Miss Universe 2018

Another Miss Universe…

I have watched Miss Universe since I was little. It has always been exciting to follow the Puerto Rico contestant. Puerto Rico has done very well in Miss Universe, winning multiple times. I’m not sure how many times, but multiple times for sure; more than other countries.

It is always exciting to watch Miss Universe. This is one of those times that Puerto Rico competes as an independent nation and this is one of the reasons why I will never want to become a state. Competing as an independent nation in Miss Universe and sports competitions, like the Olympics, has always been one of the highlights of being Puerto Rican. During these competitions it is when your Puerto Rican pride comes blasting full force against all countries in the world, including the United States. As a Puerto Rican, I will always root for Puerto Rico against the United States. The loyalty to Puerto Rico is unequivocal.

This is one line in the sand that gets drawn during every international competition. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. As such, Puerto Rico competes as an independent nation. If Puerto Rico was a state, we would not be able to compete as a separate nation. To other Americans this might feel shallow or unimportant. But for Puerto Ricans, and me, this is extremely important. At these competitions, the spirit of Puerto Rico comes to life, thriving and roaring like a lion. At these moments, the little island in the Caribbean shines as bright as the big powers of the world, including the United States.

I’m an American citizen, but during Miss Universe and many other international competitions, I will always, always root for Puerto Rico.

Let’s see what happens… go Puerto Rico! It will be great to show the world that we are here and stronger than ever, despite the struggles that we faced after hurricane Maria. We rise again!

The Cockfighting Wars

I always keep up with the Puerto Rican newspaper to learn about what’s going on in the island. After all, I’m Puerto Rican. So even though I live thousands of miles from the island, my immediate family still lives in Puerto Rico. But to be honest, I don’t follow the Puerto Rican news because of my family. I follow the news because my journey of self-discovery attempting to understand my soul and emotions is very much related to my Puerto Rican heritage. Anyway, I will be talking about all that later, but for now I want to share my emotions about the recent news.

The United States Congress declared cockfighting illegal and these news have dominated the newspapers and discussions in the island, from the poorest towns to the highest government officials, including the Governor of Puerto Rico. Amazingly, the cockfighting prohibition awakened the soul of Puerto Ricans like nothing else before. Why? I will share my own feelings about this, because I found myself reacting similarly to those living in Puerto Rico. Congress drew a line in the sand and I knew immediately where I stood – and it was not with the United States.

When I read the news, I was appalled. Somehow the news triggered a reaction in my soul that called for rebellion and disgust. The recent prohibition from Congress was a blatant exercise of United States colonialism. Yes, Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States and the recent act against cockfighting provides an unequivocal example of the colonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. There are a lot of complicated aspects ingrained in this relationship that started in 1898 when United States attacked Puerto Rico during the Spanish American War and took control of the island from Spain. I have been doing a lot of research about this through my journey of self-discovery and the feelings awakened by this research will probably surface through a lot of my writings.

Today I wanted to share that I’m siding with Puerto Ricans and my position is clear and cemented by my Puerto Rican roots. I had the same feelings of the many Puerto Ricans that have expressed their disgust with Congress’ action against cockfighting. I find myself in a place that could be hard to understand by other Americans. Yes, I’m an American by birth – I was born in Puerto Rico and I’m an American citizen. But I’m drawn to Puerto Rico and its struggles by my coqui soul. That I can’t refute. My soul picked a side – that of Puerto Rico – and there is nothing I can do. I should say that I don’t want to do anything differently. I feel proud to pick Puerto Rico as my side. The purpose of this journey is to find clarity and peace. Through my rebellious reaction to Congress’ action, I experienced clarity and peace.

I’m against colonialism. The recent lack of action from the United States toward Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria clearly displayed the worst of colonialism. With the cockfighting prohibition, the United States again take control over the island as a master over its slave. There is no consideration for Puerto Ricans and its culture. I have never participated in a cockfight before. But I don’t need to. My grandfather did. Cockfighting is part of the Puerto Rican culture. Like bullfighting is part of the Spanish culture. I love animals, and it saddens me that I have to pick a side that might not align with my love for animals. But, it’s a matter of principle. The ruling against cockfighting is a ruling for colonialism.

If you think this is a big contradiction, you are right. That is what I live with – a big contradiction of loyalty toward my Puerto Rico and loyalty toward the United States. Loyalty toward my values and love of animals and rebellion against the prohibition. The dichotomy has been present – and will most likely be present throughout my entire life. But understanding why that dichotomy exists and understanding its roots, are the main reasons why I started this journey.

It is complicated. I will continue to explore my feelings in an attempt to better understand my soul. The path will be full of contradictions, but nevertheless, I need to do this because getting to know my soul and finding its voice is needed for my survival.

Today I stand against colonialism. I stand for Puerto Rico. My coqui soul knows which side I should be with. I’m standing strong with my fellow Puerto Ricans.

Commencement

Today I attended my niece’s commencement at the University of Idaho (UI). What a beautiful experience! Nothing like being surrounded by the excitement of graduation to make you feel renewed.

The speeches, the videos, the photos. You can feel the pride in the air. The parents and family shouting the names of the graduates as they go through the podium. The cheers and applause growing as the afternoon went on. A lot of love in the air.

Listening to the remarks made me reminisce about my own graduations. I have had several graduations throughout my lifetime. Don’t remember much of the graduations before high school. I bet they were important to my parents, but I honestly can’t say that they were memorable to me. I do remember a bit about my eight grade graduation – the leap from middle school to high school. I guess that was many years ago and it is hard to remember. However, I know it was a very proud moment to myself and my parents, as I was the top student of the class. Then there was the high school graduation. The year was 1980. That one is a little bit more ingrained in my memory. Again, I was the top student of my class and I remember writing the speech. I still have that speech and I was able to bring it back to life during my high school 25th reunion. I remember looking at the graduation pictures. I looked like a General with so many medals on my chest. I received a gold medal for every discipline where I was the top student. And yes, I took them all! Graduating from high school was certainly memorable and I will never forget the pride exuded by my parents as they saw their oldest daughter getting recognition for achieving such a significant milestone.

Then it was college. I received my degree in Chemistry in 1984 from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. My years at college are very dear to my heart. I made lifelong friends during college. There was so much growth during my college years. I can say that I was finally flying from my parent’s nest – little by little, year by year, as I spent four years in college. I developed my personality and started feeling like an individual – not any longer my parent’s daughter, but myself. College years were forming years. Those were the years where I started searching for my soul – unknowingly – by starting questioning my future and my purpose. I did well in college (I continued to have very good grades), but I also can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in college.

A Journey To Finding My Soul

The Journey Begins

My name is Ines. Today is my 56th birthday and I decided to create this blog to give a voice to my coqui soul.

I call it coqui soul because I am from Puerto Rico. The coqui is a tiny frog native from Puerto Rico. It serves as a national symbol for Puerto Rico. As a native Puerto Rican, I strongly identify with the coqui. Thus, I’m calling this site My Coqui Soul project, as the purpose of this journey is to discover my Puerto Rican – coqui – soul.

I was born and lived in Puerto Rico until I graduated from college. Then I moved to Michigan in 1984 to attend graduate school. I now live in Michigan.

After 34 years from leaving the island, I still relate deeply to the coqui. I’m Puerto Rican by birth and feel that I will always be Puerto Rican in my soul.

For the last several years, I have been doing a lot of self-reflection. I guess you can say that I have been going through mid-life crisis. A lot of things have happened that triggered my exploration. I have been thinking a lot about who I am. Not superficially, but who I truly am. I have been searching for my soul.

This blog gives a voice to my coqui soul. I will be sharing my thoughts, my emotions. and the many life lessons learned along the way. I hope that you join me in this journey. Maybe you can relate to my observations. I hope you can also reflect as you listen and even learn something about yourself. I hope my journey can evolve into your own journey.

Welcome to my blog — My Coqui Soul Project

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton