When I Was Puerto Rican

When I Was Puerto Rican is a real-life coming-of-age story that should be of special interest to American students. Puerto Rico, our "fifty-first state," has an anomalous status as both American and Hispanic, "foreign": Esmeralda Santiago gives us an extraordinary insight into what it is like to be a Puerto Rican, both on the island and as an immigrant in New York City. Esmeralda (nicknamed "Negi") narrates the story in a simple style, relating the …

…which she goes on as a scholarship student to Harvard. Esmeralda Santiago's story is an important one because, though it is the unique story of a strong individual character, it also gives insight into the lives of so many thousands of immigrants to this country. While remaining very much a part of the world they left behind, these immigrants are faced with a new language, a new culture, and new expectations and codes of conduct.