The state's first festival dedicated to Puerto Rican culture was held last weekend, bringing out hundreds of people from across Oʻahu to gather at Plantation Village in Waipahu.
The Puerto Rican Heritage Society of Hawaiʻi's event was a celebration of dance, genealogy, food, music and more.
“I did not anticipate that big of a turnout. Bravo to the society. They really brought people out, brought them together,” said Kelli Goto, a third-generation Puerto Rican living on O‘ahu.
Her family immigrated to Hawai‘i a couple of years after the 1899 hurricanes devastated the Caribbean island, leaving 3,000 people dead and thousands without shelter.
Goto said the early Puerto Rican immigrants, many of which came to work in the sugarcane fields, have since banded together to preserve their culture and traditions in Hawai‘i.
“They tried to make it home as much as possible,” she said. “They perfected the music here in the islands. They did their own gardening. Family was so important.”
Latinos make up 11% of the state’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Puerto Ricans make up a large part of that group, with appearances and genetics remaining diverse.
“Like the colors of the rainbow,” she said. "You can have someone that’s fair in completion with colored eyes all the way to someone who has darker complexion with colored eyes, too.”
Despite undergoing challenges with assimilation when migrating to Hawaiʻi, Goto said Puerto Ricans have persevered while maintaining their traditions.
Goto never learned to speak Spanish but admired her parents for it. She said in Hawaiʻi schools, her grandparents were forbidden to speak Spanish at the time.
“It was considered taboo,” she said. “It was adult talk when they didn't want the kids to hear and understand what they were speaking about. The Spanish would come out and roll off of their tongues — rolling the Rs beautifully.”
Goto said wants people to know that Puerto Ricans are hard workers, loving and humble.
"When given the opportunity, we can rise to the top. We beat the stereotypes and the statistics,” she said.
