HISTORY & CULTURE

How Puerto Rico is grappling with its past—to reshape its future

In a land shaped by colonialism, photographer Christopher Gregory Rivera hopes to foster a “better understanding of where we are and who we are—and where we could possibly go.”

Puerto Rican reenactors illustrate the mosaic of culture and identity, including Taíno spiritual practices and other significant historical moments, of one of the world’s oldest colonies.

Video by Eric Rojas

Story and photographs byChristopher Gregory Rivera

July 18, 2023

9 min read

This is one of eight stories from The Past Is Present project, a collaboration between National Geographic and For Freedoms.

That beach with a tank, Flamenco, has been named one of the top 10 beaches in the world. I’m Puerto Rican, and by photographing it like this, I’m trying to make a point. This place that is beautiful—and enjoyable, and a tourist destination—has a complicated history that’s important to understand, for both visitors and locals. When I was a child in San Juan schools, a lot of our story was glossed over: The islands were “discovered” by Christopher Columbus, the Taíno Indians were decimated, the U.S. “happened” into possession of it, Puerto Ricans were made U.S. citizens in 1917, in 1951 there was a referendum, our constitution was written, we lived happily ever after. You know? It wasn’t until I began to learn more deeply about these episodes that many of the injustices I was seeing, in the present, started to make sense.

Puerto Rico is considered the world’s oldest colony. The legal word for our status is “territory,” but this is a land completely shaped by colonialism and conflict. It will take years to finish removing the unexploded ordnance on Vieques and Culebra islands, from the decades of U.S. military testing. To this day, divorcing yourself from that reality does a disservice to the people who live here. Except for the Taíno, we’ve never known existing without a foreign power ultimately in control—we are citizens, yes, but without full political rights—and we’re grappling with this history now. There’s much discussion about the political future of Puerto Rico, the current austerity measures that Puerto Ricans basically have no vote on, and the gentrification and displacement, especially since the pandemic. A lot of my work is to educate people and unlock a better understanding of where we are and who we are—and where we could possibly go.

Group of people posing on the rusty tank on the shore. — Tourists climb on a rusting U.S. military tank on Flamenco Beach in Culebra, an island off the east coast of mainland Puerto Rico. Culebra and the nearby island of Vieques were used for weapons testing and military exercises that lasted until 1975 and 2003, respectively.

Man in woman's dress. — Kariel Argenis Díaz Maisonet, a multidisciplinary artist who performs in drag here to honor ancestors, takes part in a cultural event in Loíza, on Puerto Rico’s northeastern coast. The town dates to the 16th century, when Africans were first brought to these islands. In recent years the area’s people, like many Puerto Ricans, have reexamined color prejudice and more openly embraced African and Indigenous heritages.

One soldier with weapon and one military soldier helping another one pretending to be wounded. — Historical reenactors take part in a mock battle in the town of Aibonito, where in 1898 Spanish and Puerto Rican fighters stopped the advance of American troops during the Spanish-American War. “We have always been a people willing to fight,” says reenactor and former U.S. marine Pablo José Pérez, pictured on the ground.

Two women mending the old flag. — When Gen. Nelson Miles of the U.S.Army invaded the southwestern town of Guánica in 1898, it marked the start of Puerto Rico’s second colonial chapter. The U.S. flag shown here is thought to have been brought by soldiers when they first landed.

Old map. — Capt. Henry Whitney drew this map of waterways around San Juan in 1898. During his undercover mission in advance of the U.S. invasion, Whitney posed as a British merchant marine officer to avoid detection. His detailed maps of the island proved crucial for the military landing.

Bronse medal on red and blue ribbon. — U.S. soldiers received this medal for their participation in Puerto Rico’s occupation.

An old cap from El Morro Golf Club. — U.S. soldiers received this medal for their participation in Puerto Rico’s occupation.

Man removing a banner from the memorial at the cemetary. — Cacimar Cruz Crespo retires a banner of pro-independence activist José Rafael “Fefel” Varona at the end of a remembrance ceremony in San Juan. Varona led protests against the draft for the Vietnam War and died in 1968, after sustaining injuries in North Vietnam from a U.S. air raid at an agricultural cooperative school he was visiting.

Man in straw hat on vegetable field. — Ian Pagán Roig runs a family farm in the northern mountains surrounding the town of Toa Alta as well as the Josco Bravo Project. The program teaches sustainable agriculture practices to help a new generation of farmers restore plots of land to supplement imported produce.

Man in his tribal attire. — Ian Pagán Roig runs a family farm in the northern mountains surrounding the town of Toa Alta as well as the Josco Bravo Project. The program teaches sustainable agriculture practices to help a new generation of farmers restore plots of land to supplement imported produce.

Woman at the front porch decorated with hanging flower baskets. — Amalia Rodríguez looks out from her porch in Salinas, a once thriving company town tied to the Aguirre Central Sugar Mill. Opened in the mid-1800s, the mill was later purchased by a U.S. company. It became a prosperous operation that relied on locals during its heyday in the 1950s.

Reenactor reaching to the flag. — The Caribe Hilton, built nearly 75 years ago to help draw tourists to Puerto Rico, looms over a reenactor straightening the Spanish flag at an 18th-century fort in San Juan. Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony for 400 years; in 1898, after losing the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded dominion to the U.S.

Fireworks over crowded town street. — Fireworks light up the sky during massive protests in summer 2019, which resulted in the resignation of then governor Ricardo Rosselló—a first in modern Puerto Rican history. The ouster followed mounting discontent over a series of issues that boiled over with a private-chat scandal involving Rosselló and members of his administration.

A Puerto Rican photographer who makes his home in New York City, Christopher Gregory Rivera illuminates lesser known stories of the past to facilitate understanding of the present. His images of COVID-19’s toll on undocumented U.S. immigrants appeared last fall on National Geographic. Follow him on Instagram @cgregoryphoto.

This story appears in the August 2023 issue of National Geographic magazine and is one of eight stories from The Past Is Present project, a collaboration between National Geographic and For Freedoms.