SAN FRANCISCO
Celebrating el Grito
de Lares
On
the morning of Sept. 23, 1868, hundreds of insurgents on foot and horseback
stormed the city of Lares, Puerto Rico. As the army of freedom fighters
approached, workers and African slaves staged an uprising that weakened
the Spanish military garrison.
The
Puerto Rican people announced their victory by raising the flag of the newly
proclaimed Puerto Rican republic at the town plaza. The Spanish flag, a
hated symbol of tyranny, was lowered and burned.
The
people rejoiced as they heard for the first time the solemn words of the
outcry, "Que viva Puerto Rico libre!"--Long live free Puerto Rico! Their
victory was short lived, and the rebellion was crushed by bloody suppression.
But El Grito de Lares came to symbolize the desire of the Puerto Rican people
for self-determination and sovereignty from the colonial rulers in Spain
and later the United States.
One
hundred and thirty two years later, the auditorium of the Women's Building
in San Francisco was filled with people who celebrated the uprising. Music,
spoken word performances, dances and speeches filled the evening.
Solidarity
with the people of Vieques was high on the agenda. Deborah Santana gave
an update on the struggle against U.S. Navy exercises there. A statement
from the Filipino community was read.
Olin
Web from the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, LaDonna Williams from Midway
Village and Henry Clark from the West County Toxins Coalition talked about
the common struggle of people in Vieques and African Americans in the United
States against military and corporate poisoning of their communities. Web,
Williams and Clark were part of a Bay Area delegation to Vieques in August.
Spoken
word performances by Rico Pabon of Prophets of Rage and dynamic Brazilian
and Caribbean rhythms from Loco Bloco Drum and Dance Youth Ensemble opened
and closed the event. Many in the audience signed up for protests during
"Fleet Week," the annual spectacle where an armada of U.S. Navy ships occupies
the San Francisco Bay.
The
event was organized by the Vieques Solidarity Coalition, Comite '98 Por
Un Puerto Rico Libre and Casa Puerto Rico.
--Saul
Kanowitz
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