Interview with Margarita Florada

Interview with Margarita Florada

3/28/17

HI251C: History of Latinx in the U.S.

Margarita talked about her experience of moving from Puerto Rico to Boston and her identity as a Latina

English

Margarita Florada participated in an interview conducted by her daughter, Dresita Florada, over Skype. She discussed her transition in moving to Boston from Puerto Rico in order to attend school at Boston College. She studied law and is currently a Dean at a community college in Massachusetts. She and her Irish American husband raised their two children , 23 and 19, in Boston, Massachusetts. She confronted her discourse with her Latinx identity in regards to the gender roles that were imparted on her which she did not wish to adhere to. Because of this she feels less connected to Latinidad as an identity, however, even though that disenchanted her from it and urged her to raise her children with different ideals in regards to gender, she will always identify as a Latina. She also further discussed her identity in regards to her own diverse cultural background which includes Lebanese and Corsican heritage. Issues surrounding the current Puerto Rican debt crisis and whether or not she thinks independence or statehood would ever be a possibility for the island are discussed.

Florada, Dresita

Margarita Florada