Product Details

• Actors: Jimmy Smits, Rosie Perez, Sixto Ramos, Carmen Serrano, Chema Soto
• Directors: Rosie Perez, Liz Garbus
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002SAMMMO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,982 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

YO SOY BORICUA PA'QUE TU LO SEPAS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grateful Nuyorican..., November 7, 2006

By 

E. A. Perez "Salsera" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I'm 24 yrs old, born in the Bronx, 100% Boricua and I'm so thankful that Rosie did this project. I was able to relate to it easily, I was drawn by the information provided and the places visited and it truly inspired me to want to go deeper into my history as a puertorriqueña... I feel that Rosie did an excellent job, and i'm not looking at it as a student, activist, intellectual, i saw it as a young women flipping channels and happened to catch the first minutes of it on the Independent Film Channel and was hooked. I'm glad she didn't put more into it b/c it left me wanting to do some research of my own but I'm glad that she related herself and some of her own family "bochinche" to help those watching realize that we are all alike... Please support this documentary, it may pave the way for others to come that may suffice in the areas in which this one may have lacked for some.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Puerto Ricans 101, August 15, 2006

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This film consists of two dynamics. First, Rosie and some of her same-age relatives visit the Island, discuss family history, attend the Puerto Rican Parade in New York, etc. Second, Jimmy Smits narrates important parts of Puerto Rican, including Nuyorican history, such as Taino culture, governmental sterilization, military exploitation of Vieques, etc.

Some have critiqued the documentary saying it is too-focused on Rosie and that she somewhat "dumbs down" the subject matter. However, I think Rosie produced and directed it and so this may be her first ventures in those positions. I also think her presence was to make the work easily viewable by laypeople and not just academics, activists, and students. The documentary tries hard to interview men and women equally, but it still leans more toward men. Thus, Rosie's presence may be a gender-mitigating matter. I really think this work is meant for young Puerto Ricans to see. Thus, I am surprised that it has so much cursing in it. Jimmy Smits did an excellent job in narrating the work. I hope that he gets more narration opportunities as Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, and Harvey Fierstein have.

Given time and budget constraints, this work had to cursorily touch many issues. Still, I thought more could have been said about Puerto Rican music and syncretic religious practices. Rosie and her relative Sixto mention African ancestry as if it were just one of many flavors in the Puerto Rican mix. However, huge percentages of Caribbeans are part-Black and I wish this had been emphasized. Jimmy Smits too skips over Black matters by first talking about the indigenous islanders and then skipping to the American capture of the island from the Spanish. The more than 300 years of African slavery that only ended in 1873 barely comes up. Rosie refers to Dr. Albizu Campos as "our Martin Luther King," but no one mentions the many similarities between the Puerto Rican Young Lords and the African-American Black Panthers. This is odd given that I heard Black Americans and Puerto Ricans get along really well in New York City, especially among the elected officials.

This would be a great work for those who do not anything about Puerto Ricans. I think this would be great to watch alongside of reading "Puerto Ricans in the United States" by Maria Perez y Gonzalez.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's Just Awful-PERIOD!, June 5, 2008

By 

Crescenzo C. Capece "d'caborojo" (NYNJPR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Don't let my name fool you, I know the Island of Puerto Rico and the people of the island well.It's a great place with many many wonderful people.
Granted, the slant here is on a Nuyorican viewpoint, except that
Rosie Perez and company never really get to a concrete reason of what and why they should be so "proud". Instead, she concentrates on the style of displays the annual parades emphasize,NOT on the real struggles and culture of the island, and why the status problem, at this stage is
actually OFFENSIVE.
This vanity project should never have been green lighted, and likely was done only because of ignorance; you won't really learn much about Puerto Rico here.
Boricuas deserve better....sorry,Rosie.