this novel was how much I could relate to Esmeralda Santiago. She, like myself, had a father who eventually faded out of her lif
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Jan 21, 2010
To be completely truthful, I picked this book out of the shelf randomly because I didn't have my book on me during advisory and in the beginning I thought that I would just skim the book around and reads parts of it. then when i started reading it i was actually drawn into it because i noticed that Esmeralda santiago had the writing style that i loved, like the styles of Walter Dean Myers or Sharon Draper. It had the feeling of feeling sorry for this character because of all the negatives in the
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Dec 09, 2011
Lori
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A refreshing reality check for anyone who's only brush with the Puerto Rican cultural/immigration experience comes from having seen "West Side Story".
My parents were born in Puerto Rico around the same time as the author, so when I happened upon this book on a dusty shelf in a thrift store, I bought it to read and pass along to them. When I handed it to my father, he (typically) said he didn't need to read it - he'd lived it. He'd grown up poor, oldest of 7 kids, in the are More...
My parents were born in Puerto Rico around the same time as the author, so when I happened upon this book on a dusty shelf in a thrift store, I bought it to read and pass along to them. When I handed it to my father, he (typically) said he didn't need to read it - he'd lived it. He'd grown up poor, oldest of 7 kids, in the are More...
Jun 20, 2011
Yvonne
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The marvelous parts about this book describe lifestyle, culture, and settings so vividly that I entirely immersed myself into Santiago's world and experienced Puerto Rico and Brooklyn along with her. I wanted to look up the dishes she ate in the book and cook them myself and wanted to go sit under a mango tree and carve something out of an avocado pit.
The episodes tracing Negi's coming of age are really well written and very observant. But in my opinion, Santiago mixes retrospective i More...
The episodes tracing Negi's coming of age are really well written and very observant. But in my opinion, Santiago mixes retrospective i More...
Mar 15, 2010
Helen
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“ When I was Puerto Rican” is a memoir about the life of Esmeralda Santiago. She’s born in Puerto Rico and every two years her mother has a child born. This is important because it the story it will state that when she’s at work her co-workers would laugh at her because of her siblings.
Esmeralda Santiago’s nice and friendly. Her mother is a very strict mother and Esmeralda doesn’t like this. Her mom is to overprotective. An example to prove this is because in the story one time she had More...
Esmeralda Santiago’s nice and friendly. Her mother is a very strict mother and Esmeralda doesn’t like this. Her mom is to overprotective. An example to prove this is because in the story one time she had More...
Nov 28, 2011
Kevyn
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When I Was Puerto Rican is about a young Puerto Rican Girl named Esmeralda. She is born in Puerto Rico and early in her life she learns her family's Puerto Rican traditions. But then "out of the blue" her family brings her to New York City where she is emmersed in a completely new culture and new language. Although this book is about being hispanic, i don't relate to it. I've only been to Puerto Rico once and the younger people in my family are assimilated into the culture of New York.
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Oct 02, 2009
Tara
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I enjoyed this memoir. It was honest. Esmeralda talks of her childhood, and unlike some memoirs does not portray herself to be anything but what she was. There were times she was a spoiled brat, times she embarassed herself, times she was scared. She lays it all out there. The memoir covers her childhood from I'm guessing 5 or so till age 14 or 15. I was not clear on what age she was when or what year it was at the time. That would be my only complaint. I felt as tho I was really getting to know
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Dec 17, 2009
Mellisa
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First book I've read that accurately captures what it's like to move from the Caribbean to the East Coast. I nearly jumped out of my chair shouting 'Say is sister, that's exactly what it was like!' while reading her description of driving from the airport to her new home in the States.
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Sep 18, 2011
Catherine
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Esmerelda, nicknamed Negi, writes about her upbringing in Puerto Rico as the oldest child in a large family. Although loving when he was present, her father always placed his own wishes above his obligations to his family, frequently leaving for weeks or months. Her mother, frustrated by poverty and overwhelming responsibilities, alternated between abuse and tenderness, but was the only truly reliable person in Negi’s life.
Most of the book describes the vivid memories of her life an More...
Most of the book describes the vivid memories of her life an More...
May 17, 2007
Laura Anne
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A beautifully written, first-hand account of the triumphs and struggles of a Puerto Rican girl growing up in Puerto Rico and then America. This story speaks to the universal themes of coming-of-age in any culture. Wonderful!
Apr 29, 2010
Lora
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"When I Was Puerto Rican" was an assignment for my Latin American class, but it was so much more than just another assignment! It opened my eyes to another world that I've never known before. After reading this I feel so blessed and priviledged! It is a sweet and powerful story about a young girl that is faced with so many life changes; way more than a little girl should ever face. This is Esmeralda's personal memoir from her childhood living in poverty in Puerto Rico. It is also h
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Jul 30, 2010
Michael
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Overall this story is OK. Not great, but OK. I like the Memoir style in general, but it falls flat in many spots. Basically, it was too much action on about 6 pages and not enough on the other 264. In addition, I hate pointless crudeness, and 4 of the pages were pointlessly crude--not the good pages, just part of the 264 that were filled with endless description.
The author enjoys detailed description, which doesn't translate into great writing for me. I get sick of hearing about all More...
The author enjoys detailed description, which doesn't translate into great writing for me. I get sick of hearing about all More...
Apr 18, 2010
Megan
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I really liked this book. Esmeralda Santiago, also known as Negi, starts out a poor girl in Puerto Rico. She has 2 younger siblings, a mother, and a father. As the book continues, Esmeralda becomes the woman she is today. With some new additions to the family, and new additions to Santiago's personality, Negi changes the life of her own, and those that read her life story.
Santiago was extremely descriptive. I admit, there were certain bumps in the road, like the beginning, where More...
Santiago was extremely descriptive. I admit, there were certain bumps in the road, like the beginning, where More...
May 01, 2011
Jessica
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This book is an autobiography of growing up in rural Puerto Rico and then being transplanted to New York. It was a pretty enjoyable story, and I don't know that I've read anything from or about Puerto Rico before, so I'm glad I read it. I did feel like it ended a bit abruptly, though. I guess that's a trick to make me read the sequel, Almost a Woman. I didn't like it SO MUCH that I am going to run out for the sequel, but I probably wouldn't mind reading it eventually. It sounds like she had an i
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Jan 19, 2012
Sherry
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When I Was Puerto Rican was a very interesting book. It is a memoir about Esmeralda Santiago's childhood. It was brilliant how the author made the reader think about what happened, instead of just telling the reader. Negi had some really hard times. She moved from country to city and was teased because of her accent. She also had family problems to deal with, with her dad and mom constantly arguing about other woman and marriage. Negi was very determined to leave Brooklyn and have a nice life, t
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Jan 21, 2011
Osvaldo
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I have nothing good to say about this book and can only think about how much I ended up detesting it.
Written with blancitos in mind it portrays the typical and uncomplicated uplift narrative of immigration to the United States and the prose moves along with clunky use and immediate translation of Spanish words and Puerto Rican cultural aspects rather than letting them stand on their own and letting the reader make sense of it (or not).
Even the title sticks in my craw. . . More...
Written with blancitos in mind it portrays the typical and uncomplicated uplift narrative of immigration to the United States and the prose moves along with clunky use and immediate translation of Spanish words and Puerto Rican cultural aspects rather than letting them stand on their own and letting the reader make sense of it (or not).
Even the title sticks in my craw. . . More...
Jan 26, 2009
Meralys
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Learning about other countries and comparing them to your own can be very interesting. This is a wonderful book for people that really like to learn about different places around the world. In the book, When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, you can learn much about Puerto Rico, even if you are not from there. While you are learning about Esmeralda's memoir, you also get to learn a little bit of Spanish. I was able to compare Puerto Ricans to Dominicans based on what Emeralda wro
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Oct 12, 2011
Sandy
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At first I thought I really didn't like this book, when I realized that I just really didn't like her life as told in the book. Very poor living conditions, strict mother, absentee father, sexual episodes with boy and voyer men, drinking grandmother, etc. etc. But the author told the story well and I felt, unfortunately, that's just the way things were. Then abruptly there is a fairy-tale ending. Didn't like the way it just happened with no details for us, but maybe there's more in her follo
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Dec 17, 2009
Conrad
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I hate memoirs. This one isn't awful.
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Nov 02, 2009
Maya
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Negi is in Puerto Rico. She has a large family. Her four siblings and her mother and father who are always arguing.Negi's family has someone come to her house as the person who will teach her and her family how to eat American when her family wants to move to New York.
I can connect this to Before We Were Free because both Negi and Anita had to move to New York City for a better life the only difference is that Anita moved as a refugee and Negi didn't.
I would rate this book Four More...
I can connect this to Before We Were Free because both Negi and Anita had to move to New York City for a better life the only difference is that Anita moved as a refugee and Negi didn't.
I would rate this book Four More...
Nov 12, 2011
Janet
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This book is about a girl named Negi, who lives in Puerto Rico. She has two sisters and one brother and her mom and dad. Her mom always want's her to help with everything and not her dad. Her parents always are aruging, the mom thinks that he is having a affair with a women named Martha, because he has another daughter . Negi never knew that until she heard them arguing , she really wants to meet her beacsue she always wanted a older sister. But her mom won't allow it, Negi always wonders if the
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Jul 01, 2011
Jeannette
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I picked up this book when I was young, and I just couldn't make it through it then. I think the difference between then and now is that I've spent much more time with my Puerto Rican relatives since then, and I can much more clearly understand now. Esmeralda Santiago's story is intense though, and perhaps I had too much intensity happening in my life at the time to handle it.
Intense or not, Santiago describes a rich life and culture that I think anyone with Puerto Rican relatives wou More...
Intense or not, Santiago describes a rich life and culture that I think anyone with Puerto Rican relatives wou More...
