Living in Puerto Rico my homeland is great for me, this is the only place I know but I can't imagine living any other way or place. But when I was a young girl things started to change, first with Spain. Things had become very tense with my family and everyone that lived here and then when the United States came in and eventually everything calmed back down and I have to say did not go back to the complete normal way we were once use to but I can say that they were much better than what we were used to. I have a weird feeling that a lot was about to change and I was right a lot did change. My name is Marcela and I am here to tell you the story of how my family’s life changed sometimes it seemed for the worse but ultimately for the better of my homeland.
As a young girl at the age of 19 I am a member of the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party. In the past several months we have met with members of the US government to discuss the military presence of the Spanish government here in Puerto Rico. It is our hope that the US government will involve Puerto Rico in their intervention with Cuba. The US government has established they will help insure that Puerto Rico will be free to govern them selves without Spanish rule. The initial meetings were held on a sugar cane plantation where we would be free to talk openly without worries of the Spanish government finding us. We looked over maps of the island and pointed out key military positions along with an account of the number of troops and artillery held at these locations. In the following months preparations was being made for the invasion of the US government to overthrow the Spaniards. On May 10, 1898 the US invasion began with the U.S.S Yale exchanging fire with the San Cristobal fortress in San Juan. In the following days 12 other US ships arrived with the bombardment of San Juan to follow. Knowing interment details of the coming invasion I have moved the family to the sugar...