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ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4337-8666
Document Type
Campus Access
Degree Program
English
Degree Type
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2024
Month Degree Awarded
February
Keywords
Puerto Rican, diaspora, interpersonal relationships, family, stories, Puerto Rico
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/36406774
Abstract
Gringa-Rican is a collection of short stories told through the lens of various female, Puerto Rican protagonists. They highlight the duality of one’s existence, when one is from neither here nor there. The stories explore ideas of dislocation, assimilation and identity, through a Puerto Rican family that moves from their home island to the United States. I was inspired to write these stories because of my own family’s pursuit of the American Dream.
This thesis is, in part, a labor of love. Growing up, there were not many stories with families like mine. For this reason, when I decided I wanted to be a writer, I found myself trying to depict someone I wasn’t. I did not feel like I could truly write about my experience in the diaspora, because it did not matter. Eventually, this changed when I read books like We the Animals by Justin Torres, When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. For the first time, I saw myself as someone with a story worthy of being written and read.
This collection is the product of years of writing, drafting and editing. I have laughed and cried, worried and dreamed. Now, I send it off to the world hoping that my work inspires others. I hope that these stories serve as both mirrors and windows. I hope that these characters, these lives I’ve created, feel as real to the reader as they do to me.