‘Un Retrato Boricua’: Racialization in the Colonial Context(s) of Puerto Rico through Portraiture

• In Event: 41061 - Section on Latina/o Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Latinx Racial and Ethnic Identity: Self-Perception, Census, and Fluidity

Abstract

This paper examines the process of racialization in Puerto Rico using the qualitative research methodology, Portraiture, to look at the processes of racialization, focusing on the colonial contexts. Historically, Puerto Rican racial discourses have ignored institutional racism and promoted the myth of a "harmonious mix of three races". It highlights Puerto Rico’s complex racial categories, where identities lie along a continuum between black and white, shaped by colonial ideologies. Drawing from Afrolatin Critical Theory of Race (ACTR), the study explores how racialization has evolved in Puerto Rico, particularly after crises like Hurricane María and the U.S. Fiscal Oversight Board through the eyes of race-based social, political and feminist organizations in Puerto Rico. Portraiture combines ethnography and artistic methods, emphasizing context, voice, and narrative structure. By examining racialization through this interdisciplinary approach, the study aims to explore the interconnectedness of macro and micro social structures, offering a deeper understanding of how race is constructed and experienced in Puerto Rico’s colonial setting.

Author

• Maya Alejandra Rodríguez-Reyes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign