Do you know who recorded the first opera album ever?
Who’s the only artist ever to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy?
What scientist discovered the bacteria causing caries (dental decay)?
In Jesús Omar Rivera’s world, the answer is invariably the same: a Puerto Rican.
More specifically, the answers are:
A- Antonio Paolí Marcano
B- Rita Moreno
Ask Jesús Omar (El Boricuazo) Rivera. An expert on Puerto Rican-ness and now known as “El Boricuazo,” Rivera has become a popular figure in Puerto Rico for divulging the achievements of his compatriots in energetic TV appearances, newspaper articles, a play and a book.
“I teach people that this is a land blessed by God,” says Rivera, speaking on the phone from Puerto Rico. “And it’s changing us.”
Born in the city of Bayamón, as a child Rivera developed an appetite for collecting — and memorizing — all kinds of data about his homeland.
“In Puerto Rico, ever since you are a child, you are told that you live on a tiny island that has no natural resources, nothing. This is what they teach you in school, on TV, the media, and it’s always negative,” says Rivera.
This perception is a byproduct of the island’s political dependence on the U.S., he says.
“Politicians here will name it 20,000 different ways, but in any dictionary Puerto Rico is a colony,” says Rivera.
“And there is this colonized mentality that everything from abroad is better.”
After studying tourism, Rivera became a tour guide and chair of tourism program at San Juan’s Bénédict School.
His ultra-Puerto Rican approach got him noticed, and he started appearing on local TV talking about tourism.
In 2002, Univisión Puerto Rico offered him a weekly section in their newscast, which they said would be called “Puertorriqueñando” [“Puerto Rican-ing”].
“I said, ‘This is a horrible name,’” recalls Rivera. “Instead, let’s give Puerto Ricans a cantazo [Blow] of love for their country, and it’s going to be called Boricuazo.”
“Boricuazo is now a commonly used word in the island,” he says proudly. “It refers to a feat done by a Puerto Rican.”
“El Boricuazo” now is also a weekly column in the newspaper Primera Hora.
Rivera also wrote a play, “Objetivo Patria,” and became a puertorriqueñidad [Puerto Rican-ness] coach for such Boricua celebs as Miss Universe Zuleika Rivera.
Boasting a sparkling, quick-witted style, he only seems in doubt when asked if, as some claim, the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York is the world’s biggest event of its kind....Full Story
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