Syracuse University students will get the chance to hear a new perspective on Puerto Rico - from the commonwealth's former governor.
Rafael Hernández Colón, the former governor of Puerto Rico, will visit The Warehouse in downtown Syracuse tonight to discuss Puerto Rico and its current status as a commonwealth to the United States.
Colón, the youngest governor's in Puerto Rico's history, will give his presentation at 7 p.m. in the building's auditorium.
"It's just an opportunity for students in general to get a little insight into a policy question that impacts about six million Puerto Ricans-half of which live on the island of Puerto Rico," said Bethaida Gonzalez, dean of University College, who helped plan Colón's speech.
SU's Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Latino-Latin American Studies program and the Spanish Action League of Onondaga County also took part in planning the event.
Colón continues to support keeping Puerto Rico's commonwealth status, as he did while in office. As a commonwealth, Puerto Rico is a self-governing territory that is still associated with the United States.
Puerto Ricans debated on whether it should become a U.S. state or become completely independent of the United States when Colón was in office in the 1970s through the 1990s, and they still debate it today, Gonzalez said.
Despite the fact that Puerto Rico has had commonwealth status since 1952, Puerto Rico's status still raises questions for Gonzalez.
Golzalez was born in Puerto Rico, but moved to the United States as a child. She visited Puerto Rico during the summers and was raised with both the Spanish and English languages.
"We are immigrants culturally to this country," she said. "Puerto Ricans come to the United States as migrant workers, and the assumption is made they are not U.S. citizens, but they are," she said.
Latino-Latin American Studies program Director Silvio Torres-Saillant said the commonwealth status is debated because it is not a normal political status. "It's a peculiar arrangement," he said.
Puerto Ricans are legally U.S. citizens, but they don't have the right to vote for the U.S. president, Torres-Saillant said. They are also different from other Hispanics in the United States because they are not immigrants, he said.
"It's an unresolved issue. You have a state that's not a state. How long can that ambiguity remain?" he said.
Despite anyone's personal political views, Colón's speech is important, Torres-Saillant said. Colón's governorship was a very big moment in Caribbean politics, he said.
"You have a major statesman visiting the campus," Torres-Saillant said. "It's a golden opportunity for people interested in the destiny of countries."
The Spanish Action League of Onondaga County, co-sponsor of the event, expects the speech to also attract the Hispanic population of the Syracuse community.
A big percentage of the Hispanic population in the community is Puerto Rican, said Rita Paniagua, the league's executive director. She suggested holding the event at the Warehouse, which is located closer to these communities.
"It just makes it more accessible to the Latino community," Paniagua said. "We do like to know how things are back in Puerto Rico."
Paniagua lived in Puerto Rico until she came to the United States for college in the 1980s. She travels back and forth to Puerto Rico to visit family and friends as they would between other U.S. states, she said.
Puerto Ricans in Syracuse will be interested in Colón's speech because of his popularity as a political leader, Paniagua said.
"He was a people's person," she said. "He was very active within the common people. He was a good governor."
Myrna García-Calderon, a Spanish professor at Syracuse University, grew up in Puerto Rico before coming to the United States for graduate school. She remembers Colón's campaign in 1973 as the one of the first she was old enough to be interested in following, she said.
"He was young. He had different ideas," García-Calderon said. "It was a newer type of politician - here you had advisers, campaigns that were meant for TV."
Despite her curiosity to hear what Colón has to say, García-Calderon questions why the former governor is speaking.
"I am baffled by the invitation," she said. "Why now? He's been out of power for a while."
Chanel Delgado asked the same question. The senior advertising major has family living in Puerto Rico and has spent time in the commonwealth on breaks from school. Because of her Puerto Rican heritage, she is interested in what the former governor has to say, but is not sure many at SU will, she said.
"I don't know how much interest in general it's going to have," she said.
Delgado wants Colón to talk about the elections and the recent scandal regarding the current governor, she said.
"I just hope that he talks about the current status and the upcoming election," she said. "I want to know if he thinks the people are actually being heard."
sdigiuli@syr.edu
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