When the family moves to El mangle what part of the home scares Negi?
Mami explains that Negi is afraid of the bathroom, and she and Doña Andrea laugh.
How do friends typically greet each other in Puerto Rico?
A warm and friendly handshake is the customary form of greeting, but often a nod of the head is sufficient. Men who are close friends will embrace, and women friends will engage in a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek.
What did she remember about picking and eating guavas as a child in Puerto Rico?
She puts the guava back on the display and pushes her cart towards the “predictably sweet” apples and pears. Today, the guavas are a reminder of the identity that Negi seems to barely have anymore—rather than connect to her past by choosing guavas, she chooses “predictable” fruit.
How does Negi react to being placed in 7th grade?
Negi is excited and afraid.
Why do you think Esmeralda’s family moved to Brooklyn from Macún Puerto Rico?
Although Negi’s home in Macun looks like “a giant version of a lard can” she prefers this barrio and the freedom its countryside offers, when compared to the snobbishness she faces in Santurce and the dark, dangerous world she eventually goes to when her mother uproots the family and moves to Brooklyn to seek a new …
What does this interaction between Negi and her mother in Mami and Papi reveal about their relationship?
Negi and her mother have a very close relationship. Negi’s mother is very indulgent and loves to spoil her daughter. Mami cannot hide the fact that of all her children, Negi is her favorite.
Why does the author most clearly want to be admitted to performing arts high school?
According to the excerpt from When I Was Puerto Rican, why does the author most clearly want to be admitted to Performing Arts High School? She wants to study the arts. She wants to prove her ability.
What does the guava symbolize in When I Was Puerto Rican?
Beginning with the guava fruit from the prologue, food plays a central role in When I Was Puerto Rican. The guava symbolizes the end of Esmeralda’s childhood, but it is far from the only food mentioned throughout the book. In this book, food is used beyond grounding the reader in sensory details.
What was the author’s purpose in When I Was Puerto Rican?
Santiago wrote about her childhood in Puerto Rico and her life transition to New York in her debut memoir, “When I was Puerto Rican.” It was a book, she said, written in English but lived in Spanish, as it chronicled the formation of her new multicultural identity.
What were the two types of Puerto Rican Negi mentions in Chapter 11?
There are two kinds of Puerto Rican students as well: those who were born in America and those who arrived recently. Negi feels disloyal for wanting to learn English and wanting to look like the Italians or the morenas, and she doesn’t feel comfortable with either group of Puerto Ricans either.
How was Esmeralda’s life in Puerto Rico?
After receiving her degree from Harvard, Santiago returned to Puerto Rico to work. She experienced cultural dissonance as many Puerto Ricans considered her overly Americanized while Americans racially ostracized her for being Puerto Rican.
Why did Esmeralda and her mom visit the welfare office?
Santiago describes having to go to the welfare office with her mother: “When Mami was laid off, we had to go on welfare. She took me with her because she needed someone to translate. Six months after we landed in Brooklyn, I spoke enough English to explain our situation.
What does Negi not want to be when she grows?
Barone, a guidance counselor, calls Negi to his office to ask her what she wants to be when she grows up. Negi think that she’s wanted to be a jíbara and a cartographer, but hadn’t thought about it since moving to Brooklyn.
What adversities did Negi face?
Negi hates how urban and violent Brooklyn is and makes it her goal to get out, which she does by getting accepted to the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan. While living in Brooklyn, Negi also discovers that she’s strong enough to resist Mami’s physical violence, which puts an end to the regular abuse.