History of the Jews in Puerto Rico
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The Jewish immigration to
It would be hundreds of years before an open Jewish community was established on the island. Very few
The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were refugees fleeing
Puerto Rican Jews have made many contributions in multiple fields, including business, commerce, education, and entertainment. Puerto Rico has the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, with over 3,000 Jewish inhabitants. It is also the only Caribbean island in which all three major Jewish denominations—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—are represented.
First Jews to arrive in Puerto Rico
According to historians, the first Jews to arrive in Puerto Rico were conversos, Jews who were forced to convert to
In 1478, the
When the Crypto Jews arrived on the island of Puerto Rico, they were hoping to avoid religious scrutiny, but the Inquisition followed the colonists. The Inquisition maintained no rota or religious court in Puerto Rico. However, heretics were written up and if necessary remanded to regional Inquisitional tribunals in Spain or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. As a result, many secret Jews settled the island's remote mountainous interior far from the concentrated centers of power in
19th century
By the 19th century, the
The Spanish government, believing that the independence movements would lose their popularity, granted land and initially gave settlers "Letters of Domicile". However, those Europeans who were of the Jewish and Protestant faith were excluded from direct acquisition of state land since it was expected of the settlers to swear loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the
Mathias Brugman (1811–1868) was the son of Pierre Brugman from
Brugman admired independence advocates Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis. Together with his son, Hector, he joined them in a conspiracy to revolt against Spain and formed a revolutionary committee code named: "Capá Prieto" (a tree known as Spanish Elm, Ecuador Laurel, cypre or salmwood and used for its wood to build ships, among other things). On September 23, 1868, Brugman and his son participated in the short-lived revolt against Spanish rule known as El "Grito de Lares" (English: Cry of Lares). Brugman and his son refused to surrender to the Spanish authorities and eventually were executed.[11]
After the failed revolution, the Spanish Courts passed the "Acta de Culto Condicionado" (Conditional Cult Act) in 1870. The law was an attempt to attract more settlers who would be faithful to the Spanish Crown by granting the right of religious freedom to all who wished to worship a religion other than
20th century
1930s
Jewish-American soldiers were assigned to the military bases in Puerto Rico and many choose to stay and live on the island. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants began to arrive in Puerto Rico in the 1930s as refugees from
1940s
The President of the Puerto Rican Senate, Luis Muñoz Marín[16] together with Governor Rexford Tugwell, the last non-Puerto Rican Governor of Puerto Rico appointed by an American president, helped advance legislation geared towards agricultural reform, economic recovery and industrialization. This program became known as Operation Bootstrap. As a result of the program, many Jews migrated to the city of Ponce located in the southern region of the island and worked in the agricultural industry.[3] Operation Bootstrap also attracted clothing manufacturers from New York and many of the people in the industry who came to the island were Jews.
In 1942, President
1950s-1960s
In 1952, Puerto Rico achieved U.S. commonwealth status and officially became the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico"). That same year a handful of American Jews established the island's first
After the success of the
Establishment of a Jewish community
Puerto Rico is home to the largest and wealthiest Jewish community in the Caribbean with almost 3,000 Jewish inhabitants.
The Reform congregation utilizes the English, Spanish, and
Jewish influence in Puerto Rican and popular culture
The municipality of Yauco has a street with the word "Judio" (Jewish) in it. It is the “Calle Cuesta de los Judios” which in the English language means "Jewish Slope Street"[24]
Puerto Rican Jews have made many contributions to the Puerto Rican way of life. Their contributions can be found, but are not limited to, the fields of education, commerce and entertainment. Among the many successful businesses which they have established are Supermercados Pueblo (
They have also made an impact in Puerto Rico's music industry. In 1970, Raphy Leavitt organized a band with an original sound and style that became one of Puerto Rico's greatest salsa orchestras, "La Selecta". He selected the band's repertoire from songs with a particular, positive social message and philosophy, and arranged his new band's sound to be as raw and powerful as the typical all-trombone salsa sound in vogue at the time. This genre was made popular by Willie Colón, but La Selecta featured the addition of trumpets to lighten up the sound melodically.[28] Brenda K. Starr is a salsa singer who in 2002 won two Latin Grammy Awards, one for "Best Salsa Album", for "Temptation" and the other in the category "Best Salsa Single" for "Por Ese Hombre". In 2006, the Billboard Latin Music Awards nominated her for a "Best Salsa Single" award for "Tu Eres".[29]
Puerto Rican literature has also been enriched with the works of
Among the notable people with Puerto Rican and Jewish roots are: Geraldo Rivera, David Blaine, Bruno Mars, Benjamin Agosto, Hila Levy, Ian Gomez, Leslie Kritzer, Julio Kaplan, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jenna Wolfe.
The American television sitcom
Resolution 1480
On October 31, 2005, the Senate of Puerto Rico approved Senate Resolution 1480, recognizing the contributions which the Jewish community has made to the way of life of Puerto Rico and the friendship which exists between the peoples of Puerto Rico and Israel.[36]
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- Cultural diversity in Puerto Rico
- History of the Jews in Latin America
- History of the Jews in Latin America and the Caribbean
References
- ^ Destination the New World
- ^ Puerto Rico Virtual Jewish History Tour
- ^ a b c d e Vazquez, Larizza (December 8, 2000). "Los Judíos en Puerto Rico" [The Jews in Puerto Rico] (in Spanish). prfrogui.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ a b "Jewish Community". globalpuertorico.com.[dead link]
- ISBN 0-87220-795-1.
- ISBN 0-300-07880-3
- ^ Ezratty, Harry (2006). "Crypto Jews in Puerto Rico Welcomed by Reform Community". Cryptojews.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-520-23517-5, OCLC 48920842.
- ^ a b c Jewish Life Emerging, Jewish News, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ "Archivo General de Puerto Rico: Documentos" [General Archive of Puerto Rico: Documents] (in Spanish). Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c Acosta, Ursula. "Puerto Rico y Curazao: The Brugman Family", University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, XIII, 1/2. 1993, p. 41, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ Wilhelmsen, Alexandra. "Carlism's Defense of the Church in Spain, 1833-1936" Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c d The Virtual Jewish History Tour Puerto Rico, Jewish Virtual Library, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ El Vocero, Suplemento: 40 Aniversario del Estado de Israel, seccion: Judios de PR, 1988 pg.6
- ^ The Jewish Traveler: Puerto Rico
- ^ Puerto Rican Labor Movement, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ISBN 1-57581-884-1
- ISBN 978-0-942347-52-4
- ^ "Korber House". Prairieschooltraveler.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Luxner, Larry (August 3, 2004). "Puerto Rico's Jews planting roots on an island with little Jewish history". luxner.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2005. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-17369-7. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ Synagogues in Puerto Rico, Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ "The New York Times", Sunday May 29, 1949 "Puerto Rico Chorus Has Grown in Few Years Under Direction of Harvard-Trained Conductor"
- ^ "Calle Cuesta Los Judios". Prpop.org. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ Denardo, Christina (October 18, 2008). "H. Toppel, 84, supermarket mogul, philanthropist". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
- ^ Puerto Rico Companies, Right Management, Retrieved January 10, 2009.
- ^ Work hard and improve constantly. (Israel Kopel, president of Almacenes Pitusa) (Top 10 Business Leaders of Puerto Rico: 1991), Caribbean Business, Retrieved January 9, 2009
- ^ Raphy Leavitt, Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular, (Spanish), Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ Brenda K. Starr, Fundacion de Cultura Popular de Puerto Rico, (Spanish), Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ "Eisa Davis and Quiara Alegria Hudes finalists for 2007 Pulitzer Prize". hedgebrook.org. 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007.
- ^ Komix[dead link]
- ^ Studio in the Woods
- ISBN 0-942929-06-3
- ^ Internet Movie Data Base
- ^ "Nothing Like the Holidays (2008)". movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
- ^ Puerto Rico Senate Resolution 1480, Estado Libre Associado de Puerto Rico, Senado de Puerto Rico, R del S 1480, October 31, 2005, Presented by Senator Garriga Pico.
External links