{"id":4724,"date":"2018-03-25T20:40:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T00:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/blog\/?p=4724"},"modified":"2023-11-10T17:41:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T22:41:52","slug":"of-taino-queens-and-the-legend-of-yuiza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/of-taino-queens-and-the-legend-of-yuiza\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Ta\u00edno Queens and the Legend of Yuiza"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4724\" class=\"elementor elementor-4724\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d9c0aba elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d9c0aba\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e3837a2\" data-id=\"e3837a2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-ccb34fe elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ccb34fe\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-4c0cd2c\" data-id=\"4c0cd2c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e19ed3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1e19ed3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Of Ta\u00edno Queens and the Legend of Yuiza<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-41de162 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"41de162\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p><p>by Francisco G. G\u00f3mez<\/p><p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff47e90 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ff47e90\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"s1\">Interested in<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"> <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/social-sciences\/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines\/boricua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">boricua<\/a><\/span> history, especially legends? Here\u2019s a story that\u2019s rather interesting. It&#8217;s the legend of Yuiza and her possible connection to the Afro\/Ta\u00edno people of Lo\u00edza. On our first relief<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>assistance trip to Puerto Rico, four months after hurricane Mar\u00eda reeked havoc on the island, we had the good fortune to visit the town of <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"http:\/\/welcome.topuertorico.org\/city\/loiza.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lo\u00edza<\/a><\/span> on the northeast coast of the island. We stopped in to say hello to our friends the Ayalas and see how they had managed the storm. The Ayala family is one of the premier exponents of the musical art form known as <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bomba_(Puerto_Rico)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bomba<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fe6e52b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"fe6e52b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.raicesculturalcenter.org\/files\/original\/9283988701168b319780893b19bb160a.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DW10%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.raicesculturalcenter.org\/files\/original\/9283988701168b319780893b19bb160a.jpg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Yuiza \u2013 \u00a9 Ra\u00edces Cultural Center<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24249cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24249cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"s1\">Marco Ayala, a good friend and supporter of Ra\u00edces, quickly arrived\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">after he was contacted by his aunt Rachel and\u00a0 warmly greeted us. Our friends recounted the horrific details of Mar\u00eda and her aftermath. We sorrowfully looked upon what was left of the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tainolegacies.com\/154087494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bohio<\/a><\/span>\u00a0that once housed their Afro Puerto Rican Bomba drums,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/revista.drclas.harvard.edu\/book\/masked-enigmas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vejigante<\/a><\/span>\u00a0masks and a number of other cultural pieces. We took some\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">pictures together before getting ready to leave for the interior of\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">the island.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5fa76a7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5fa76a7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Marco-Ayala-e1521989379515-270x300.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DW10%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Marco-Ayala-e1521989379515-270x300.jpg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Marco Ayala - \u00a9 Ra\u00edces Cultural Center<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d00711 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9d00711\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"s1\">Snapping our last pic, Marco asked if we might want to meet\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"http:\/\/boricuaafricanos.blogspot.com\/2008\/08\/samuel-lind-desde-puerto-rico.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Samuel Lind<\/a><\/span>, one of the most famous\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">artists in Puerto Rico, who lives across the\u00a0<\/span>road from the Ayalas. Of course we couldn\u2019t pass that up, so we headed for Lind\u2019s house, and by chance he happened to be home and welcomed us in. His entire home is an art studio, each and every room, and there are lots of them! Of the many extraordinary art pieces we had the good fortune to admire, there stood out a painting, that to me, was hauntingly beautiful. The canvas was an image of Yuiza, an interpretation rendered by Lind. You see, there aren\u2019t any written accounts or artifacts to suggest that she ever existed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd34cc0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"bd34cc0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Lind-2-1-225x300.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DW10%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Lind-2-1-225x300.jpg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Samuel Lind \u2013 \u00a9 Ra\u00edces Cultural Center<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd24f5d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bd24f5d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I asked Lind to tell us Yuiza\u2019s story, something we knew nothing about. We had no idea that the town of Loiza is named after her, according to Lind. Yuiza\/Lo\u00edza, sounds similar, doesn\u2019t it? Lind\u2019s account speaks of the Ta\u00edna\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cacique\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cacique<\/a><\/span>, Yuiza, a woman who ruled her tribe of aboriginal people during the Spanish Conquest of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.urbandictionary.com\/define.php?term=Borinquen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Borik\u00e9n<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in the 16th century, in and around what was then the Cayrabon River in the Jaymanio region and what is now the Rio Grande de Lo\u00edza.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33e50c7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"33e50c7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Further research revealed that Yuiza supposedly married a mulatto conquistador, Pedro Mej\u00edas and was condemned to death by the other caciques in the area for having conjugal\u00a0 relations with the spaniard. This information would lend credence to the mixture of Ta\u00edno and African blood that would account for the largest numbers of Afro-Puertoricans on the island, but\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">again, this is unverifiable.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9543c67 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9543c67\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But, interestingly enough, there are historical records of a 17th century Spanish Crown decree stating that runaway slaves from the British colonies, who were mostly from Nigeria in West Africa, were to be relocated to what is today Lo\u00edza Aldea. That could also explain the large numbers of Afro-Puertoricans there.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5208e7a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5208e7a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The image of Yuiza still leaves me in a quandary, and I can&#8217;t reconcile whether she is African or Ta\u00edna, maybe something in between &#8211; does it even matter?\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">Perhaps the truth of Yuiza may never be known; however, the words of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tite_Curet_Alonso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tite Curet Alonso<\/a><\/span>\u00a0ring true when he wrote the famous song \u201cLas caras linda de mi gente negra,\u201d The Beautiful Faces of my Black People! And, this is just one account of several, revolving around the legend of Yuiza\u2026<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-537a2f8f elementor-hidden-desktop elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"537a2f8f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-66e164c4\" data-id=\"66e164c4\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31130817 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"31130817\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interested in boricua history, especially legends? Here\u2019s a story that\u2019s rather interesting. It&#8217;s the legend of Yuiza and her possible connection to the Afro\/Ta\u00edno people of Lo\u00edza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[309,312,316,33,320,323],"tags":[458,9,461,462,486,570,571,40,931,932,933,951,1125,11,1276,1330,1331,1332,1375,1392,1433,1472],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4724"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21524,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724\/revisions\/21524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raicesculturalcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}