This book is just a tiny portion of the complete book which is HUGE. The book covers all aspects of life in Puerto Rico and focuses also on Puerto Rico's racial and ethnic diversity. I have always liked to experiment with writing stories in verse, and many of the poems in this book are actually stories in verse. I also took many of the traditional legends, as well as stories drawn from the history of Puerto Rico and basically retold them in my own verse. This is seen in the following poems: "Guakia Ke: Una Raza Perdida" which tells the story of the Taino Indians who populated Puerto Rico before the arrival of the Spanish (on page 48 of book, and page 34 of pdf preview)."El Lenguage Del Abanico" found on page 45 of the book ( which is pg.31 of pdf), which is based on reading that I did on the elaborate language which existed with fans between sweethearts during formal dances in 19th century affluent Puerto Rican society. The photos shown, are actual photos of Puerto Rico in the olden days. Some of these poems are not based on my personal life, though some of my thoughts on a subject inevitably seep through the verse that I write. In the poem of Cofresi ( the legendary Puerto Rican pirate) found on pg 92 of the book (which is also pg 51 of the pdf preview) I wish to clarify that under no circumstances do I condone sin, but merely state in verse the historical info which describes Cofresi as a type of Puerto Rican "Robin Hood". The end of the poem shows how I conclude that he had wasted his life and potential by sinning. All the details in the poem are based on historic research ( click to see the library where I did my research for many of these poems-click here). While I was in Spain I continued writing more poems about Puerto Rico ( in addition to a still unpublished poetry book in Spanish on Mallorca). I even write about Chinese Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican Jews, and the Afro-Puerto Rican experience in order to combat popular stereotypes. This book shows poems written from my teens up until my mid-20's ( though the still unpublished section of the book also contains poems from ages 30 to 31. I never let adversity sap my creativity, and if it were not for the absurd problems which I am having with all these agencies that have violated my human rights, I would have published several more of my books. The few references to catholicism in this book ( I am Jewish and not catholic) have been left because it is not realistic to ignore the presence of catholicism in Puerto Rico if one wishes to accurately represent Puerto Rican society ( and this book is meant to be educational as well). However, I do focus on the extremely ignored fact that Puerto Rico has the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, and that there is a lot of Jewish blood in Puerto Rico in those who are the descendants of Marranos ( or Anusim). I also focus on other lesser recognized groups like the Chinese of Puerto Rico, and also wrote a poem ( not included in this preview) of an Arab in Puerto Rico who is a true character which my husband-who met him personally as a teenager- told me about). In short, many of the poems teach history through verse. Many poems also express my views on different topics, but not necessarily all. I really had to struggle to be able to merge the pdf files of this book preview and so upload it to this site, as Ana's hacker friends pestered me non-stop on my computer while I was working on this endeavor. To view the hacking that I endured go to the site at the link below: http://picturepush.com/+XMah (click) This book may only be used for non-commercial educational purposes as I have the copyright.