Timeline and Artists of Puerto Rican History and Resistance, Study notes of Photography

Download Timeline and Artists of Puerto Rican History and Resistance and more Study notes Photography in PDF only on Docsity! PUERTO RICAN RESISTANCE EDUCATION GUIDE TEMPORAL The MoCP is supported by Columbia College Chicago, the MoCP Advisory Board, the Museum Council, individuals, and private and corporate foundations. The 2019–2020 exhibition season is generously sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Efroymson Family Fund, and the Philip and Edith Leonian Foundation. Temporal is partially supported by a grant from the Office of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Columbia College Chicago. M ar i B . R ob le s Ló pe z, P ar o N ac io na l, ju lio 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 2 SUPAKID, Ricky MMB, 2019 FEATURED ARTISTS Erika P. Rodríguez Puerto Rican, b. 1988 Mari B. Robles López Puerto Rican, b. 1993 Christopher Gregory-Rivera Puerto Rican, b. 1989 Eduardo Martínez Puerto Rican, b. 1974 Adriana Parrilla Puerto Rican, b. 1983 SUPAKID Puerto Rican Ojos Nebulosos Puerto Rican, b. 1995 Rogelio Baéz Vega Puerto Rican, b. 1974 Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo Puerto Rican, b. 1988 Edra Soto Puerto Rican, b. 1971 Natalia Lassalle-Morrillo Puerto Rican 5 A CONDENSED TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS IN PUERTO RICO Natural Disaster Protest 1898 Spanish-American war. The US invades Puer- to Rico and the island becomes a US possession under the Treaty of Paris. 1928 The category five storm, Hurricane San Felipe Segundo, hits the island, killing 2,500 people. This was the worst hurricane on record until María and greatly reduced production of the island’s two main exports at the time—raw sugar and coffee—massively damaging the economy. 1946 Jesús T. Piñero becomes the first and only Puerto Rican to be appointed governor by the US government. 1917 The Jones Act (also known as the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act) is signed by President Woodrow Wilson. Puerto Ricans are given US citizenship. 1932 The category four storm, Hur- ricane San Ciprian, hits the island, furthering economic devastation and costing $30 million in damage. 1922 The Puerto Rico Nationalist Party is founded. Their prima- ry goal is independence. 1937 21 people are killed and over 200 wounded at a civilian protest in what is now known as the Ponce Massacre. The attempted peaceful march was organized by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party commemorating the abolition of slavery and to protest the incarceration of Pedro Albizu Campos, the party’s leader. 1952 Puerto Rico’s constitution is ratified. 1900 US Congress institutes civil government in Puerto Rico under the Foraker Act. 1929 The Great Depression begins. Massive labor strikes occur, including approx- imately 16,000 people working in tobacco, sugar, textiles, and taxis, among other industries. These protests, led by Puerto Rican nationalists, prompted the Roosevelt Administration to create specific New Deal policies to aid and recov- er Puerto Rico after the depression and leading to the establishment of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration in 1935. 1948 Luis Muñoz Marín, known as the “Father of Modern Puerto Rico,” is the first democratically elected governor for the Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democratico, or PPD) and the leader of the senate. Muñoz Marín, a former independence supporter, guided the Puerto Rican Senate in passing Law 53, or Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law). The law made it a felony to display the Puerto Rican Flag, sing Puerto Rico’s National Anthem, La Borinqueña, and to publish writings about gaining independence. Muñoz Marín’s policy was inspired by the Smith Act of 1940, which made it illegal to advocate for the overthrow of the US government and tar- geted communist and anarchist groups. La Mordaza followed a similar framework which served to consolidate power for the PPD by suppressing pro-independence movements and arresting opposing political figures without due process. 1918 The earthquake and ensuing tsunami, San Fermín, hits the island, measuring at the magnitude of 7.1 and costing approximately $4–29 million in damage and killing an estimated 118 people. 1935 Police officers open fire on Puerto Rico Nationalist Party supporters at the University of Puerto Rico campus in what is now known as the Río Piedras massacre, killing seven people. 1950 Two Puerto Rican National- ists attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman to raise awareness for gov- ernmental repression of the independence movement. 6 1954 Four Puerto Rican Nationalists shot semi-automatic pistols off in a balcony in the House of Representatives chamber of the United States Capitol as representatives were debating a bill on immigration. Five representatives were injured but all recovered. The action was to protest the US colonialism over the island and to call for independence. 1985 Massive floods caused by a tropical wave result in the deadliest landslide on record in North America, killing 130 people and causing approximately $125 million in damage. 2005 Independence leader Filiberto Ojeda is murdered by the FBI. 1957 Ley de la Mordaza (the Gag Law) was repealed based on the law being considered a vi- olation of freedom of speech under both Puerto Rican and United States’ constitutions. 1978 Police murder two pro- independence activists on Cerro Maravilla Mountain. 2000 Sila María Calderón Serra is elected—Puerto Rico’s first female governor. 2019—2020 A series of damaging earthquakes swarm Puerto Rico, crumbling homes and businesses. 1998 Approximately 500,000 people participate in a two- day general strike endorsed by over 50 unions in protest of a plan the government made to privatize the Puerto Rico Telephone Company. The strike cause malls, hospitals, banks, and public offices to close, bringing awareness to then Governor Pedro Rosselló’s attempts to privatize many services on the island and threatening worker’s rights. 2010 University of Puerto Rican students protest budget cuts, tuition increases, and the proposed privatization of the school. The strike caused the school to close for 80 days. 2016 The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) was put into law in attempts to restructure Puerto Rico’s debt. While intended to provide a path forward to manage finances, many see PROMESA as a move that has further stripped agency from Puerto Rico as the law gives power to a Fiscal Control Board, appointed by and reporting to the President of the United States. Additionally, PROMESA allowed for the federal minimum wage to drop to $4.25 per hour for workers in Puerto Rico under the age of 25. 2019 People unite in mass protest to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. The protests—initially led by a group known as the Colectiva Feminista en Construcción— began after two top members of his administration were indicted on charges of federal corruption and a series of text messages were released with language that was derogato- ry towards women and mocking those who suffered after Hurricane María. The governor’s resigned two weeks after on August 2, 2019.1 1. Romero, Simon, Frances Robles, Patricia Mazzei, and Jose A. Del. “15 Days of Fury: How Puerto Rico’s Government Collapsed.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 27, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/us/ puerto-rico-protests-timeline.html. 1970 Antonia Martínez Lagares—a 20-year-old student at the University of Puerto Rico—is killed by police while criticizing police violence at a student protest. This became a turning point in the escalat- ing tensions between the government, university, and student demonstrators. 1999 The US Navy kills a Puerto Rican security guard while setting off test bombings on the US military training base on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. This sparks historical protests, causing President Clinton to remove the training base in 2003. 2017 The category five storm, Hur- ricane María, devastates the islands of Puerto Rico, Domi- nica, and St. Croix, becoming the worst recorded natural disaster in the history of the island, killing 3,059 people and costing an estimated $91.6 billion in damage. Puerto Rican nationalist Os- car López Rivera is released from prison after 35 years, having been convicted on federal charges of seditious conspiracy to overthrow US authority over Puerto Rico. His sentence was commuted by President Obama. A few months later, Hurricane Georges—a category four storm—crosses the entire island, resulting in $2 billion in damage and killing eight people. 7 THE US RESPONSE TO HURRICANE MARÍA Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico in September of 2017, destroying the power grid and leaving 1.5 million people without electricity and water. The US government was criticized for not sending enough aid to restore services to the island as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was depleted of funding and supplies from storms on the US Virgin Islands two weeks prior.2 Further complicating the issue, the US government hired a small contractor based in Montana, Whitefish Energy, to oversee the restoration of the grid at inflated costs, depleting the budget, delaying progress, and contributing to additional deaths of an estimated 3,290 people.3 Full power was not restored to the island until August 2018—nearly eleven months after the storm. KEY THEME 10 2. Robles, Frances. “FEMA Was Sorely Unprepared for Puerto Rico Hurricane, Report Says.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 12, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/us/fema-puerto-rico-maria.html. 3. “The Disappearing Schools of Puerto Rico.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 12, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/ puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.html. Erika P. Rodríguez, Parranda, Dec. 16, 2017 MARI B. ROBLES LOPEZ PUERTO RICAN, B. 1993 EDRA SOTO PUERTO RICAN, B. 1971 Mari B. Robles López merges found objects with her photojournalist practice. By printing photographs on FEMA tarps, pots and pans used in recent noise protests, she displays documentation of protests and Hurricane María in a way that removes the images from a news media context and transforms them into sculptural forms. FEMA distributes blue tarps after hurricanes to function as temporary waterproof roofing material. After Hurricane María, approximately 78 percent of the 1.23 million homes on the island were damaged from the storm and needed tarps. Today, approximately 30,000 homes are still using these FEMA tarps as roofing material due to a lack of federal housing assistance—more than 2.5 years after the storm hit.4 Interdisciplinary artist Edra Soto’s ongoing project GRAFT is an intervention of vernacular Puerto Rican architecture modeled after two forms: quiebrasoles—ornamental concrete blocks that provide shade from the sun; and rejas—wrought iron fences or screens used as a protective barrier on homes. Both quiebrasoles and rejas are prominently used on the island. Here, Soto uses their patterns to transform the gallery into a space that recalls familiar Puerto Rican architecture. Viewfinders are embedded into the holes of the structure, revealing images the artist has taken while in Puerto Rico immediately after the passage of Hurricane María. QUESTIONS FOR LOOKING • Consider the material this image was printed on. How might this photograph read differently if it were printed on paper? • Do these images in this gallery differ from photojournalistic images you have seen in the news of the aftermath of Hurricane María? How or how not? QUESTIONS FOR LOOKING • Notice the overall color palette of images in this gallery. What mood or temperature do the colors convey? • Look closely at the images embedded in Soto’s installation. Why might the artist present images in this way? How does the act of looking through the graft change the way you read the images? ARTIST HIGHLIGHTS 11 Edra Soto, GRAFT, 2020 Mari B. Robles López, Encubrimiento, 2017–2020 4. Agrelo, Justin. “30,000 Blue Tarps, 2.4 Million Downed Trees, Billions Short: 5 Ways Puerto Rico Is Still Struggling to Recover from Maria.” Mother Jones, August 29, 2019. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/08/blue-tarps-million-downed-trees-tens-of-billions-short-ways-puerto-rico-is-still-struggling-to-recover-from-maria/. LA GUAGUA THE BUS The lyrics from the plena La Guagua (The Bus) are featured in this gallery alongside a video installation addressing infrastructure problems on the island. FIRST FLOOR, EAST GALLERY 12 Si quieres gozar un rato, Vente conmigo en la guagua. Si New York tuviera guaguas Como las tiene San Juan Que gusto yo me daría Llevando gente hasta Coney Ailán. If you want to enjoy yourself for a while, Come with me on the bus If New York had buses Like San Juan has What a pleasure it would be Taking people to Coney Island. Lorenzo Homar (Puerto Rican, 1913–2004), Plenas: 12 Grabados de Lorenzo Homar y Rafael Tufiño (1953); Source: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Open Content Alliance *Not in exhibition CORTARON A ELENA THEY STABBED ELENA The lyrics from the plena Cortaron a Elena, (They Stabbed Elena) are featured in this gallery alongside an installation depicting a typical Dominican hair salon in Puerto Rico by Ojos Nebulosos. This installation addresses women-led movements and women-owned businesses in Puerto Rico. FIRST FLOOR, MAIN GALLERY 15 Cortaron a Elena, Cortaron a Elena, Y se la llevaron al hospital. They stabbed Elena, They stabbed Elena, And they took her to the hospital. Lorenzo Homar (Puerto Rican, 1913–2004), Plenas: 12 Grabados de Lorenzo Homar y Rafael Tufiño (1953); Source: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Open Content Alliance *Not in exhibition FEMINIST MOVEMENTS IN PUERTO RICO In Puerto Rico and around the world, the feminist movement and the fight for women’s rights has strong roots in the fight for worker’s rights. At the turn of the 20th Century, middle class and working- class Puerto Rican women began demanding the right to vote, questioning their patriarchal society and calling for a higher standard of living. Founded in 1920, the Popular Feminist Association of Women Workers of Puerto Rico was a defining part of the labor and suffrage movement. Women workers rallied, marched, and created petitions expressing their right to vote. In 1929 literate women were given the ability to vote, but it took another six years before all women were granted the right to vote in 1935. During the 1970s, feminism in Puerto Rico experienced a surge and many organizations were formed with the goal of protecting women against gender-based violence and calling for equal rights. Contemporary feminist organizations started the protests that led to the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló in 2019 due to the government’s lack of action or investigations of the rising murders of women on the island since Hurricane María. Currently, women in Puerto Rico have become active leaders in the sociopolitical landscape on both the island and in the continental United States. After Hurricane María, local women-owned businesses greatly aided in restoring the economy. Since the early 2000s, Latina entrepreneurship has grown exponentially and in 2013 the Center for American Progress estimated that Latinas brought in revenue of $65.7 billion to the island’s economy—accounting to approximately 60% of Puerto Rico’s gross domestic product.5 KEY THEME 16 5. McGough, Annelise. “Puerto Rico’s Women Entrepreneurs Are Doing What Trump Wouldn’t.” Fast Company. Fast Company, November 29, 2017. https://www.fastcompany.com/40493785/ puerto-ricos-women-entrepreneurs-are-doing-what-trump-wouldnt. OJOS NEBULOSOS PUERTO RICAN, B. 1995 Exploring the roles of women in a failing economy in the aftermath of María and PROMESA, the installation by Ojos Nebulosos titled Kiskeya Salón is inspired by the two salons owned by the artist’s Dominican aunts. The installation highlights women-owned businesses, calling attention to salons in Puerto Rico as places where people gather socially to discuss issues. While topics including the hurricane, protests, migration, immigration to the island and the US, and women’s rights are discussed, TVs often play in the background. QUESTIONS FOR LOOKING • Like the plena songs, discussions in hair salons are another way for people to learn about the news and to share their thoughts on current events. How do you learn about news in your own life? How do you share and process this information with others? ARTIST HIGHLIGHTS 17 Ojos Nebulosos, Kiskeya Salón, 2015–2020 CHRISTOPHER GREGORY-RIVERA PUERTO RICAN, B. 1989 Providing a historical background to the resistance movement through a contemporary lens, Christopher Gregory-Rivera presents Las Carpetas, a series of photographs exploring an archive in Puerto Rico. His images document pages from a collection of physical file folders created and kept by the Puerto Rican Police Department in collaboration with the FBI for a surveillance operation aimed at silencing the independence movement on the island. QUESTIONS FOR LOOKING • As you view evidence from the archives, what can these documents tell us about the United States’ role in the history of colonialism and political oppression within Puerto Rico? • How do the political parties in Puerto Rico listed above differ from your understanding of US political parties? ARTIST HIGHLIGHTS 20 Christopher Gregory-Rivera, Las Carpetas, 2014–2017 FUEGO, FUEGO, FUEGO FIRE, FIRE, FIRE The lyrics from the plena Fuego, Fuego, Fuego (Fire, Fire, Fire) are featured in this gallery alongside images of post-PROMESA demonstrations with a focus on protests demanding the removal of the governor in July 2019. Fuego, fuego, fuego; Fuego, en la cantera. Vengan los bomberos, mamá, Que el pueblo se quema. Fire, fire, fire; Fire in the quarry. Call the firemen, mama, The town is burning. THIRD FLOOR, PRINT STUDY ROOM 21 Lorenzo Homar (Puerto Rican, 1913–2004), Plenas: 12 Grabados de Lorenzo Homar y Rafael Tufiño (1953); Source: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Open Content Alliance *Not in exhibition THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG DEEPER READING 22 The Puerto Rican flag has been a deeply political symbol since its inception. The current design, based on the Cuban flag with inverted colors, became a symbol of Puerto Rico’s independence from Spain in the early 1890s. Though the United states invaded shortly after, the flag remained a marker of the independence movement, gaining momentum as a symbol within the movement in the mid 1900’s. In response to this momentum, Luis Muñoz Marín signed the Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law) in 1948 making it illegal to display the flag on the island. Four years later, in what was seen as an attempt to combat the independence movement, Muñoz Marín adopted the current flag design, changing the light blue that was on the early design to a navy blue which matched that of the United States’. In recent years, in response to the PROMESA law of 2016 a new version of the flag has come to the forefront of the independence movement. The new version contains black in place of the blue and red, which is meant to re-contextualize the flag back to its original role as a signifier of independence for use in the ongoing protests on the island. DOUG MILLS/The New York Times/Redux