Pedro Pietri's Puerto Rican Obituary: Using Folklore to Understand the Experiences of Puerto Ricans and Latinos Who Immigrated to the U.S. Essay

Introduction Folklore is a powerful and important part of any culture. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this is especially true as folklore often echoes the history of the people, encompasses many traditions and values and teaches us all lessons worth learning. Folklore may be a piece of fiction in the end, but its far-reaching myths and tales are more real than some may suspect. Lets take Pedro Pietris Puerto Rican Obituary, a sad song about the American Dream gone wrong for five misfortunate souls. Yet, there is something real, far too real about this poem. Perhaps because its been repeated over and over again and has deep roots in history, culture, literature, music and life of Latinos in the U.S. It is something anyone can pick up, read and feel. In this report, my intentions are to examine Pietris poem as folklore and draw upon history, culture and even personal accounts to better understand the experiences of Puerto Ricans and Latinos as they immigrated and settled in the U.S. in search of the American Dream. This report is organized in the following manner (I) we will explore the Puerto Rican Obituary by Pedro Pietri, which will form the foundation for the rest of the paper (II) we will see how the poem reflects upon the Latin-American immigration to the U.S. from a historical context and what that means for the American Dream (III) we will examine the socio-economic lives of Latinos in the U.S., especially their jobs and roles in society and (IV) we will take a closer look at the cultural and personal identities of Latinos in their new home along with the discrimination and stereotypes that they faced through some personal accounts.I. The FolkloreIn Puerto Rican Obituary the author Pedro Pietri describes the evils that are so often ignored, but true when talking about the American Dream. In the poem, Juan, Miguel, Milagros, Olga, and Manuel are...