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Jesús Colón

ヘスス・コロン

Hesusu Koron

Pen Names: Miquis Tiquis（Pseudonym used for newspaper columns and articles）, Pericles Espada（Another pen name used in newspapers and political writings）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1901-01-20 （Cayey, Puerto Rico）
Died
1974-05-14 （New York City, New York, U.S.） age 73
Nationality
Puerto Rican
Languages
Spanish, English
Residence History
San Juan, Puerto Rico → Brooklyn (New York City), U.S. → New York City, U.S.

Career

Occupations
writer, activist, community organizer, journalist
Active Years
1917-1974
Affiliations
New York Committee, Puerto Rican Socialist Party, Communist Party USA, Cervantes Fraternal Society (International Workers Order), Hispanic Publications (served as president)
Influenced By
Karl Marx, Émile Zola, Miguel de Cervantes
Influenced
Piri Thomas, Esmeralda Santiago, Nicholasa Mohr, Pedro Pietri

Education

José Julián Acosta School
Country: Puerto Rico
Recorded as one of the schools he attended for primary/secondary education
Central Grammar High School
Country: Puerto Rico
Participated in the school paper and literary society while attending

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Puerto Rican in New York, and other sketches

1961 vignettes/essays

A collection of short vignettes and essays depicting immigrant life, working-class hardships, racial discrimination, and community solidarity.

immigration experiencerace and identitylabor and class strugglecommunity and solidarity

Lo que el pueblo me dice--: crónicas de la colonia puertorriqueña en Nueva York

2001 posthumous compilation/chronicles

Posthumous compilation edited with an introduction, gathering Colón's newspaper columns and community writings.

community historylabor movementimmigrant accounts

The way it was, and other writings: historical vignettes about the New York Puerto Rican community

1993 edited collection/historical vignettes

Edited volume of historical vignettes and writings about the New York Puerto Rican community.

community historyimmigrant experiencepolitical activism

Bibliography

  • A Puerto Rican in New York, and other sketches (1961)
  • Lo que el pueblo me dice--: crónicas de la colonia puertorriqueña en Nueva York (2001, ed.)
  • The way it was, and other writings: historical vignettes about the New York Puerto Rican community (1993, ed.)
  • Poem 'Black Is Beautiful' and other scattered works

Translations of Works

  • A Puerto Rican in New York (originally published in English)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
colloquial and direct voiceshort vignettes and essayistic formjournalistic/recording quality
Recurring Motifs
skin color and racial discriminationdetails of immigrant daily lifehardship of laborcommunity and mutual aid

Legacy

Jesús Colón is regarded as a precursor of the Nuyorican movement and is valued as a writer-activist who recorded and voiced the experiences of the Puerto Rican community in New York. His columns and vignettes serve as important primary material for immigrant and labor history.

Academic Societies

  • Subject of study in Puerto Rican studies and Latin American/Caribbean studies academic communities

Archives

  • Jesús Colón Papers (Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, CUNY)

In Popular Culture

  • Often referred to as the 'Father of the Nuyorican movement'

Quotes

  • I will not cooperate with this committee in its aim to destroy the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional rights of the people.
    Source: Testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (1950)

Trivia

  • As a teenager in 1917 he stowed away on the SS Carolina to reach New York.
  • Anecdotes such as sharing one pair of pants with his brother illustrate his experience of poverty and working-class life.
  • Used pseudonyms including Miquis Tiquis and Pericles Espada in his writings.
  • After his death in 1974 his ashes were returned to Puerto Rico and scattered over the Río de la Plata, per his wishes.