Maria A. D’Ulisse-Cupo
Rosita was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico in 1967. At the age of four Rosita and her mother immigrated to the United States via New York. Rosita is presently seventeen years old and attends a local New Haven high school. She eventually plans on working in the medical field. She is a hard-worker and is academically sound. She helps her mother daily and is very active in her Church functions.
Interviewer: Rosita, briefly describe your family and why you are in “El Norte.”?
Rosita: My grandmother lived in Paterson, New Jersey. She had been writing my mother for many years trying to convince her to come to New Jersey. My real father had left my mother even before I was born. So my mother suffered very much trying to raise me. Her cousins helped her through this ordeal, but my grandmother felt that if she came to New Jersey she could live with her without worrying. My grandmother had been in the United States since 1959 and she had secured a very good job and owned her own home.
Interviewer: So, was your mother convinced to go north?
Rosita: My mother felt very comfortable on our island. Her luck (rather) our luck began to change. My mother re-married when I was two. My step-father had a small fruit and vegetable market in the center of town. He worked very hard to make us happy. But my grandmother kept writing and would not give up. I remember one evening, my mother and step-father discussing the problem. It had become a problem, because my step-father wanted to go to New Jersey and he also started to convince my mother. So, at the age of four we left for New Jersey, leaving my step-father behind. He insisted that he remain on the island. He turned the roles around. My mother came to New Jersey and found a job, I went to school and we were established in Paterson. My grandmother was very happy, but my mother would be sad at times because she missed her husband.
Interviewer: What did your step-father have in mind by sending you and your mother to New Jersey?
Rosita: My step-father wanted to come to the north, but he did not want to come to an isolated state. He had no family in the north and was doing well with his fruit business. So by having my mother established first, he would then follow.
Interviewer: Was your mother content with this idea?
Rosita: Well, yes and no. She could not figure her husband out. (She later confessed this to me a few years ago.) But, because she worked and made many new friends she was happy. When I was about seven years old I remember my mother telling me about another city named New Haven, in the state of Connecticut where two of her friends had moved to. My mother was also considering the move because Paterson was beginning to deteriorate. It was nicknamed “Devil’s Corner.” There were many racial riots between the Blacks and Puerto Ricans. Many of the apartment buildings were not being kept up. The landlords were Chinese and were really slum-lords, because they did not care.
Interviewer: Were there other ethnic groups in your neighborhood?
Rosita: Yes, my grandmother would always tell me how nice the neighborhood used to be when she first came. There were Italians, Cubans and Puerto Ricans. And as she quotes “things were different then, we all cared about our homes and apartments.” Ever since the Blacks moved in, the fights began. I wasn’t allowed to play in the park and some times in front of my home unless my mother was there watching. I also remember white boys picking on me. I was very quiet and shy. My mother did not want me answering anyone back, regardless of whom they were. One day I came home with a a big bruise on my arm. Some kids had thrown rocks at me as I walked home from school.
Interviewer: Meanwhile your step-father was still in Puerto Rico. Did this bother your mother?
Rosita: Many things began bothering my mother at this point. He was not corresponding like before. The neighborhood was really getting to her. So, meanwhile her friends convinced her to move to New Haven. In July, 1977 we moved to Fair Haven. A few months later my step-father joined us. We were happy, but his savings were getting low and we were depending on my mother for work. During this period my sister was born and my mother stopped working. I attended Roberto Clemente School and blended in well. Although still shy, I was surprised how friendly the Blacks were compared to those from Paterson. There were no fights, the teachers were great and I was doing well academically. But life at home was not too happy. My step-father left us. He still lives in New Haven and we do see him occasionally, my mother was happier without him and still is very happy today.
Interviewer: How did you feel about him leaving?
Rosita: I was happy because I saw my mother happy. My mother is a very strong woman and can survive without a man. We have our religion which keeps us strong. We belong to the Pentecostal Church. My mother has raised us in the traditional way and we follow our Church rules and are very happy.
Interviewer: Do you find your religion too restrictive, socially?
Rosita: No, I like wearing dresses and I have beautiful long hair, plus material things are not important. When I am in Church, which is at times four nights a week I feel happy, it’s like my family, we do things together, we are unified.
Interviewer: How do you feel about being Puerto Rican?
Rosita: I am very proud to be Puerto Rican. My Church helps me understand) my ethnic group. I also met my boyfriend in Church and he is Puerto Rican and I am happy to be with him.