For starters, Italia does not consider herself or her family to be immigrants. That is because she is the 4th generation of her family, which originates from Puerto Rico. Her family has been in the United States for so long, and because she was born in America, Italia does not see herself as an immigrant.
Italia’s father came to the United States at the tender age of one month old. He was born in 1972 in the city of Ponce, which is located in southern Puerto Rico. He came to New York with both of his parents.
Born in 1947, Italia’s maternal grandmother came to the United States from Guayanilla, located in southeast Puerto Rico and just about 15.5 miles from Ponce. She was 19 years old and came with her father, Italia’s great-grandfather. She was more than happy when she arrived in the United States because it was a childhood dream of hers to move to New York. It was in 1966 that Italia’s grandmother first settled down in Coney Island with her father, neither of them knowing a soul around them.
Even though Italia’s grandmother is technically a United States citizen in Puerto Rico, the quality of life was not the same there. For that reason, her family came to New York in search of better opportunities. It was with the intent of helping make money for the family and slowly bringing her siblings over into the US that Italia’s grandmother set out to find work. Left behind in Puerto Rico still were three of Italia’s grand-aunts and one grand-uncle, and the situation at home was not going well financially.
Italia’s grandmother was not the oldest child. However, although being a middle child, she was chosen to be the first to come to the United States because of her great desire to live here and because she began working at a very young age so she would have an easier time getting work. It was entirely too expensive to bring everyone over at once. This is why only one of the children could be chosen to come to New York. Her plane ticket cost $46. The rent at their Coney Island home was $98 per month. Italia’s grandmother and great-grandfather worked very hard and by December of the same year (1966) Italia’s grandaunt, granduncle, and great-grandmother were able to come up to New York.
When Italia’s grandmother first came to New York, she set out to completely immense herself in American culture. She would converse with the people around her whenever she got the chance. She also watched a variety of television shows—Jeopardy was her favorite. Adjustments to American culture were not so difficult for her. She continued to cook the same foods that she did when she was in Puerto Rico, so adjusting to the food was not an issue. For the most part, all that she struggled with was learning English.
Over the past 38 years since they have been living in New York, Italia’s grandmother has lived in about 6 different locations. First, they lived in Coney Island in 1966. Within a few years, Italia’s mother was born in 1973. Her grandmother, great-grandfather, and mother then moved to Sheepshead Bay, where they lived for about five years. Following that, they lived in Ocean Parkway. After some time, they moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn where, on Valentine’s Day, Italia was born. For a while, they all lived on Stratford Road, and soon after, they all moved to Bensonhurst in southeast Brooklyn where Italia was raised. They finally settled down in Marine Park, Brooklyn, which is where they live currently.
All in all, everything that Italia’s grandmother hoped for with life in New York was realized and her dreams were fulfilled. Everyone who was left to come into the United States is now living here happily. It was the best decision for them to come to New York, and they couldn’t be happier.
