Roots or in other words, raíces, if looked at literally are the part of the plant underground to intake water and vitamins. Yet, they are more than that. They can be looked at with different definitions and perspectives.

During my close to three weeks in Puerto Rico, I have been connecting with an identity that needed to be fortified. I have always considered myself a Boricua even, though I left Puerto Rico when I was 8 years old. Yet, over the years I have grown to understand that being a Puerto Rican is more than, just being born on the island and living there till your wise ages.The identity of a Boricua is more than just a stated "label" when introducing yourself to someone. It's an identity in the sense, that one decides the definition of its position in one's life. For someone's definition of being a Boricua is different than someone else's.

Soy de aquí, porque se que soy de mi Borinquen. I know that there is a difference in the way my heart beats every time I hear the word "home". When I hear it, I don't think of Connecticut yet, I think of my Grandmother and Grandfather's house in Guayama. I think about my Uncle's house in Arroyo. I think of my Sister and Nieces House in Salinas. I see different "casas" with people, that hold my definition of "home". For the home to me is my family yet, when I Imagine my family -- I see them there, the place of my birth.

All in all, mis raíces son de una tierra de azucar. As a daughter of a lineage of sugar cane pickers, house servants, musicians, and writers; I am more than blessed to walk, see, smell, taste and hear, once again, the place of my ancestors. In a way, I am tracing back to my "raíces" and along the way meeting the people that have remained in here.

As Roy Brown Ramírez (Puerto Rican Singer) says, "yo sería borincano aunque naciera en la luna!". In many ways, I agree with him. Even if I were born on the moon, I would be part of the Borinquen. For my roots call me and I receive in all they have to offer, for from them I take on this identity of a Boricua.