| Valvula de escape - Stories of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, presents the history of the centennial exodus of the Puerto Rican people to the United States. In order to address the economic pressures and deficiencies caused by the colonial relationship, a migratory “escape valve” was instituted between the United States and Puerto Rico. This valve maintains the social peace and “stability” challenged by the pressures of unemployment, political unrest, fear, hostility and poverty. The Puerto Rican migration began before the Caribbean island became a territory of the United States after the Spanish American War in 1898 and has remained constant with intervals of highs and lows depending on the island economic conditions at a given time. Because of the aforementioned pressures described, Puerto Rico created an addiction to emigration, whose cost has been a high dependency on the movement of its population. This series explores several questions as: How has the immigration been handled and implanted at different times? What answers have been officially given? What are the causes, consequences and circumstances? |
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The documentary is a 10 part series
with approximately 7 hours of content.
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"Many Puerto Ricans want to deny our history. And our history includes, as one of its strongest factor in the 20th century, the migration. We have been a country of migrant. But migration doesn’t destroy identity, it changes it, but it doesn’t destroy it."
-Efraín Barradas Ph.D.
Professor at University of Florida
It’s an excellent resource for the Puerto Rican Culture heritage week. Community action groups, arts centers and civic organizations can also be benefited with the discussion of the content.
The documentary series Válvula de Escape- Stories of the Puerto Rican Diaspora by Producciones Zaranda, presents a panoramic view of the diverse motives of the Puerto Rican migrations since the Spanish colonial period to the present time. The series consists of 10 independent documentaries chapters that range from 35 to 90 minutes each; with a total duration of approximately 7 hours. This structure gives the documentaries a better rhythm that also broadens the discussion of topics and issues. The chapters are perfect for viewing in classrooms, seminars or study groups discussions. Each documentary presents an infinite number of images and data that act as a visual window that transports us to the different places and eras. Narrated in Spanish and English, with subtitles in both languages, the series picks up on the linguistic reality of many Puerto Ricans allowing an impact on a larger audience. The journey begins with a panoramic overview of the population movement to the island, since the Spaniard Conquest and Colonization with the integration of the Taíno indigenous people, European and African slaves. This process, since the 16th century, is the beginning of the constant, and sometimes systematically, flow of people arriving and departing to and from the island. It continues to the 19th century, when the population increased and moved throughout the Caribbean– peasants migrated to work in farms at Cuba, Mexico and Santo Domingo-, the Pacific area -the Hawaiian Islands and California- and the North Eastern parts of the United States, after the USA’s military invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898. Click here for more information
The book, with the transcript of the over 7 hours of film, is accurate to the narrative of all the participants, abiding to their colloquial expressions. The book uses a parallel text format, each page containing the Spanish and English texts side-by-side, in order to make easy the understanding in both languages. The transcript includes a timeline of historical, economic, cultural and statistical facts, as a tool to stimulate the analysis and study of each topic, whether in the traditional classroom, seminars or as part of a personal passion for learning or entertainment. Also, the timeline and the transcript can be used as a reference tool in data research, to encourage corroboration and comprehension of the information presented and to stimulate creative future research.
To make the series easier to use, Producciones Zaranda has developed the study guides according to the guidelines of the Common Core State Standard (CCSS). Because each chapter of the series can be used independently, ten study guides (10) guides are included, one for each chapter. All of them are designed to help in the comprehension of the content of the series through practice exercises and activities to help develop study skills such as: note taking, vocabulary, summarizing, essay writing, memoir writing, and debate organization, among others. The exercises and activities were developed for different academic levels, thinking about students from high school to university level. The general public can also make use of it to reflect about migration, and, in the best scenario, community action groups, as they contain suggestions to help viewers to explore the issues raised in the films, and to think deeper about their own communities.
Guides contains:
| * | a synopsis of the main topics of each chapter |
| * | the objectives of each chapter |
| * | a list of topics and concepts that should be defined and/or important people on whom research could be focused |
| * | a list of discussion questions to help in the study of the historical material presented in each chapter and which can be identified in the series’ transcript beforehand |
| * | a list of activities and suggested readings to deepen the analysis and discussion of topics and concepts |
| * | alternative discussions or topics for advanced level groups and how they can be related to contemporary issues |
| * | a list of videos and/or literature, music, or visual works to highlight important topics |
| * | historic documents. |
| * | finally, an extensive list of references, both bibliographical and web based, to help deepen the analysis of the topics presented in each chapter |
Writing exercises:
The writing exercises provide additional time to reflect upon the discussed topics, and if supported with additional readings and serious research, they help to widen students’ knowledge of sources. Because each essay or critical reflection is individually crafted, it can be used as a way to explore the topics under discussion from a personal point of view, telling personal stories about communal issues. Each presenter or instructor has the option for additional exercises to work with the group, according to their strengths and limitations, or their academic level or age..
Curricular links:
The series is useful for analysts, investigators, students and professors as a starting point for the study of the Puerto Rican migration. It is also practical when comparing other migratory experiences such as the Hispano-American or other ethnic groups. Likewise it is a great example for students on how to integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information in order to address a historical question or topic. It analyzes a complex sequence of events and explains how specific individuals, ideas and events interacted and at the same time developed responses for the migratory challenge in Puerto and the diaspora communities today. It can also help establish the social, political and economic development of Puerto Rico. |
| 1. | Establish a historical panorama of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican communities in the United States from the 19th century to the present time. |
| 2. | Promote a better appreciation of Puerto Rican culture within a humanistic and social context. |
| 3. | Contribute to the development of a historical conscience that acknowledges the cultural ties that unite and distinguish Puerto Rico and its people from the Caribbean, the United States and the rest of the world. |
| 4. | To familiarize the public with the key moments in the historical transformation of Puerto Rico which have strengthened migration and its communities in the diaspora. |
| 5. | Establish links between the political and legal decisions of the United States Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States regarding Puerto Ricans and the migratory situation of the population during the first years of the 20th century. |
| 6. | Identify the main destinations of the Puerto Rican migration throughout the decades, and the characteristics of the people who emigrate. |
| 7. | Encourage the students to compare the personal reasons for migration with the increasing or decreasing population of their country or group of origin, and their link with economic and political situations. |
| 8. | Enable students to distinguish and value the contributions of the individuals who stood out as leaders of the communities in the diaspora. |
| 9. | Stimulate a better comprehension of the cultural identity and transformations of the Puerto Rican diaspora communities that shifts away from conditioned vision and understanding. |
| 10. | Reflect on the diversity of situations and events whereby the Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico and those in the United States have encountered throughout history, and the ways they have treated them. |
| 11. | State the historic processes of Puerto Rico, the diaspora and the association with the world today. |
| 12. | Encourage the analysis of historical events with their consequences in the present and similar patterns in other cultures. |
| 13. | Promote a culture of human rights, non-violence and peace from an academic perspective that encourages research in a non- proselytism education. |
According to data gathered by researchers at the Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños at Hunter College, CUNY , in 2011, Puerto Ricans constituted 9.2 per cent of the total of Hispanics in the USA, and 1.5 per cent of the total population of the country. The documentary series, the study guides, and the transcript are a useful resource as a starting point for a deep reflection about that state of affairs or to set a course of action. Using the exercises suggested in the study guides, each segment can be used to provoke a discussion or start a writing activity on the topics discussed or other topics related.
Válvula de escape offers an excellent springboard to explore the outlines where the individuals, the communities and the states’ responsibility overlaps and can provoke discussions of:
Race and Ethnicity
Nationalism and transnationalism
Culture
Political Economy
Globalization
-*Silver. Patricia y Carlos Vega-Ramos. 2012. Demographic Transitions: Research Brief.
For the educators is a tool in the development of courses of:
Social Studies Puerto Rican History
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Puerto Rican Economy
Latino Communities
Latino Communities in USA
Culture and Identity
Social And Cultural Theory
Theory of Diaspora
Transnational Communities
Afro-Boricuan Culture
CURRICULAR LINKS:
Analysts, researchers, students and professors can use the series as a starting point for the study of the Puerto Rican migration or as a comparative tool to other migration experiences from Latin America or other ethnic groups. Also, it is a great example for students on how to integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information in the study of a historical question or topic. The series analyzes a complex sequence of events and explains how individuals, ideas and events interacted and how individuals developed responses to migration challenges in Puerto Rico and the diaspora. It can also help to establish Puerto Rico’s social, political and economic development.
The series is well suited to help contextualize a particular topic of the history of the diaspora in a class or for developing a semester curriculum. It is convenient for high schools, colleges, and universities, especially for:
Puerto Rican Studies
Latin American Studies
Anthropology, Sociology and Social Studies
Urban Studies
History
Constitutional Rights
Social Psychology
Puerto Rican and Diaspora Literature
A film produced by
With the sponsorship of
Produciones Zaranda, Puerto Rico
email: info@zaranda.com
