Jesús Colón
Encyclopedia
Jesús Colón was a Puerto Rican
writer known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement
.
after the Spanish-American War
when the American Tobacco Company
gained control of most of the tobacco
producing land in Puerto Rico
. His father was a baker and his family owned the "Colon Hotel". His home was behind the town's cigar factory, which hired "readers" to read stories and current events to the employees whilst they worked. As a child, Colón visited the factory to listen to these stories. He was exposed to the writings of Karl Marx
and Émile Zola
. From these ideas he formed a personal socialist
ideology and also an interest in both the spoken and written word. The family moved to San Juan
where he attended and continued his education at the Jose Julian Acosta
School. His brother Joaquin attended the Central High School.
as an employee and landed in Brooklyn, New York. There he went to live with his older brother, Joaquin Colon, who was already residing in Brooklyn. He worked in various unskilled jobs and was able to observe the deplorable conditions of the working class of the time.
. He wrote about his experiences, as well as the experiences of other immigrants, becoming among the first Puerto Ricans to do so in English. His best known work, A Puerto Rican in New York, set the stage for the literary movement known as the "Nuyorican Movement
". Colón inspired other writers such as Piri Thomas
, Esmeralda Santiago
, Nicholasa Mohr
, Pedro Pietri
, and others.
Colón began a Spanish language
newspaper and in 1955, he wrote a regular column for the Daily Worker
, a publication of the Communist Party
in New York. Colón was also the president of "Hispanic Publications" which published history books, political pamphlets in Spanish, and literature.
In the 1940s, Colón was president of the Cervantes Fraternal Society, the Spanish language division of the pro-Communist International Workers Order (IWO), a non-profit fraternal organization (life & health insurance, social and cultural activities, etc.) made up of 16 ethnic/language groupings that, in total at its height, counted almost 200,000 members. (The Cervantes Fraternal Society, IWO, should not be confused with the Cervantes Society of America, an academic group.) The IWO, after being included on the U. S. Attorney General's list of "subversive organizations" (the listing was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court), was dissolved by the NY State Supreme Court in 1951.
In the 1950s, during the McCarthy
period, Colón was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee
in Washington, D.C.
He outraged the Committee when he stated "I will not cooperate with this committee in its aim to destroy the Bill of Rights
and other Constitutional rights of the people".
Jesús Colón died in New York City in 1974. In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated, returned to Puerto Rico and scattered over River La Plata, in Cayey; here the river goes to the north of Puerto Rico and into the Atlantic ocean.
Edna Acosta-Belen, professor of Latin America
n and Caribbean
Studies at the University of Albany and Virginia Sanchez Korrol, associate professor and Chair of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College
, put together a booklet of Colón's writings called "The Way it was and Other Writings". Jesus Colon's niece (daughter of Joaquin), Olimpia Colón Aponte, is a retired writer who lives in Puerto Rico.
Contemporary publications
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
writer known as the Father of the Nuyorican Movement
Nuyorican Movement
The Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
.
Early years
Colón was born in Cayey, Puerto RicoCayey, Puerto Rico
Cayey is a mountain town in central Puerto Rico located on the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Salinas; and west of San Lorenzo Cayey is spread over 21 wards and Cayey Pueblo...
after the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
when the American Tobacco Company
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company...
gained control of most of the tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
producing land in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. His father was a baker and his family owned the "Colon Hotel". His home was behind the town's cigar factory, which hired "readers" to read stories and current events to the employees whilst they worked. As a child, Colón visited the factory to listen to these stories. He was exposed to the writings of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
. From these ideas he formed a personal socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
ideology and also an interest in both the spoken and written word. The family moved to San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
where he attended and continued his education at the Jose Julian Acosta
José Julián Acosta
José Julián Acosta Calbo , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a distinguished journalist and a fervent advocate of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...
School. His brother Joaquin attended the Central High School.
New York City
In 1917, when he was 16 he boarded the SS CarolinaSS Carolina
The SS Carolina was a passenger liner; it was one of six vessels sunk on a single day during World War I by the German submarine, U-151 on "Black Sunday". The wreck was rediscovered in 1995 by wreck divers John Chatterton and John Yurga.-History:...
as an employee and landed in Brooklyn, New York. There he went to live with his older brother, Joaquin Colon, who was already residing in Brooklyn. He worked in various unskilled jobs and was able to observe the deplorable conditions of the working class of the time.
Nuyorican Movement
Colón was discriminated against because of the color of his skin (he was Black) and because of his difficulty speaking the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He wrote about his experiences, as well as the experiences of other immigrants, becoming among the first Puerto Ricans to do so in English. His best known work, A Puerto Rican in New York, set the stage for the literary movement known as the "Nuyorican Movement
Nuyorican Movement
The Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
". Colón inspired other writers such as Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas was a writer and poet whose autobiography Down These Mean Streets became a best-seller.-Early years:...
, Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda Santiago is a Puerto Rican author and former actress known for her novels and memoirs.-Early life:Santiago was born on 17 May 1948 in the San Juan district of Villa Palmeras, Santurce, Puerto Rico. In 1961, she came to the continental United States when she was thirteen years old, the...
, Nicholasa Mohr
Nicholasa Mohr
Nicholasa Mohr is one of the best known Nuyorican writers. Her works tell of growing up in the Puerto Rican communities of the Bronx and El Barrio and of the difficulties Puerto Rican women face in the United States.- Life and career :...
, Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri , was a Nuyorican poet and playwright who co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years :...
, and others.
Colón began a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
newspaper and in 1955, he wrote a regular column for the Daily Worker
Daily Worker
The Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it appear that the paper reflected a...
, a publication of the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
in New York. Colón was also the president of "Hispanic Publications" which published history books, political pamphlets in Spanish, and literature.
In the 1940s, Colón was president of the Cervantes Fraternal Society, the Spanish language division of the pro-Communist International Workers Order (IWO), a non-profit fraternal organization (life & health insurance, social and cultural activities, etc.) made up of 16 ethnic/language groupings that, in total at its height, counted almost 200,000 members. (The Cervantes Fraternal Society, IWO, should not be confused with the Cervantes Society of America, an academic group.) The IWO, after being included on the U. S. Attorney General's list of "subversive organizations" (the listing was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court), was dissolved by the NY State Supreme Court in 1951.
In the 1950s, during the McCarthy
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
period, Colón was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He outraged the Committee when he stated "I will not cooperate with this committee in its aim to destroy the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
and other Constitutional rights of the people".
Later years
In 1969, Colón ran for the "Office of Comptroller of the City of New York", running with Rasheed Storey, candidate for mayor on the Communist Party ticket. Neither candidate won.Jesús Colón died in New York City in 1974. In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated, returned to Puerto Rico and scattered over River La Plata, in Cayey; here the river goes to the north of Puerto Rico and into the Atlantic ocean.
Edna Acosta-Belen, professor of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
Studies at the University of Albany and Virginia Sanchez Korrol, associate professor and Chair of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, put together a booklet of Colón's writings called "The Way it was and Other Writings". Jesus Colon's niece (daughter of Joaquin), Olimpia Colón Aponte, is a retired writer who lives in Puerto Rico.
Written works
Posthumous compilations- Lo que el pueblo me dice--: crónicas de la colonia puertorriqueña en Nueva York, edited and with an introduction by Edwin Karli Padilla Aponte, 2001. Houston, Texas: Arte Público Press. ISBN 1558853308.
- The way it was, and other writings: historical vignettes about the New York Puerto Rican community. edited with an introductory essay by Edna Acosta-Belén and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, 1993. Houston: Arte Público Press. ISBN 1558850570.
Contemporary publications
- A Puerto Rican in New York, and other sketches, 1961. New York: Mainstream Publishers.
Anthologies
- "Kipling and I" (poem), in Wáchale!: poetry and prose about growing up Latino in America, edited by Ilan Stavans, 2001. Chicago: Cricket Books. ISBN 0812647505.
- "The teacher was surprised", in Riding low on the streets of gold, edited and with an introduction by Judith Ortiz Cofer, 2003. Houston, Texas: Piñata Books; Arte Público Press.
- "For the Color of My Mother", in Hispanic American literature: an anthology, compiled by Rodolfo Cortina, 1998. Lincolnwood, Illinois : NTC Pub. Group. ISBN 0844257303.
- "from A Perfect Silence", in Growing up Puerto Rican: an anthology, edited and with an introduction by Joy L. De Jesʹus; foreword by Ed Vega, 1997. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0688137407.
- "Island of Lost Causes" and "The Docile Puerto Rican - Literature and Psychological Reality" in Boricuas: influential Puerto Rican writings - an anthology, edited by Roberto Santiago, 1995. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345395026.
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican literature