Book Review

The Puerto Rican Movement: Voices from the Diaspora. Ed. by Andrés Torres and José E. Velázquez. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. xvi, 381 pp. Cloth, $69.95, isbn 1-56639-617-4. Paper, $24.95, isbn 1-56639-618-2.)

Popular Expression and National Identity in Puerto Rico: The Struggle for Self, Community, and Nation. By Lillian Guerra. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998. xii, 332 pp. $49.95, isbn 0-8130-1594-4.)

The recent surge of publications in English on Puerto Rican themes attests to a growing concern by a new generation attempting to develop new answers to old and vexing questions.	1
José E. Cruz's book on community politics in Hartford, Connecticut, contains eleven chapters, with maps, photographs, and an index. This rigorous examination of the political history of migrant Puerto Ricans evidences the role of identity politics in their empowerment. The first three chapters provide a background by highlighting the ethnic affirmation that resulted from their insertion in the new setting. The ensuing awareness, Cruz argues, was not discontinuous with the sociopsychological characteristics of their nationality but was stimulated by their daily plight and reception by the Hartford establishment. Rather than claiming that this community is an illustration of internal colonialism, Cruz asserts that, although colonialism explains its presence, it does not fully explain subsequent political behavior. The premise seems to be that an awareness of power and the promise of organized action intersected to generate identity politics. The vicissitudes in the political arena are partially explained by the determination of the migrants to pursue goals within the rules of the majority.	2
The study addresses the Hartford political power structure before the migrants' arrival and interrogates political mobilization and the role of ethnic actors who face the host society while affirming their cultural identity. Its concise treatment of human costs and critical moments makes it an important source for understanding ethnic politics in general and Puerto Rican migration in particular. It also suggests the need to elucidate the influence of island politics in enclaves populated by migrants and the threat they constitute to the elites on the island. Depicting the process from collective behavior to brokered representation and political mobilization permits the examination of the political assets and liabilities leading to participation. While considering demographic variables, leadership development, and organizational efforts, the pragmatic political comportment of the community is identified (probably related to their electoral experience on the island). Theoretical issues are not neglected in instances where clashes emerge as a result of cultural affirmation and mundane political action. The challenges of ethnicity and identity need more comparative study since questions persist in relation to integration and the extent of political conflict.	3
The Puerto Rican Movement is an anthology edited by Andrés Torres and José E. Velázquez. It contains a preface, acknowledgments, an introduction, and eighteen chapters in three sections ("The Core Left," "Histories and Reflections," and "Community and Solidarity"). The first section contains an overview, essays on the Socialist party and on radicalism in Connecticut, and interviews with former members of El Comité-Movimiento de Izquierda Nacional Puertorriqueño, the Young Lords party in Philadelphia, the Puerto Rican Student Union, and a political prisoner. Section 2 addresses personal reminiscences. It includes two sections on the Young Lords, two essays on feminist plights in the Left, an interview with the political prisoner Elizam Escobar, and an assemblage of interviews with Boston activists. Section 3 has an interview with a writer, another with a community leader, an essay on the gay and lesbian presence, a reflection on the African American connection, and an article on the navy occupation of Vieques.	. . .