Puerto Rico Is in the Heart: Emigration, Labor, and Politics in the Life and Work of Frank Espada

148 Pages·2013·0.747 MB·English

by  Edward J. Carvalho (auth.)

Puerto Rico Is in the Heart
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
Also by Edward J. Carvalho
Authored
SOLITARY, POOR, NASTY, BRUTISH AND SHORT (2007)
CHANTS FROM THE SEVEN CITIES (Audiobook, 2009)
HEADLONG INTO THE CLOUDBURST NAKED (2013)
Edited
ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND INTELLECTUAL ACTIVISM
IN THE POST-9/11 UNIVERSITY (2008–2009)
ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN THE POST-9/11 ERA (with David B. Downing, 2010)
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
Puerto Rico Is in the Heart:
Emigration, Labor,
and Politics in the Life
and Work of Frank Espada
Edward J. Carvalho
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
puerto rico is in the heart
Copyright © Edward J. Carvalho, 2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 ISBN 978-1-137-33141-0
All rights reserved.
First published in 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–1–137–33143–4 PDF
ISBN: 978–1–349–46138–7
doi: 10.1057/9781137331434
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the
Library of Congress.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
First edition: 2013
www.palgrave.com/pivot
For Abel (de) Carvalho, Sr., and Amelia Adelina Coelho,
immigrant grandparents and survivors of the American experience.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Permissions ix
Chronology List xi
Introduction 1
1 Beloved and Reviled 25
2 “We came to this country broke.” 39
3 “[N]ot good enough” 54
4 Organizing: “[A] question of survival” 73
5 Conclusion: The Return 99
Postscript: “Without love . . .” 109
Works Cited 113
Index 131
vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
Acknowledgments
Simply stated, this book would not have materialized if
it were not for the participation of the Espada family, to
whom I am indebted. Puerto Rico Is in the Heart is as much
a product of their labor as it is mine. My sincere gratitude
goes to the subject of this manuscript, Frank Espada, for
his willingness to share his life experiences, for providing
an inspirational model of activism, and for his patience.
Along with Frank, I want to thank his wife Marilyn for her
warm spirit and for helping to coordinate a final review
of this manuscript. And finally, my deep appreciation goes
to their son Martín, who was instrumental in facilitating
my access to his family and whose poetry provided sup-
plemental narrative support for this project.
Portions of this manuscript were earlier reviewed by my
dissertation readers Patrick Bizzaro and Susan Comfort,
as well as David B. Downing, who served as the commit-
tee chair—each of their ideas and areas of specialization
helped to shape the final version of this manuscript in
significant ways. Additional thanks should go to David for
reading a reworked draft of the introduction to this book
and for offering sound editorial suggestions.
Special thanks to Susan Searls Giroux, Michael Dowdy,
and Ward Churchill for their critical comments on this
manuscript, to Peter Nelson at Amherst College for access
to the Martín Espada Papers, and to Henry Giroux for his
important critical work on neoliberalism that has inspired
much of my own analysis.
As always, I am grateful for the continued support of the
many fine people at Palgrave Macmillan, including Burke
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434 vii
viii Acknowledgments
Gerstenschlager, who first invited me to submit to the Pivot launch, as
well as to my editor, Farideh Koohi-Kamali, and editorial assistant, Sara
Doskow. The labor of Vidhya Jayaprakash and the fine people at Newgen
Knowledge Works, who handled the production of this book, should
also not be ignored.
Most importantly, I want to say how much it meant to have the con-
tinued and resolute support of my best friend and partner Jen Woolston.
No one (perhaps besides my two cats) understands better the challenges
I faced while readying this work for publication.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434
Permissions
Interview statements and e-mail correspondence from
Frank Espada used with permission.
Interview statements and e-mail correspondence from
Martín Espada used with permission.
“The Sign in My Father’s Hands” and “The Piñata Painted
with a Face Like Mine” from Imagine the Angels of Bread by
Martín Espada. Copyright © 1996 by Martín Espada. Used
by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“Preciosa like a Last Cup of Coffee”; “What Francisco
Luis Espada Learned at Age Five, Standing on the Dock”;
and “Why I Went to College” from A Mayan Astronomer
in Hell’s Kitchen by Martín Espada. Copyright © 2000 by
Martín Espada. Used by permission of the author and W.
W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“Tato Hates the New York Yankees.” Copyright ©
1982 by Martín Espada; “Trumpets from the Islands of
Their Eviction.” Copyright © 1987 by Martín Espada; “El
señor está muerto.” Copyright © 1987 by Martín Espada;
“The Moon Shatters on Alabama Avenue.” Copyright ©
1987 by Martín Espada; “Portrait of a Real Hijo de Puta.”
Copyright © 1990 by Martín Espada; “Coca-Cola and Coco
Frío.” Copyright © 1993 by Martín Espada; “The Other
Alamo.” Copyright © 1993 by Martín Espada; “Thieves of
Light.” Copyright © 1996 by Martín Espada; “Sleeping on
the Bus.” Copyright © 1996 by Martín Espada; “The Shiny
Aluminum of God.” Copyright © 2000 by Martín Espada;
“My Father as a Guitar.” Copyright © 2000 by Martín
Espada; from Alabanza by Martín Espada. Used by permis-
sion of the author and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137331434 ix