Ponce Massacre!

[Patria_y_LaPava]

On a quiet Palm Sunday afternoon on March 21st 1937, in the then biggest city in Puerto Rico, Ponce, men, women, and children marched down the Colonial streets. The women were dressed as nurses of the red cross, in white. The men wore either in all white or a black shirt along with white pants. Some of the children and adults wore uniforms as if they were cadets in a "Liberation Army" for the enslaved island of Puerto Rico. They marched with the illegal Puerto Rican flag, the now official flag of the current commonwealth (glorified colony) status. They marched for freedom, to commemerate the abolishen of slavery in 1873 by the former Spanish Colonizers, they marched to demand their leader of their Nationalist Party, Dr Pedro Albizu Campos, be freed from jail in Atlanta Georgia by the American colonizers. There were bands playing traditional Puerto Rican music and people of all tones of colors were together because they did not see color as a barrier, they were all Puerto Rican singing the now official commonwealth anthem but then outlawd, "La Borinquena." They wanted the preservation of our culture and freedom that they have not experienced for over 400 years, that is why they were memebers of the violent Nationalist Party, they wanted Independence. Except, on this day, none of the marching crowd had any weapons. They had asked for a peacefull march grant by then Mayor of Ponce, Blas Oliveras, and he accepted. As the march was to begin, the colonial military Governor, Major General Blanton Winship ordered the Mayor to cancel the permit and under pressure, Mayor Oliveras did as he was told. This did not stop the Nationalist to quit marching. They had an unalienable right to assemble peacefully to commemrate what mattered most to them and their people.

So as they marched with pride and happyness, Blanton Winship at about 1:03 PM ordered the colonial police, dressed in Nazi like military uniforms and black boots to do what they will to these people in the parade. The policemen surrounded the marchers and ordered the people to disasemble and leave, and the people did what they were told. As they were leaving, a shot rang out, it is not known if it was from the Police or from the watching spectators, but it was not the marchers. Then the entire police force present started to fire with force at the crowd and for fifteen minutes it was choas. People ran, but were surrounded, the streets were blocked off by the police, they climbed over bloody shot bodies. When it was over and the dust had cleared, 18 people were dead including a 7 year old girl trying to run into a church and 200 were wounded. This was known as "La Masacre de Ponce," the Ponce Massacre! Some of the Nationalists were sent to jail and two policemen also were sent to jail, they all went on trial but all were aquited.

This event should never be forgotten, because it can show some people that the USA has not always been a good neighbor, a fighter for freedom. The Spanish also did the same and more, but for the USA it is hypocritical to advocate freedom to the world but trample people in your own backyard, in your own "protection. "Some say dont stay in the past too long, think of te future. Well what is the
future without a past to learn from, to know what effects certain things can happen once you try them, to know who you are and what it took to get you where you are, we soon
will be history, dont you want people to remember you?

For more information and pictures, go to http://www.geocities.com/wazzzzz_aaa...-massacre.html