Jan. 20, 2025

"Puerto Rico's in America!": The Immigrant Experience and West Side Story

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Amanda Castro (Consuelo), Andrea Carroll (Maria), Tempestt Perrin (Francisca), and Zoie Reams (Rosalia) in HGO's 2018 production of West Side Story (photo credit: Lynn Lane)

"Immigrant goes to America,
Many hellos in America,
Nobody knows in America
Puerto Rico’s in America!"

 

As Anita and the Shark girls point out in "America," many Americans in the 1950s were still unaware that Puerto Rico was part of the United States. This timeline lays out the island’s political relationship with the U.S. and the history of Puerto Rican emigration.

 

1508: Home to the indigenous Taíno people, Puerto Rico is colonized by Juan Ponce de León. Spaniards settle the island for the next 400 years, bringing enslaved Africans with them.

 

1898: The Spanish-American War breaks out over contested island territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. As part of the peace treaty, Puerto Rico is ceded to the United States.

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The 1898 Bombardment of San Juan during the Spanish-American War (Library of Congress)

1917: Puerto Ricans are granted American citizenship, launching a first wave of migration to the U.S. that continues into the 1920s.

 

1930s-40s: In the wake of the Great Depression and the Second World War, many Puerto Ricans seek better employment opportunities in the U.S.—the beginnings of what becomes known as the Great Migration.

 

1952: Puerto Rico’s constitution is ratified, establishing the island as an American commonwealth—that is, a largely self-governing territory under U.S. sovereignty.

 

1950s: With the arrival of affordable air travel, the Great Migration peaks. Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans arrive annually. The majority settle in New York City, especially in the major "Nuyorican" barrios in Brooklyn and Spanish Harlem. Despite having citizenship, they’re treated as outsiders.

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Puerto Rican immigrants arrive by plane at Newark Airport in 1947 (Library of Congress)

1958: The first Puerto Rican Day Parade is held in New York, establishing greater visibility for the growing minority.

Hispanic Musical Influences on West Side Story

In preparation for West Side Story, Bernstein took a weeklong research trip to Puerto Rico, where he would have encountered many of the Latin American and Spanish dances that inform his score.

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MEXICO

 

Huapango

This is a mariachi adaptation of the northeastern son huasteco folkdance. Its complex alternation between 6/8 and 3/4 time can heard in "America."

 

 

CUBA

 

Mambo

This infectiously syncopated step in 2/4 time is derived from the Afro-Cuban danzón and son. The form, which was immensely popular as a big-band genre in the 1950s, features in the "Dance at the Gym."

 

Cha-cha

Another offshoot of Afro-Cuban music from the 1950s, this 4/4 dance is named for the triple cha-cha-cha step at the end of each measure. The dance that Tony and Maria share at the gym is a cha-cha arrangement of "Maria."

 

 

PUERTO RICO

 

Seis

A Spanish-rooted form that is sung/danced by Jíbaro farmers, the seis is typically in duple time with lots of triplets, as heard in the intro to "America." The seis bombeao and seis controversia are subtypes featuring improvised insults and debates of the kind that Shark girls exchange.

 

 

SPAIN

 

Paso doble

A two-step ballroom dance that originated as marching music for Spanish military parades, it often accompanies matadors as they enter the bullring. The "Promenade" section of the "Dance at the Gym," when the Sharks and Jets choose partners, is a paso doble.

 

Cachucha

An Andalusian dance in triple time that dates to the 19th century, the cachucha is related to the fandango and bolero. It’s typically danced by a soloist accompanied by guitar and castanets. Maria’s "I Feel Pretty" takes the form of a cachucha.

about the author
Joe Cadagin
Joe Cadagin is the Audience Education and Communications Manager at Houston Grand Opera.