What it means to be a Nuyorican

Nuyorican is a blending of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants (especially those raised or still living in the New York area). This term could be used for Puerto Ricans living in other areas in the Northeast outside New York State. The term is also used by Boricuas (Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico) to differentiate those of Puerto Rican descent from the Puerto Rico-born. The term Nuyorican is also sometimes used to refer to the Spanish spoken by New York Puerto Ricans. An estimated 1,800,000 Nuyoricans are said to live in New York city, the largest Puerto Rican community outside Puerto Rico. Nuyoricans are not considered Puerto Ricans by island Puerto Ricans due to cultural differences; this is a very controversial topic amongst both groups of Puerto Ricans.^[1] Ethnic enclaves centered around Puerto Ricans include Spanish Harlem, Manhattan and the South Bronx.

Many Newyoricans are second- and third-generation Puerto Rican Americans whose parents or grandparents arrived in the New York metropolitan area during the Gran Migración. Puerto Ricans began to arrive in New York City following the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act on March 2, 1917, which granted U.S. citizenship to virtually all Puerto Ricans.^[3] The Gran Migración accelerated immigration from Puerto Rico to New York during the 1940s and 1950s, but such large-scale emigration began to slow by the late 1960s.^[4] Historically, Nuyoricans resided in the predominantly Hispanic/Latino section of Manhattan known as Spanish Harlem, and around the Loisaida section of the East Village, but later spread across the city into newly-created Puerto Rican/Nuyorican enclaves in Brooklyn, Queens and the South Bronx. Today, there are fewer island-born Puerto Ricans than mainland-born Puerto Ricans in New York City.

I love being a Nuyorican and exposing my son to the many Puerto Rican Cultural Events taking place in New York City.  I want to raise him to understand his cultural background and ethnicity and be proud to be a Puerto Rican!

As a Nuyorican I also love listening to great Salsa Music and have been taking salsa lesson for the past two years with my husband.  Dancing Salsa is a huge part of my life and brings much joy to my heart and soul, especially when I dance salsa to the hits of Hector Lavoe

Hector Lavoe....one of the greatest salsa singers of our time.