Dose West Side Story better or Worst with the Sharks being Puerto Ricans ?

[Oldies m]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 11:59am

As great as West Side Story is,It bugs me every time I watch or see it that the Sharks are Puerto Ricans. Why? Becuse Puerto Ricans are American citizens!  The song America dosn't work for me for this reason.Becuse when the Sharks are discussing whether  Puerto Rico or the USA is better. They act like it was hard for them to move to USA and Puerto Rico isn't part of the USA. I mean in reality, Rosalia and the gang could go back to the Puerto Rico as easy as someone originally from Hawaii or Alaska moving back to those states.

At the same time. It might be more genius that their Puerto Ricans, Becuse their both the jets and the sharks are American citizens,their shouldn't be this rivalry.

 

   I can't tell

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 12:02pm

The Sharks are never NOT Puerto Rican characters. What are you going on about?

[NievesG]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 12:06pm

This post is why I lurk BWW.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 12:09pm

...I think it's trying to communicate...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 12:28pm

I think I see what they are trying to say in the original post, that Puerto Ricans are American citizens so they shouldn't be viewed as immigrants and not subject to feeling transplanted or homesick? Of course, if that is what they are trying to say, then it's incredibly naive to think that life in Puerto Rico in the 1950s was anything like life in New York City in the 1950s. Hell, look at what Puerto Rico is going through now and try to tell me that someone moving from there to New York City wouldn't be feeling some huge adjustments to their life.

[IronMan]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 1:22pm

Perhaps you should listen to the lyrics?

"Nobody knows in America

Puerto Rico's IN America!" 

[Kea4]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 2:15pm

IronMan said: "Perhaps you should listen to the lyrics?

"Nobody knows in America

Puerto Rico's IN America!""

Yes, Puerto Ricans have American citizens, but every Puerto Rican that I've talked to has said they consider Peurto Rico to be a country with a completely seperate culture and identity. 

Also, just because Puerto Rico may be part of the US, that doesn't mean it's easy to move or to move back - it would still cost money, but strains on relationships, ect. 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 2:16pm

It's clearly about racism dude. Nothing to do with citizenship. Thank you for the wonderful laugh though. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 2:23pm

Maybe a more interesting question is how Puerto Ricans FEEL about West Side Story? For being as anti-racism as it is, a lot of the jokes are still at PR’s expense as a poverty-stricken, hurricane-riddled hellhole that only a naive noodle would want to idealize or return to. That’s gotta sting, especially these days.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 2:47pm

Because the song underscores the fact that Puerto Rico is not a state in the Union and thus has been forever treated as inferior to the rest of the United States of America.  Which, as AEA AGMA SM points out, is still a relevant issue today.  

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 2:55pm

Isnt that part of the point? Theyre Americans being treated like dirt by "real" Americans.

[AADA81]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 3:33pm

And, let's not forget, the original WSS was written in the 1950s about the reality of the situation in the 1950s and not as things are today although, now that I think of it, maybe things are not all that different now.

And, of course, the original was written by three well-heeled, gay white men....who better to tell the story of Puerto Rican life, underprivileged youth and gang violence in America?!

Updated On: 7/10/19 at 03:33 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 3:49pm

If you look at the US reaction to the hurricane that affected Puerto Rico compared to similar incidents in Texas and Florida, I'm not sure Puerto Rico is given equal treatment today, nor would their citizenry feel they are the same.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 12:21am

haterobics said: "If you look at the US reaction to the hurricane that affected Puerto Rico compared to similar incidents in Texas and Florida, I'm not sure Puerto Rico is given equal treatment today, nor would their citizenry feel they are the same."

Exactly. (Ditto to Dramamama's post.)

The issue of Puerto Rican nationality is complex and always has been. 
And I don't agree it is somehow more settled today than it was in 1957.

Yes, Puerto Ricans are US citizens, but they are isolated. (To paraphrase our President: "I don't know if you know this, but Puerto Rico is surrounded by water." And they have a different heritage in terms of culture, language and religion from most American mainlanders.

There have been many referenda in my lifetime where citizens were given a choice between gaining independence, statehood or maintaining the current commonwealth (i.e., colony) status. No clear consensus has ever been reached. (There are tax and other consequences to independence, too; I don't mean to suggest this is merely a question of sentimentality.)

The question now is whether the federal neglect and the thousands of unnecessary deaths after Hurricane Maria will tip the balance toward separation from the US or toward a closer relationship.

Since PR as a state would probably tend to vote Democratic, I doubt the GOP will ever allow statehood. IIRC, PR has to request statehood (or independence), but Congress has to approve any request.

(BTW, I spent two weeks in PR with a church group in my teens. Lovely people, beautiful island. Quite a mess at the moment, thanks to the current administration. Tragic.)

***

ETA in terms of WEST SIDE STORY characters, those who romanticize the home island are ignoring the fact that there are far fewer jobs there. PR retains a primarily agricultural economy even as its population has exploded thanks to modern medicine, etc. That's what the song "America" is about: not to take pot shots at the home island, but to point out that few Puerto Ricans are in New York because they like concrete. Most are there because they couldn't support themselves in the Puerto Rican economy.

Updated On: 7/11/19 at 12:21 AM