What does it mean to be Puerto Rican?

I’ve been debating about what to write for a while now, and when I really think about it I can’t think of anything that I find concrete to say about this topic. What does it actually mean to be from somewhere? Is it the food, the culture, where you live? I could go on and on about how being Puerto Rican for me is eating alcapurrias in my grandmother home and going to the beach on weekends, but that’s just really what it means for me. That’s not the reality, but the truth is being Puerto Rican for me could just consist of any random assortment of activities I as a person like to do.

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You could say that in general it could be considered that it means taking part in the activities that the average person in the island takes place in, but what about immigrants? Are they Puerto Rican if they take part as well? Or a mix of two or more cultures, something completely different to what they were before they arrived. Now imagine the differences between immigrants to Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans of differing religions, from different parts of the island. What could possibly singularly define us as a people, aside from the geographic area we live in?

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I’m obviously not saying that “Puertorricans” don’t exist, I know I am one, and you can usually notice one out in the wild. My point is that it’s one of those things that you just can’t describe, you just know it when you see it. Either you identify yourself as one and try to emulate the customs of the people around, or you do your own thing. But I believed that either of these behaviors could describe a Puerto Rican. What you do, where you do it, and with whom are, are not nearly as important as what you think you are.