Minority Groups Hold Vigil to Celebrate Puerto Rican History

Minority groups began the year with a display of unity last night as approximately 50 students from a number of organizations joined La O to observe El Grito de Lares, a celebration of Puerto Rican culture and history.

Representatives of the Black Student Association and Raza-the Mexican-American student organization-joined the commemoration, which began with a traffic-blocking candlelight march from Lowell House. Marchers carried Puerto Rican flags and were accompanied by a stereo playing traditional music.

"We just want to show Harvard that we are here and we have our own special holidays," said Efrain Cortes Jr. '94, president of La O.

The public celebration is a first for the group, said La O Vice President Roberto S. Buso-Garcia '94. Buso-Garcia said it is part of an effort to "give importance to the culture and history of Puerto Rico", and educate the rest of the campus.

The march ended on the Widener Library steps, where participants huddled and protected their flickering candles against the wind. On lookers stopped to eye the group as La O members came forward to read patriotic poetry.

El Grito de Lares, which means "the scream of Lares," commemorates a brief Puerto Rican revolution against Spanish rule in 1868. Although the revolution was unsuccessful at the time, Puerto Ricans remember its leaders with great pride, speakers said.

"It was the first scream against oppression, the first scream against tyranny," said one.

A number of speakers from out side La O mentioned their own racial or ethnic background and expressed their solidarity with Puerto Ricans.

"So much of it touches on my own history, I am glad I had a chance to come together with you," said Sharee B. Adams '94, who is African-American.