AnnMarie's Blog English 255

On various occasions I had been mistaken for a Jew, an Italian, a Greek, even a Hungarian; and each time I had come away feeling secretly proud of myself for having disguised my Spik accent, and with it my lineage.  I could almost feel myself melting smoothly and evenly into the great pot (1565).

In this passage From “Family Installments 7: In Black Turf” Edward Rivera speaks of being a lighter skinned Puerto Rican who is frequently mistaken as Caucasian from different countries.  But this does not bother him, because it gives him a sense of social acceptance.  Puerto Ricans range in color from white skin to very dark skin.  The darker skin Puerto Ricans deal with racial discrimination just as the minority Black race.  In the Latin community the lighter skin is idolized because they look European.  Rivera states that he feels himself “melting smoothly and evenly into the great pot”.  This simply means that he feels more socially accepted because he does not look Latino or Black.  His lineage or roots are concealed because of his appearance and this is a plus for him in American society and Puerto Rican society as well.