According to Ma, when she separated from Pa, she moved to St. Croix with her five children. On St. Croix, she had her mother and father, and 4 sisters: Titi Guilla, Titi Moncha, Titi Paca and Titi Feli. [Update, July 19, 2007 - Per communication with Lily, it appears that Titi Guilla came to St. Croix first, some time in 1943, followed by Mamá Lola and Papá Leo in 1948. This is according to discussions Lily had with Min (who had had a discussion it with Titi Feli), and Toñin (one of Lily's uncles).] Ma said that to get to St. Croix, she first had to take a ferry to Fajardo, Puerto Rico. From there she took another ferry, which transported passengers and cargo, mostly vegetables. The ferry left in the evening and then headed for St. Croix. The ferry may have stopped in St. Thomas. Ma is not too sure if passengers and/or goods were picked up or delivered once docked in St. Thomas. She said the stop would have been a short one. The ferry arrived in Christiansted the afternoon of the next day. Ma remembers some people traveling via sailboats. It appears dad began sending Ma messages telling her how much he missed her and she was convinced by Papá Leo to move back to Vieques. She did. When Ma returned to Vieques, via Fajardo again, I was conceived. Dad began to get sick so he was taken to a doctor. It has never been clear what was wrong with him. On the advice of Dr. Rivera (Carmelo’s, my brother-in-law, father). Pa was taken by Tío Teyo and Tío Tomás to El Centro Medico de Fajardo (which may have a different name today) for evaluation. Ma said she would go to a telegraph office in town on the island of Vieques and pay for them to find out how Pa was. She said the messages always came back that he was okay. She believes that Pa got better for awhile then succumbed to whatever was afflicting him. Pa died in Fajardo and was buried some place in Puerto Rico. When Ma moved back to St. Croix the second time, Min stayed in Vieques with Titi Catalina. After finishing 5th grade, Min visited St. Croix for the summer then went back to Vieques. On her second trip, she stayed with Doña Juanita while she attended 6th grade. Min traveled by herself back and forth to Vieques. [Update - Additional information based on discussion with Min on July 20, 2007. My brother Paco, was born in January 1948. In November 1948, Mamá Lola and Papá Leo, and Titi Feli moved to St. Croix. Ma and her children moved to St. Croix in the summer of 1949. Ma soon moved back to Vieques to be with dad. In 1950, Pa got ill and taken to Fajardo. He died in December 1950. In January 1951, Titi Paca went to Vieques to get Ma and her children. Ma was pregnant with me at the time. Min stayed with Titi Catalina to finish her school year. In May 1951, Min visited St. Croix then went back to Vieques to finish 6th grade. She lived with Doña Juanita while she attended 6th grade. In May 1952, when she came to St. Croix to visit, Min stayed on St. Croix. It should also be noted that on one of Min's trip to St. Croix, she got very ill (seasick?) and they had to get her medical care on St. Thomas. Can you imagine what it was like traveling with young children plus being pregnant?] My mother’s siblings are/were: Eleuterio (Tío Teyo, born 10/9/09, deceased 6/8/81, Vieques), Guillermina (Titi Guilla, born 6/8/13 deceased 6/4/97, St. Croix), Tomás (Tío Tomás, born 3/7/15, deceased, Vieques), Juana (Titi Juana, born 7/24/16, Vieques, deceased 1/20/11), Francisca (born 10/8/19, she lived on St. Croix and NY, deceased April 19, 2008 in NY), Ramona (Titi Moncha, born 4/13/24, she lived for a while in River on St. Croix, deceased 12/15/91, Hato Rey, PR), Catalina (Titi Catalina, born 6/13/26,deceased 7/26/04, lived on St. Croix for many years, died in Florida), María Cristina (Titi Mery, born 3/13/28, lived on St. Croix for a while now in Hato Rey, PR), Felicita (Titi Feli or Kiki, born 10/28/32, lived on St. Croix for a while now in California; deceased 2/1/08). Ma was born between Titi Paca and Titi Moncha. (Ma was born in 1922 on Vieques, died 06/18/10 on St. Croix.) [Before Titi Guilla died, she showed me a notebook where the dates of birth of all her siblings were recorded. I was under the impression she had made the annotations. Recently, I found out that the notebooks were given to Titi Guilla by Mamá Lola. It appears Mamá Lola had someone record the date of birth of her children in the notebook. Did she know Papá Leo would screw up the names and dates of birth? It is not definite how many of Mamá Lola’s children died. Some say it is 2, others 4. It is a known fact that two girls lived for a few years before they died. These two girls are assumed to have been born after Tio Teyo. Two other girls may have been miscarried, or died shortly after birth. The dates of birth that appear here were furnished by my cousin, Lily Alvarez, Titi Guilla’s granddaughter, who now possesses the notebooks left behind by Mamá Lola. From a conversation with María Esther, Titi Catalina’s oldest daughter, there appears to have been a mix-up with Titi Moncha’s and Titi Catalina’s names and date of births. To repeat, what I show here is from a book kept by Titi Guilla.] On St. Croix there were many Viequenses living by the time Ma arrived the second time. I remember Estate Coble mostly all Puerto Ricans, many of whom worked in one capacity or another for the sugar factory in Bethlehem (or as the Puerto Ricans would say, "Belehen"). Another section that had many Puerto Ricans was Machuchal. But for some reason the area had a bad reputation. People were always advised not to go there alone. Titi Paca and Don Carmelo lived and owned the Caribbean Bar on King and Lagoon Streets (#2B, now a two story cement building that once housed a drug store). At the Caribbean Bar dances, parties and boxing matches were held. Titi Paca was a seamstress during the day and lived next to the bar. [In March 2004, Don Carmelo explained to me that the fights were not arranged by him and that some of the boxers came from St. Thomas.] For a while, we lived on Prince St.. Ma thinks the house she lived in was owned or managed by a Ms. Henry. She said Ms. Henry did not like her to wash the floors to avoid causing the wooden floors to rot. Ma said she’d do the mopping at night but Ms. Henry would find out somehow and come knocking on the door and tell her to stop. From here, we moved to Queen Cross St. No idea when the move took place. [I was told that before living on Prince St., we lived in an apartment behind Johnny Belardo's store on Queen St.] Titi Moncha lived in River and possibly someplace else before that. She may have also lived in Concordia and also in one of the homes on Hill Street and New Street. From River, Titi Moncha moved to Puerto Rico and became part of the Mita religious movement. The Mita congregation had visited St. Croix a few times to give services and recruit new members. Titi Guilla lived in Coble then for a while lived in the small house on Titi Paca’s property in Whim and later in Harrigan and from there, she moved to a house she built in Carlton. Titi Paca lived on or close to Stand St. for a while before moving to King Street. Titi Mery lived in a house in Whim close to Mamá Lola. From here she joined Mita and moved to Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Titi Feli may have lived with Mamá Lola then later with Titi Paca in the house close to the Caribbean Bar, then to New York and later to California. [I obtained this information from Ma on May 3, 2004. She is not sure of all the details so some of this information may not be correct.] Though many Puerto Ricans that came to St. Croix worked in Bethlehem, many turned out to be prominent businessmen in F’sted – Don Miguel García, Don Suarez, Don Chanchin (García), Don Chico (Morales), Don Johnny (Belardo), etc. There were as many in C’sted. Puerto Ricans called the Black female Crucians Madamas. The Black Crucians in general were called Los Ingleses, since they spoke English. By the way, Puerto Rican males were called Papá and the Puerto Rican females were called Mamá. I think this started off as a term of respect but it eventually changed. I suppose the Black Crucians heard us using the terms so much that they decided to respectfully refer to us using the terms. Eventually, the word began to be used in a derogatory manner. According to the Black Crucians Puerto Ricans brought lice, ringworm, hookworm and other infections to St. Croix. We were called Hookworm Puerto Ricans or Licey Puerto Ricans, etc. Puerto Ricans were blamed for every theft, every crime, and every ill of the island. The Black Crucians said we stole their lands, their homes, their jobs, and their men/women. What they did not understand was that the Puerto Ricans came to the island to make a better living and improve their financial situation and were not ashamed to accept demeaning jobs in order to survive. [The same is now happening in the U.S.A. with the Mexicans, Central and South Americans. Many claim they are taking jobs away from Americans yet the jobs these immigrants perform are jobs that pay very little and are not jobs that most Americans really want.] It should be noted that the migration from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands began shortly after the U.S. purchased the islands from Denmark in 1917. A little about Vieques. The island is 135 sq Km (51.7 sq. miles). It is 21 miles (34 Km) long, 3 miles (5 Km) wide. Vieques was founded in 1843 by Francisco Saínz and annexed by Puerto Rico in 1854. Its name is derived from the Taino Indian word for small island, bieques. The island is also called Isla Nena. Vieques is divided into Isabel Segunda, Florida, Puerto Diablo, Puerto Ferro, Puerto Real, Llave, Mosquito and Punta Arena. Ma once told me that she remembers living in Mosquito. From there she moved to what they called Tapia or La Aldea. She said she remembers a “quebrá” in the area, a spring. From there she remembers moving to Campaña (La Hueca) and then to Santa María. From Santa María she moved to Pueblo Nuevo, which they called El Hoyo de Bin (or Hoyo Bin). Eventually she moved to Playa Grande with dad and then to Pueblo Nuevo and from there she moved to St. Croix. |
08/30/06, 05/24/20 |
The Vieques Connection |
The flag at left is the one I have. When I did an online search, I also came upon the flag on the right. It is said that the one on the right emerged during the conflict with the US over the naval base on the island. The one at left is explained as follows: The wave in blue and silver = Ocean. Rhombus = Vieques Island. Green Color = Vegetation of the Island. Castle represents Spain. |
This is the symbolism according to a 1895 meeting: Red Stripes - The blood from the brave warriors. White Stripes - Victory and peace after obtaining independence. Blue Triangle - The sky and coastal waters. White Lone Star - The beautiful Island. |
Written by Jorge L. Rodríguez © Cru-Riqueño Productions, 2006 |
Written by Jorge L. Rodríguez © Cru-Riqueño Productions, 2006 |