Basta Ya! 31 Years, A Message from Oscar

Greetings with Much Respect and Love,

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Puerto Rican people in PR and in the diaspora for the support you have given me during the past 31 years. I also want to express the same gratitude to the freedom and justice loving people in the U.S. and in different parts of the world for the solidarity they’ve shared with me. The support I’ve received has been a fountain of strength that has helped me face and deal with the difficult challenges I’ve experienced in prison during the past 31 years, and to remain morally and spiritually strong to continue struggling and resisting.

The 31 years seem to have passed fleetingly. Many radical changes have occurred all over the world during this period of time. In Latin America progressive presidents rule in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina. In the last two countries the presidents are progressive women. And in Puerto Rico the US navy is no longer present in Vieques. Unfortunately, the most important change Puerto Ricans need has not taken place. Because colonialism seems to be more entrenched now than ever.

It was José Martí who said that for a people to be free they needed to be cultured. I believe Puerto Ricans are a cultured people. Yet we still are a colonized people. We are also a morally, mentally, spiritually strong people. But we haven’t been able to make Puerto Rico a free and sovereign nation.

It was Albert Einstein who said that by repeating the same experiment the results were always going to be the same. Doing that is nothing else than an exercise in futility. And Puerto Rican independentists have been repeating the same experiment for decades and obtaining the same results without being able to achieve their goal of an independent and sovereign nation. The celebration of plebiscites has been such an experiment. So why do we continue engaging in Sisyphean tasks? What should we do? Let’s pay heed to Einstein’s wise warning.

My proposal is a simple one. Let’s work on the problems we can resolve with the means and resources we have at our disposal. For example, let’s take one problem related to the health issue we are facing – obesity. To resolve this problem a simple change in lifestyle will do. Eat a healthy diet, exercise and create a support network. We can also start programs of urban gardening. There’s space for such a program in the 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico. And in those spaces we can grow healthy products that can help with a nutritional diet. We can look for alternative sources of energy and of transportation. Let’s start thinking of changes we can make in our lifestyles and we can resolve some of the difficult problems we face. Problems shouldn’t intimidate or scare us. They should produce ideas in our heads and challenge us to find solutions. Finding solutions to problems give us confidence, and help us transcend our colonized mentality. And that transcendence gets us closer to our goal of achieving an independent and sovereign nation and a better and more just world. We are intelligent enough to know what needs to be done. We can change lifestyles in Puerto Rico and in the Puerto Rican diaspora and by doing so we will grow stronger morally, physically, spiritually and mentally. We can make Puerto Rico a free and sovereign nation.

En resistencia y lucha,
OLR.

Breaking the One-Sided Cycle: Filiberto, the movie

There are at least two sides to every story. When it comes to the history of Puerto Rico there are many stories. The same same can be said of its many patriots and their long fervor-ed stance against imperialistic might.

On September 23, 2005, the anniversary of El Grito de Lares, in the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, the home of Filiberto Ojeda Rios was surrounded by FBI agents. After spending many years on the FBI's most wanted list, the one side of Filiberto's life that lead to his being labeled a terrorist in his own nation would culminate in his killing by federal agents. This, of course, is the one side that is preferred by the those who seek to further deny a true patriot his right to justice for his beloved country and people.

To better understand Filiberto's life, one has to take a much deeper journey into the life of the man and into his beloved nation, Puerto Rico. It is with an understanding of both that we can then break the cycle of the one-sided story inclination that makes a man, a patriot to some and a terrorist to others. This is what one sided histories do.

 Clandestinity By Comandante Filiberto

In an attempt to better understand the man, a documentary detailing the life of this  professional musician who abandoned his trumpet and his family to live a clandestine life of armed revolutionary has been in the works. Like any other undertaking of this magnitude, a huge amount of funding is required and getting the word out is of utmost importance in achieving this.

If you would like to donate please do so, no amount is too small. You can also post it into your Facebook wall, tweet it, pin it and email it.





Filiberto, Teaser (Proyecto Chiringa) from Filiberto, the movie on Vimeo.  

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English, Santorum, Puerto Rico: There is Still Much to be Learned

Maybe he's a bit late to the table. Or rather, Rick Santorum never made it to classroom. Wait, even if he did he would not have learned much about Puerto Rico anyway.

Santorum to Puerto Rico: Speak English if you want statehood

Carlos Diaz, 84, reads local newspaper El Vocero with a front page depicting both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum and a headline reading, "The National Battle Arrives on the Island. (Photo by Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Politics can't get any worse when you have a presidential candidate courting the Latino vote on an island that, to most Americans, barely exists, other than for vacations. To others, it is an eye sore of total U.S. support and sustainability that feeds off social services and medicare programs. Many opine negatively based on media influence and hearsay, which also create stereotypes. It can't be based on historical facts because U.S  history lessons have been devoid of the historical facts that have led Puerto Rico to a dependency on the U.S. that is difficult to break from.

Those who do know something are called political strategist. Political strategist are fully aware of Puerto Rico's upcoming plebiscite. But, like many, they too fail to know much, if anything, about the U.S. and Puerto Rico relationship (it's called Colonialism!) over the past 100 years.

Two facts that both Santorum and company need open up a book for are: First, the U.S. Constitution does not designate an official language. Secondly, English and Spanish are the official languages in Puerto Rico.

As for statehood, if it were ever that simple, then it would have been easily obtainable a long time ago. Instead, we have a dirty little word called colonialism (or Neocolonialism). Ignored and repeatedly rephrased as "Associated Free State", "Commonwealth", or "Unincorporated Territory".

As for the campaign rhetoric, it is just that. Attempts by both Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney to roll up their sleeves and make every attempt to court the Latino vote. The promises are played out like a perfect game. While the political games are played, the secret no longer remains a total secret, America still possesses the world's oldest colony in the Caribbean. In the case of politics, the door is  only open long enough for the rhetoric to be heard and then, what is learned and realized is forgotten just like promises made during a campaign.

That leaves us with this: Puerto Rican Primary = Colonial Problems