I had the great pleasure of sitting across the table from Betsy Cordero at her apartment in the Bronx several weeks ago. Betsy had just celebrated her 100th birthday—in the middle of the pandemic. Betsy left Puerto Rico in 1948 to visit her sister Beda in Manhattan and never left. I wanted to know her story.
I felt I had a festive start for our conversation. Betsy was wearing a turquoise blouse, turquoise necklace and bracelet. “So what are your favorite colors?” I said. She got me with her surprising answer, “beige and brown.” That night Betsy sat up in bed writing down the names of the famous people who had populated her world in the New York of the 1940s through the 1970s.
Noro Morales - pianista y compositor
Machito – introdujo el mambo y cha cha cha
Tito Puente – compositor, director de banda
Luisa A Quintero – periodista y escritora – La Prensa
José Ferrer – actor, director, dramaturgo
Kid Gavilán – boxeador
Roberto Clemente – pelotero – baseball
…and the list goes on
My cousin and our mutual connection, Nancy Torres, sent me a copy of the scribbled chart the next morning.
The conversation with Betsy took us from family ties—bringing her mother to the mainland after her father passed away—to dancing at the New York dancing clubs of the era, to Betsy’s jobs—at a book bindery, at a hospital, serving food trays, as bilingual mediator and arbitrator in Family Court. Every time, there was a positive lift to Betsy’s answers. She loved her jobs. She likes engaging with people. Takes on life with courage. Are these secrets of a long and rich life?
To prepare you for the conversation with Betsy Cordero, here are some basic facts about Puerto Rico:
The estimate of Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin living in the United States is 5.6 million (2017). The New York State Puerto Rican community of about 1 million people is the largest Puerto Rican community outside of the island.
The United States obtained the island of Puerto Rico at the end of the Spanish American War. With the Treaty of Paris in 1989 Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States. Puerto Rico’s relationship to the US is unique. Es un Estado Libre Asociado, also called the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans are American citizens but do not have voting representatives in congress.
To read about the purpose and meaning of my Soy/Somos conversations, I am/We are, visit my blog. You will find conversations with Nico, “niño orquesta,” Diego, Puerto Rican Storyboard artist, Elba, speech pathologist from El Salvador—and many others.
I’d be grateful if you’d share the blog with anyone who might be interested.
See you real soon with Betsy’s story.
Can you name three notable Puerto Rican individuals?
I’ll start:
Carmen Bardeguez-Brownn – poet, spoken word/poetry scene, Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Bobby Sanabria - percussionist, composer, creator of “West Side Story reimagined.”
Esmeralda Santiago - writer, best known for her memoir, When I was Puerto Rican.