ABC de Puerto Rico by Rubén del Rosario, Isabel Freire de Matos and Antonio Martorell

ABC de Puerto Rico is a collaborative work among Rubén del Rosario (Puerto Rican linguist), Isabel Freyre de Matos (author and educator), and Antonio Martorell (graphic artist). It is book Number 8 in the series Puerto Rico: Realidad y Anhelo (Puerto Rico: Reality and Desire), published by Troutman Press in 1968. ABC de Puerto Rico features colorful woodcut images, with each letter of the alphabet represented by a word and a small poem in the colloquial Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico. Boricua, a word featured on this two-page spread, has a rich history and relevancy. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Indigenous Taínos called their island Borikén, or “land of the brave lord.” This term became Boriquén in Spanish (and eventually Borinquen) and has remained a symbol of the island’s native inhabitants. Boricua has evolved into a term that stands for a sense of pride and cultural identity. Because of its emphasis on Puerto Rican culture and identity in the context of U.S. colonial control, ABC de Puerto Rico was banned by the Department of Education in 1968 and removed from school settings. 

Teach with this item from Unit 4 of the curriculum guide, Reading Dangerously: Censorship and the Freedom to Read in 20th Century America.
 

Read the transcript and the translation