La Operacion, a documentary by Ana Maria Garcia - Puerto Rico

Learn the truth about the attempt to decimate and eradicate our people by way of birth control. This movie gives you a glimpse of how the government tricked thousands of helpless families. Why do they even call it "getting your tubes tied" it's not like you have the choice to "untie" them.

Women were encouraged to undergo this “fashionable” procedure without being informed about the operation or its consequences. When the jobs promised by the 1950s Operation Bootstrap program failed to materialize, the campaign for female sterilization intensified. In the 1960s Puerto Rican women were used as guinea pigs in the development of the birth control pill. Using data derived from these experiments, the U.S. Agency for International Development promoted sterilization and birth control in developing nations to prevent revolutions troublesome to multinational corporations.


In 1974, Puerto Rican politicians of every stripe spoke before the United Nations to present the case of genocide on the island. At that time, more than one-third (35%) of all Puerto Rican women had been sterilized. By 1981 it was 39%. These rates were actually developed on paper in 1968, but it wasn't until 6 years later that they were fully realized. In 1974, the Puerto Rican Health Department created an auxiliary section of Family Planning headed by Antonio Silva. Silva's department was to direct an extremely aggressive program of population control. Its explicit aim was to lower the birth rate, unlike other family planning programs which were designed to contribute to mothers' health.

The 1982 documentary, “La Operacion,” provides first hand accounts of the sterilization program in Puerto Rico. In the city of Barceloneta where 20,000 women were sterilized over a twenty year period, the mayor proudly boasts to the camera that his factories are filled with women and multiple schools have closed because there are no new children to enroll.

3.966 million people inhabit the island of Puerto Rico today, I'm glad the plan failed.

Grilled Corn a la Cotija Style

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 6 ears corn, husks on
• 1 medium lime, cut into 6 wedges

Stir together mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl until well combined. Place cheese in a shallow dish that is at least as long as the corn.

Heat the grill to medium high (about 375°F). Before grilling the corn, carefully peel back the husks of each ear a little more than halfway and remove as much silk as you can without pulling the husks off. Then pull the husks back up.

Place the corn on the grill and close the lid. Every 10 minutes, roll the corn a quarter turn so it cooks evenly. (If your grill tends to have hot spots, move the cobs around so they grill evenly.) Cook until the husks are charred and starting to peel back from the corn, about 35 minutes total. Remove from the grill and set aside until the corn is cool enough to handle.

Without detaching the husks, peel them back completely, turning them inside out so they form a handle. Brush the corn with a thin layer of the mayonnaise mixture, roll the cobs in the crumbled cheese, and serve. Pass lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the corn.

Crocodiles in Puerto Rico??

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Invasive crocodiles are making themselves at home in the densely populated Puerto Rican capital and pose a potential threat to humans and pets, researchers said Wednesday.

The new study by the San Juan Bay Estuary Program does not estimate the reptiles' total population, but investigators spotted a dozen in one place on a recent night and there have been hundreds of reported sightings.

The crocodiles are believed to be the descendants of pets brought to the island in the 1960s and are now flourishing in the estuary, which is surrounded by more than 500,000 people.

Holocaust as seen from Mexico - New museum brings lessons of genocide to Mexico

A sad and a very true reality of the past as seen through the eyes of Mexico. I think it's important that we understand the past and educate ourselves about the discrimination that continues to plague us like a disease. 

A small excerpt from an article as printed in the Associated Press:

MEXICO CITY — A new museum is bringing the lessons of the Holocaust and its grim cousins to new generations of Mexicans — and reminding them that the intolerance that feeds genocide can even grow close to home.

The five-story glass and concrete building inaugurated Monday beside Mexico's Foreign Relations Department takes visitors through chilling displays on the Nazi Holocaust and how it was seen from Mexico, then continues through other horrors, including the slaughters of Armenians, Tutsis and Sudanese.

It moves toward the very borders of Mexico as well: the 36-year civil war in neighboring Guatemala, where government forces exterminated scores of Mayan Indian villages during a bloodbath that cost some 200,000 lives and drove thousands of refugees into Mexico.

"It's important as a nation to be very vigilant about any act of exclusion," said President Felipe Calderon during the inauguration. "We have not overcome discrimination, which affects many groups of society — indigenous people, women, children, people with disabilities and migrants."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hpFRqkH0yn2dWggAJOEc1QyVtJnQD9IPLTC80?docId=D9IPLTC80

Mixed feelings about Cristobal C

Other than trying to figure out what businesses are closed and what is open on Columbus Day, many Americans barely give the day a thought. What’s that rhyme, “1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue?”  Most can site that, but may not fully understand why many fellow Americans feel it’s inappropriate to recognize Columbus Day.  The website Reconsider Columbus Day.org has partnered with The United Confederation of Taino People, Rethinking Schools Online, International Indian Treaty Council and Nu Heights Cinema to bring this message asking people to think more about what Columbus Day actually means to America. There is a link on the web site to sign a petition for a national holiday for Native Americans.

Flor De Maga

FLOR MAGA
Puerto Rico's Official National Flower

Puerto Rico’s national flower is the Flor de Maga. The Maga is closely related to hibiscus but unlike the common hibiscus, the Maga is a saucer size flower and grows on a large tree. I have this tattooed on my left arm and have been asked a dozen times if it's the hibiscus. Unless you've been or studied Puerto Rico, you might not be familiar as The maga is native to Puerto Rico and is grown in tropical climates as an ornamental plant, with pink or red flowers. The flower of the maga tree, grows near San Juan in north-eastern Puerto Rico. This giant flower is endemic to the humid forests of Puerto Rico, so it can be also found in other areas of the island. It is cultivated mostly as an ornamental tree for the beauty of its very large flowers although it is also valued elsewhere for its durable timber, which is used for furniture. The Maga flowers are cup-shaped and are broad with five overlapping petals. The Maga flowers are borne singly on long petioles from leaf bases.