Marisol Plaza Benítez with her daughter, year of title 1991 Marisol Plaza Benítez cultivates Puerto Rican culture within her five children by exposing them to the music, food, and language. As part of their daily routine, her children ask for “La bendicion,” or a blessing, “And after La Bendicion, we tell our kids that it's really important that they remember where they're from, they remember who they are, and that most importantly they have to succeed in what they do, they have to strive to be successful.” Benítez took her daughter to the 50th anniversary of the Miss Puerto Rico Pageant this year, “She was beaming the whole time and I don’t know if it was because she felt proud of me or not, or that was just one other way for her to connect in being Puerto Rican.”
Miss Puerto Rico of Rochester
The Miss Puerto Rico Pageant of Rochester was established in 1969, making it a 50 year-old event. The pageant is open to girls ages 15 to 17, who are at least 50 percent Puerto Rican. Rather than focusing on beauty, the pageant emphasizes culture and community. In the months leading up to the pageant, the young women attend classes where they learn about Puerto Rican history, art, dance, cooking, politics, and literature. The winner of the pageant is chosen based on her leadership abilities and understanding of culture. During their reigning year, the queen and princess attend events within the Puerto Rican community such as the Puerto Rican parade.
This group of past winners hold a strong sense of identity and pride that is rooted in being Puerto Rican, despite their physical distance from the island. “ We were lucky that despite of being part of the United States Commonwealth we have been able to keep our culture somewhat intact,” says Myra Sylvestri, a winner from 1982. The following portraits feature past princesses and queens who are still living in Rochester. They discuss the ways in which they maintain their Puerto Rican identity while living in the USA mainland.
Crystal Morales in her classroom, year of title 2013
Morales teaches seventh and eight grade at James Monroe High School. The majority of her students are Spanish speaking, and moved to Rochester before Hurricane Maria. Morales believes that teaching in an urban school is about building relationships and trust. “If they are not here because they don’t feel like they can trust you, if they feel that you don’t care about them, they are not going to want to come in” she says. One way that Morales has built trust with her students is through the jar that she is holding. She encouraged her students to complete the sentence “I wish my teacher knew…” on a sticky note and drop it into the jar. As a result of this activity she has become aware of student’s personal struggles that follow them into the classroom, and specific academic needs.
Mayra Sylvestry (second from left) with her daughter Nicole Sylvestry (left), mother Carmen Olmo (right), and Sofia Sylvestry (right). Year of title 1982.
Mayra moved to the US mainland as a child, but her mother continued to cultivate their culture wich Mayra now passes down to her daughters. "When I'm at home with my whole family. "When we're together [as a family], is when I feel the most connected as a Puerto Rican. Because we will start speaking the language and we will start playing the music, or we'll say a joke, or you know all of a sudden we will call Puerto Rico to see how our aunt is doing" says Mayra.
Celisse Rivera at SUNY Buffalo State College, year of title 2013.
Rivera is studying biology and aspires to be a doctor. "I'm totally proud to be who I am given, you know, I'm mixed, but just because I'm mixed, that doesn't make me less of a Puerto Rican, you know, and I feel like part of the reason why I want to get into medicine is because you don't really see many Puerto Rican women going into medicine or being doctors" says Rivera.
Ivana Hernandez at Ontario Beach Park, year of title 2011.
Ivana Hernandez feels a connection Puerto Rico when she walks along the pier, even though the beaches are vastly different. “It brings you back. My family lives-they live close to the beach, it's a beach called La Guancha. It is a really beautiful beach. So when you go, like close to the waves, it can almost bring you there, you know?” Hernandez makes the effort to stay connected and pass her culture down to her children because “With American culture, sometimes it is easy to lose. Sometimes we lose the language. Sometimes we just you know the culture, but it's so important to keep them because it's something that, you know, our ancestors have passed on to us. And I feel like it's our duty to pass it on to our kids. Little things, like you know, I have a daughter and she's two. And I teach her words in Spanish. And she, she's only two, but she knows so much about Puerto Rico that she wants to visit.”
Ingrid Gonzalez with her grandmother, year of title 1999.
Ingrid Gonzalez grew up in her grandmother’s house “she is the one I will call mom, because my mom was always working and trying to provide.” Gonzalez’s favorite memories of her grandmother were their nightly conversations where “she would always like, encouraged me to, you know, do well in school. So that I could be successful, and school is the way to go. And that's why she sacrificed- you know her and her husband sacrificed coming to Rochester, to have a better life for us.” Gonzalez still maintain a close connection with her grandmother who is now one hundred years old, and was honored this year as the Abuelita of the year by the Hispanic Heritage committee in Rochester.