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THE HISTORY OF U.S. LATINOS

14.Our
    Quincentennial
      Is Coming!

1. America’s Cradle
La Cuna de America

2. Our Quincentennial is Coming!

!Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
3. American Discovery Day

Día del Descubrimiento de América
4. What a Birthday to Forget!

In Spanish: !Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — September 9, 2009 -- When they take the time to read the writing carved on a marble wall in a particularly dark section of the San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral here, that's when visitors finally realize they are standing before the gravesite of one of the great Spanish conquistadors.

"Is that the Juan Ponce de Leon?" one of them whispered. I nodded my head and took pictures of the resting place of the man who first explored this beautiful island, became its first governor — by a royal decree from King Ferdinand of Spain — and then went on from here to discover and name the "Florida" territory we know as the United States.

Because little effort is made in Puerto Rico to promote this great historical site, American tourists are surprised to stumble onto it. Even in the cathedral's own history booklet, sold at the gift counter, Ponce de Leon's tomb is mentioned only as an afterthought, in the cutline for a small photograph.

Two blocks away at the nearly deserted Plaza de San Jose, only the pigeons seem to be interested in the imposing statue of the man who, according to the writing on its pedestal, was a "shipmate of Columbus during his second voyage" to the New World, "visited the island (of Puerto Rico) in 1508, came back to populate it in 1509, ended his conquest in 1511" and became the "discoverer of Florida" in 1513.

From the Dominican Republic last week, this column questioned how the United States can ignore the upcoming quincentennial of Ponce de Leon's greatest discovery: our own North America! On April 2, 2013, exactly 500 years after the land we call home was first spotted by our European ancestors, why would we deprive ourselves of such a great birthday?

One logical explanation would be the still-enduring effects of "The Black Legend," that insidious centuries-old campaign by Anglo-Saxon scholars to minimize the accomplishments of the Spanish explorers and to portray the conquistadors and their Latin American offspring as crueler and less civilized than other European settlers in the Americas.

But Anglo-Saxons don't deserve all the blame. We Latinos can be our own worst enemies. Throughout the Western Hemisphere, many still are fighting 500-year-old battles between the Spanish invaders and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Many still can't forgive the conquistadors, such as Ponce de Leon, for the atrocities committed under their command against the natives.

And as a result, when we honor our Spanish ancestors, we do it with too many reservations. Here in Old San Juan — and in many other such Spanish colonial areas throughout the Americas — while we celebrate and take pride in our Spanish culture and traditions, we still have many psychological hang-ups about the individuals who brought it all to us.

So if we are looking for the reasons no one in the United States seems to be getting ready for a big quincentennial celebration in 2013, Latinos need to look no further than the nearest mirror.

Before we can ask why Ponce de Leon is not given bigger stature in the United States, we need to promote his memorial tomb, chase the pigeons away from his statue and elevate his stature in Puerto Rico. Granted, in his quest to conquer the island, Ponce de Leon's forces killed a lot of natives, and his efforts to quash native rebellions were ruthless. But unless we 
Latinos can learn to let go of our 500-year-old hang-ups, we will continue to be not only the victims of The Black Legend but also its promoters.

In the United States, Americans don't dwell over the slaves owned or natives killed by some of the Founding Fathers and Revolutionary War heroes, because they recognize that those people lived in another time, with different moral standards, and that their historical accomplishments mattered so much more! Of course we revile slavery and the genocide against Native Americans, but we seldom pick on the individuals who upheld those barbaric standards, especially because many are also genuine American heroes.

Unfortunately, many Latinos have not learned to feel that way about the conquistadors yet.

"Anyone who celebrates Oct. 12, 1492, is a traitor, a sellout and a disrespectful son of a low life b——," wrote one such resentful person reacting to a YouTube video from a TV program on which I interviewed some of the New York descendants of the Taino Indians of the Caribbean. "You wanna celebrate Oct. 12, 1492? Go to f——— Spain and do it! Not here in the Americas! That is total disrespect to the native people if you do!"



Curiously, Latinos who feel that way are usually those on the extreme left of the political spectrum. In promoting The Black Legend, they make strange bedfellows with Americans on the extreme right, those who still are writing letters that reflect what they learned from Anglo-Saxon historians.

"ONLY Miguel Perez would feel 'nostalgia' for the places where natives were forced to bring gold in order to keep from having their hands chopped off," wrote another resentful person, from the opposite end of the spectrum, reacting to my column from Santo Domingo last week. "Or for a place where genocide and mass murder was performed on peaceful natives ... or where HISTORY and CULTURE was destroyed ... all in the name of God."

Among the extremists, The Black Legend is alive and well.

On one extreme end of the political spectrum, you have Americans who would oppose celebrating our 2013 quincentennial because we already have a birthday — the Fourth of July — and to recognize our "Discovery Day" would be to acknowledge the centuries of American history when the presence of Spanish was dominant here, a history that mostly has been distorted or hidden, thanks to The Black Legend.

On the extreme left, you would have Latinos who would oppose the celebration by asking how Ponce de Leon could have "discovered" a land that already was inhabited by natives. They would make some of the other tired arguments they use to promote Spanish cruelty and deny the Spanish achievements in the New World. And in doing so, they also would be promoting The Black Legend, which is still the basis of discrimination against Latinos in the United States.

But those are just the extremists. How about the rest of us? Next week: What do we do about celebrating April 2, 2013? Our quincentennial is coming!

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM


Published at Creators.com - Our Quincentennial is Coming! - on September 9, 2009.

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San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral
San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral
San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral
San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral
Plaza de San Jose
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Gravesite of Juan Ponce de Leon
Gravesite of Juan Ponce de Leon
San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral
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Graveside of Juan Ponce de Leaon
Juan Ponce de Leon
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CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              
4. The Black Legend Returns
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Columbus Deserves His Day
10. Colón Merece Su Día
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter

12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!
14. !Nuestro Quinto Centenario
     Se Avecina!

                   
15. American Discovery Day
15. Día del Descubrimiento de América
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
 19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. What a Birthday to Forget!
                 
24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas
25. La Primera Navidad en Norteamérica

26. The Bucket List Of Hispanic Heritage
26. La Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana
                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Over,
     Can We Talk About Heritage?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage:
    On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana:
     En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's 500th Birthday
     Should Be a National Holiday

29. El 500 Aniversario de la Florida
     Debe Ser una Fiesta Nacional

             
30. The Fountain Of Our Hispanic Heritage               
30. La Fuente de Nuestra Herencia Hispana

31. The Re-Conquest Of American History
31. La Reconquista de la Historia de América

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July

35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline
     Of Hispanic-American History

37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood


41. Obliviously Living
        In ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento
       De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish

        CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR
June 2014 - January 2015

47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank
     Of the American Revolution

52. El Flanco Hispano
     de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo'
     Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase
     Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion
     On the Spanish Mission Trail


59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road
61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
     Of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through
     Our Hispanic Heritage


64. A Beacon of Hope
     On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library
​
WASHINGTON D.C.
February-June 2015


77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso

78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily
     Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics
     In U.S. History Exhibit

80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.

MIAMI
August 2015


81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo

​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018

82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border ​- A Jagged Corner of the World

83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace of the Spanish Colonization of California

87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends
the Story of a Great Man


88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam:
California's First Aqueduct


90. Even at the beach in San Diego,
you can't avoid Spanish history


91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American
​painted under highway ramps


92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes
amid a painful controversy!


93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia:
The King of the California Missions

94. San Luis Rey de Francia:
​El Rey de las Misiones de California


95. San Antonio de Pala: A Sub-Mission to Reach
the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala: Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano: The Home of the Mission Swallows from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano: Hogar de las golondrinas desaparecidas El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
A Mission that Launched Cities

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades


98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: A Walk through Mexican-American History
99. 
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: Un Paseo por la historia ​mexicoamericana

100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. 
San Fernando Rey de España Teaches California's Colonial History
101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña la historia colonial de California

​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking
​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina, ​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba

104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara


105. 
The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas




​
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Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

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America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots