Overview 

There is a largely interconnected history between Puerto Rico and Hartford, Connecticut that still remains prominent today. For decades, Puerto Ricans have migrated in large numbers to the city and over time have created a large network of businesses and organizations that benefit the people that live in the Greater Hartford Area. Due to economic issues on the island, many Puerto Ricans migrated and found Hartford to be a place they could prosper by applying their skills and intellect to better their community. The plentiful efforts by Puerto Ricans to improve things like social services and activism within their city also played a vital role in ensuring the success of Puerto Ricans and gave resources to other populations in CT as well.

While Hartford, Connecticut has always been regarded as a city of immigrants, there is a distinct community of people that have made their presence known throughout this city’s history; Puerto Ricans. Migrants from Puerto Rico have carved their image into this city leaving behind milestones of cultural tradition and expression that have led to the creation of a unique cultural identity in a transformed landscape. Today, 1 out of every 14 state residents is of Puerto Rican descent, and 1 in 3 Hartford residents. From establishing bilingual education, to guiding Hartford city politics, to creating an abundance of non-profit organizations, to creating the Park St commercial center, Puerto Ricans in Hartford have left behind a legacy incomparable to that of any other migrant group of the past century, not just in Connecticut.

History on Puerto Rican Migration 

• Puerto Rico’s first migration to the United States has no clear date, but data gathered establishes that the first Puerto Rican migrants to arrive in Connecticut arrived in the 1840’s. Even so, it wasn’t until after WWII that Puerto Ricans began migrating in waves.
• Towards the later half of the twentieth century, increasing waves of Puerto Rican migrants were arriving in Connecticut. There were many opportunities that arose from new factories in the larger cities such as Waterbury and Bridgeport, as well as a large demand for tobacco pickers in the capitol city of Hartford. 
• Puerto Rico’s economic stability has been in peril for many years due to investors from all of the 50 states investing in its municipal bonds that resulted in a fortune for investors due to the tax treatment on the island. On top of this, because of the island’s status as a territory, Puerto Ricans on the island receive less money for things like Medicare and Medicaid, and are unable to declare bankruptcy. From an objective standpoint, the debt of an average of $129 million is largely, and mainly, because of this situation.
• This economic instability has led many to migrate to the mainland, particularly Connecticut, in search of better lives. Driven by a desire to be part of a freer and more economically advanced environment, many PR migrants were already highly qualified and skilled in different career fields, enabling growth as a community and creating more and more opportunities for their people as well as those in need.
  
• Since then, generations of Puerto Ricans in Connecticut have dedicated themselves to social services by pioneering bilingual education, creating and establishing a vast network of social agencies, community institutions, small shops, community organizations, and churches.
  
• Since then, generations of Puerto Ricans in Connecticut have dedicated themselves to social services by pioneering bilingual education, creating and establishing a vast network of social agencies, community institutions, small shops, community organizations, and churches.
  
• Through these accomplishments, the Puerto Rican presence in Connecticut has extensively grown and has become distinguished in a number of areas.
  

CT: Connections to Local Realities

Below are related resources for Puerto Rican impact in Connecticut:   

CICD Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade: This website provides a simple yet detailed walkthrough of the early Puerto Rican presence in Hartford, Connecticut, including how events like the Puerto Rican Day Parade came to be, while also offering a well-developed background on the many other traditions, festivals, and cultural practices that Puerto Ricans in Hartford host to honor and preserve the heritage of their ancestors from the island.

Co-Evolution In An Outlying Ethnic Community - The Puerto Ricans of Hartford, Connecticut: This journal article provides insight into the distinct generational migrant communities of Puerto Ricans in Hartford, Connecticut, and presents topics centered on public housing, socio-economic relations, and the political issues of the time.

Bilingual Education and School Desegregation - A Case of Uncoordinated Remedies: This paper by Perry A. Zirkel was presented at the Fifth Annual International Bilingual/Bicultural Education Conference in San Antonio, Texas, in May 1976. It is an original copy that outlines Zirkel’s concerns and intentions for bilingual education by explaining and comparing it to desegregation. The document reflects the shared vision and plan of action of both Perry A. Zirkel and María Colón Sánchez.

Charles R. Venator-Santiago

• Author of many articles and several books on the political relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, for example:
• “Hostages of Empire: A Short History of the Extension of U.S. Citizenship to Puerto Rico, 1898 to the Present / Rehenes del imperio: Breve historia de la extensión de la ciudadanía estadounidense a Puerto Rico, 1898 al presente” (Editorial Universidad del Este, 2018).
• “Puerto Rico and the Origins of U.S. Global Empire: The Disembodied Shade” (Routledge, 2015) 
• Venator's scholarship strongly focuses on the socio-political and socio-economic relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, highlighting the connection between Hartford, Connecticut, Springfield, MA and Puerto Rico. He has tracked and interviewed Post-Maria migrants, who have added to the significant Puerto Rican population of the city.
  • This work on displaced people can be found in "Findings from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Survey on Impact of Post-Maria Displacement of Puerto Ricans and U.S. Virgin Islanders on Households in the Greater Hartford Region, February–May 2018."

Approach to discussing/teaching it:

• Getting students to form small groups in order to discuss certain things they see in their everyday lives for a couple of minutes once a week and then present it to the class would be a good way of making these topics interactive and argument based. What do they observe about how culture is expressed, represented, embraced?
• Students that speak of the noticeable Puerto Rican presence will inspire others to subconsciously notice certain things they would think normal in their environment but actually have Hispanic heritage to it, especially Puerto Rican.
• Assigning students in class places from the heritage trail and discussing how these places interconnect with one another and how they came to be marked by the Puerto Rican community would be another interesting way of going about it for the class. How do people shape and use community space? What visions have Puerto Ricans transplanted from the island?

How might a consideration of the PR presence in CT help students analyze the dynamics of power, race, gender; and the ways in which steps towards equity often lead to a push forward/pushback interplay between dominant and minoritized cultures:

• Concretize: What is social hierarchy? Teachers might encourage a discussion of how migrants integrate into society. Where do they live when they first arrive? What kinds of jobs do they often do? How does language, family ties, cultural norms and difference, and how they are received impact how well they do economically? What does this look like with Puerto Ricans? How do they fit into the social hierarchy?
  • A past, present, and future hypothetical discussion about this might be good to see what the students are visualizing and what they believe the Puerto Rican impact to be.
• Students might draft short essays on key political figures that would provide insight for classmates to learn more about certain individuals that advanced through political power.
• Students might direct conversations based on challenging topics, such as the non-Hispanic pushback on bilingual education and certain moments of racism against the Latino/a community—like the events of the Comanchero Riot, where Puerto Ricans, both workers and everyday citizens, were harassed and abused due to racial tensions regarding the growing Puerto Rican community.

Activities for engaging students:

Class Field Trip: Plan a class field trip to the Puerto Rican Heritage Trail in Hartford, Connecticut in order to help students connect with one another. Visit the tobacco museum to learn about the history of the work many early PR settlers took up.

Resources for Primary Documents that Represent an Era:

• Bilingual Education and School Desegregation: A Case of Uncoordinated Remedies
  
  • This paper is by Perry A. Zirkel, presented at the Fifth Annual International Bilingual/Bicultural Education Conference in San Antonio, Texas in May 1976.
    
  • This document is an original copy that portrays Zirkel’s concerns and intent for bilingual education through explaining and comparing desegregation with bilingual education.
    
  • It is an old document outlining the plan of action and ideas of both Perry A. Zirkel and María Colón Sánchez.
    

Important figures/activists:

These people played vital roles in contributing to Puerto Rican presence and representation in Connecticut.

• Sylvia Vargas (née Carrasquillo): Activist and State Queen of the 1969 Puerto Rican Parade.
• Rosa Delia Crespo: Highlighted in a Hartford Times article for the dance where she was crowned queen of the Hartford chapter of the Puerto Rican Parade.
• Yolanda Castillo: First Puerto Rican Majority Leader in Connecticut, elected in 1992.
• Max Fernandez: Director of TAINO Housing, a community and housing development agency supporting Puerto Rican residents.
• Florencio Morales: Social worker for CRT, interviewed in 1965 for the Hartford Courant and featured in José E. Cruz's work on Puerto Rican identity and power.
• Dinorah Maldonado & Yolanda Carrera: Hosts of the local television programs Adelante and Barrio, which highlighted Puerto Rican culture and issues.
• Perry Alan Zirkel: Professor at the University of Hartford who, along with María Colón Sánchez, helped develop the Teacher Corps program in the 1960s.
• Edna Negrón Rosario: Educator, consultant, and community organizer who established the nation's first family resource center and school-based health clinic.
• Maria Colón Sánchez: Known as “La Madrina,” Maria Colón Sánchez was a trailblazing Puerto Rican activist and politician. Through her tireless work in activism and politics, she helped shape the Puerto Rican presence in Connecticut more than anyone. She left a lasting legacy by continuously fighting for bilingual education for children and championing Puerto Rican representation in the state.