slavery, US Navy & my bimbo shot

After almost 2 weeks of being in the nonstop company of my delightful but nevertheless periodically patience-trying children, I was thrilled at the opportunity to leave them with their dad in order to take what I knew would be a fascinating class. The Spanish fort the kids and I had visited on Thursday is part of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, and the museum fort’s director, Robert Rabin, was to teach a class on Vieques in the 19^th century, as well as its 20^th century struggle for peace and justice. Robert arrived in Vieques in 1980 to study here for 3 weeks as he worked on his thesis and as he puts it, he “overextended” his stay. He is a leading expert on the matters of Vieques history and culture, and if he doesn’t know the answer to your question he knows the person who does. A charismatic, feisty man with a wild mop of grey hair and a twinkle in his eye, he makes no apology for his strong opinions (against Navy occupation; against the local government’s complete inertia when it comes to appreciating, improving or maintaining the island’s rich historical and cultural offerings...).

In a nutshell, Robert gave us a 1.5 hour summary of the 4000 years of Vieques history. In the late 90’s human remains were found in Esperanza that anthropologists dated back to 2000 BC (!!). These were of an indigenous people that most likely had migrated up from Venezuela, island-hopping until reaching Vieques (some anthropologists believe indigenous peoples also migrated south from Florida). An amulet was found with the carving of an Andean condor, dated c. 10 A.C., proving that indigenous peoples here were a melting pot of Latin American cultures, since the condor was Peruvian and the jadeite used was a material not found in these parts.

By the time the Spaniards arrived here, the Taínos were the inhabitants. They were a peaceful group of hunters and gatherers and they called their island “Bieké,” which is Taíno for “small island.” The Spaniards began sending military expeditions here in 1514 and the Spanish government created “encomiendas” – groups of Indian slaves, which they organized to work in the sugar cane plantations among other agricultural development. The Taínos rebelled against the oppression they suffered, with some important rebellions just outside San Juan. They actually succeeded to some extent, took some Spanish POW’s and brought them back to Vieques. The Spanish military retaliated by attacking the Taínos in Vieques and all but decimated them (1514).

From the late 1500s-1800s Vieques was occupied by British and Danish plantation owners, especially since slavery was outlawed in the other Caribbean islands many years before it was abolished in Puerto Rico (1873). In 1718 the Spaniards decided to stake their “rightful” claim over the island and they commissioned a mulatto pirate to get rid of the British. Around 1845 the Spanish built the fort (where I took the class) in order to establish Spanish control, and to spy on enemies (other colonists and independistas).

One of the most important people in Vieques history was Le Guillou. The governor here at the time, Roselló, was a useless, drunken mess and Le Guillou, a savvy, charismatic businessman gained the favors of the Puerto Rican governor and convinced him to install Le Guillou as Vieques’ military and political governor (mid 1800s). Le Guillou had dozens of sugar haciendas and hundreds of slaves. He in fact had an affair with one of his slaves, Adele, and had 2 children with her. In a written document he actually ordered his 2 legitimate children to recognize their half siblings, love them and protect them. Their descendants (Adele’s) still live here today, but apparently aren’t too interested in their history.

In 1864 the Dominican Republic had its War of Restoration (independence) and 25 POW’s were brought to the fort (which often served as a prison). To this day it is not known how they died, just that they all died in the fort. Their remains have yet to be found. Each year, on the day DR celebrates its independence, there is a celebration at the fort and a ceremony to honor those 25 POW’s, attended by the DR’s consul to PR.

Jump forward to the 1940s and hello US Navy. (Spain has lost PR to the US in the 1898 Spanish-American War). Land expropriations occur under the auspices of Congressional documents and the Navy takes over the eastern third and the western third, to use the land, beaches and turquoise waters for military training. Vieques was basically used as a training ground for World War II, the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War, the CIA’s coup in DR to oust democratically-elected Pres Bosch, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile (to oust Pres. Allende), Grenada, Panama (to oust Noriega), the 1^st Gulf War, the Balkans... In 1964 the Navy decided it should take over the whole inner corridor of the island too, in order to connect the western and eastern sides they were occupying, but the Vieques governor at the time went to DC and staged a one-man protest on the steps of the US Capitol and met with the Under Secretary of the Navy and fortunately the plan was thwarted.

So, jump forward to the present and what all of you back home get glimpses of on CNN. As you know, there is a high incidence of cancer on the island. When the Navy was doing all its training exercises (ie bombing), people stayed here because, well, they were from here, and had no desire to pick up and leave, and I suspect they didn’t know the effects that all this crap could have on their health, further down the road. In spite of what the various media outlets like to imply, you won’t get cancer or grow an extra limb just from coming here for vacation. The potential risk would be from long-term exposure. The Navy is right now engaged in an intensive clean-up effort (much of the island is still off-limits), which is also controversial as they are openly burning certain areas in order to clear the brush and have a clearer view of mines, etc, in the ground. Those who oppose this burning are concerned about the environmental destruction, but a better option has not been proposed. Hundreds of tons of metals have already been removed. A couple from Maryland who attended the class with me, Johanna & Tom, and I struck up a conversation as we waited to head out for the second part of the class. Johanna works in Public Health and she was saying that the problem with all these studies hyped up in the media is that the data collected isn’t exactly accurate. The incidence of cancer (40% of the Vieques population is what’s cited) is going by the National Cancer Registry. People who register on this list tend to be the very advanced cases; plus, registration is optional and individuals register themselves. So the whole motivation factor comes into play. Somebody in Vieques, who is poor, whose family has suffered many real and perceived injustices, will be more motivated to make a stink about a cancer that perhaps would have occurred anyway, and register on this list – than perhaps someone in some little town in Indiana. Therefore, when comparing incidences of cancer between Vieques and some other geographical location, you’ve got to be really careful (which, of course, the media tend not to be).

After the lecture we headed out to our cars and caravanned to the first of 2 sites on our tour. We drove maybe 10 minutes, parked, and then walked through what felt like someone’s overgrown back yard, to the Le Guillou’s private family cemetery (c. 1843). There were a few tombs, one of which is believed to have been that of Le Guillou’s white wife. At some point the plan is to exhume the remains and conduct genetic testing to find out the exact identities. The sad thing is that this cemetery is completely unkept. The next spot was the same. We drove to Esperanza and a few minutes from our favorite beaches, you turn off the main road, drive a little ways on a dirt road and there you see these huge boulders with a tree growing through them. As I said earlier, in the late 1990s human remains were discovered. A skeleton was found under a sort of opening under one of the boulders. The skeleton was only about 2 inches from the surface! The rocks had at one point been underground, but because of erosion etc, they were now sitting above ground. So here we have an archaeological site that dates back to 2000 B.C. – and there is no protection, no control. There were beer cans strewn throughout the rocks, someone had drawn an alien face on the rock under which the skeleton had been found, someone else had written her and her boyfriend’s names on another rock... Robert said that the municipal government throws its hands up, claiming lack of funds (but clearly it’s a lack of priority, as is the state of education on this island but don’t get me started on that...). Apparently the Puerto Rican Anthropological Studies Society (or whatever it’s called) has a total of 2 archaeologists so they’re not hopping over here to find more, which is a shame since this is most likely the tip of the iceberg. Anyway, something really interesting about the remains found is that it was laid in a deliberate position – fetal position – which implies that contrary to what had been previously believed, even 2000 BC the people believed in some sort of after-life (otherwise the body would have been left to unceremoniously decompose).

So, after my 3.5 hours of kid-free time, I headed home to the bar-b-q Bill was hosting at our house, for the workers he had asked to sacrifice a Saturday in order to get the hotel closer to opening. When that was over, we headed over to Blue Beach to meet up with Rona and baby Dagan. The waves were really rough so I only swam laps for about 10 minutes, figuring I’d better help Bill with the kids. Willo has become surprisingly comfortable in the water and no longer has a breakdown when he’s thrashed by a wave. We’re thrilled that he’s not wimpy when it comes to water but yesterday I talked to him about respecting the power of the ocean and not getting too cocky. I doubt he understood, that’s the sort of lesson that must come through experience, so in the meantime we stay vigilant as he throws himself into the big waves. I took Juana for a jog up and down the beach and ended up meeting a couple from Atlanta, the owners of what sounds like a really hip home furnishing store, Heliotrope. Anyway back to our perch on the beach (umbrellas, chairs, 18 sand toys, all the holes that Juana had dug, cooler filled with water, grapes and a few beers), Bill asking me if I could please sit down and chill for once? Bruce the Ranger comes by on his ATV and I take a picture so he stops to say hi. I decide to climb on behind him and Bill takes a picture (I know, BIMBO!). He’s from Ft. Lauderdale and the kids and I met him last year. He basically patrols the area to make sure dogs are on leashes, nobody’s doing drugs, nobody’s been robbed and no one’s engaged in any other inappropriate activity. He flies home often, says he’s got it down to a science – apparently you can fly San Juan-Orlando for $175 round trip.

We went home and showered and then went to the local, newish restaurant in Isabel II, Cantina La Reina. Mexican, really well decorated. First floor is dining area, 2^nd floor is a bar with a pool table, and the rooftop is lounge-y with sofa seating. Bill says it’s the place to be for happy hour on Fridays – so I guess if we ever get a sitter here that’ll be where we go. I had lobster enchiladas (YUM!!!) and the margaritas were really good too.

This morning Tessa and I went for our first bike ride together. Bill got me a mountain bike that was apparently for the use of guests at Martineau Bay (the hotel that is now the W). I hadn’t tried it out yet but I made plans with Tessa to meet at my place, ride out to Mosquito Pier, leave our bikes at the end of the pier, run the pier, then bike back. Well, it turns out my bike only works in one gear. And it’s too small for me. So basically I got a great workout, looked like a total idiot, and had a blast. Tessa and I are seriously thinking of doing a triathlon on March 7 in San Juan, but first I need to figure out the bike situation. This bike won’t do it for me. The pedals don’t even have stirrups. I’m hoping that someone in San Juan can either loan or rent us bikes. Tessa just did a marathon on New Year’s Eve and now wants to do her first triathlon – the San Juan one would be awesome! So if you have any leads for us we’d greatly appreciate it...