Etymology
The Oxford English Dictionary cites this word as evolving slowly through roughly the last third of the 20th century, with the first cited reference being poet Jaime Carrero using neorriqueño in 1964 as a Spanish-language adjective combining neoyorquino and puertorriqueño. Many other variants developed along the way, including neoricano, neorican (also written as Neo-Rican and Neorican), and newyorican (also written as New Yorrican). Nuyorican itself dates at least from 1975, the date of the first public sessions of the Nuyorican Poets Café. Some of the best known Nuyoricans who have written and performed their experiences of being a Puerto Rican in New York are Miguel Piñero, Miguel Algarín, Piri Thomas, Sandra María Esteves, Willie Colón, Pedro Pietri, and Giannina Braschi. Some of the newer poets include Willie Perdomo, Flaco Navaja, Nancy Mercado, Emanuel Xavier, Edwin Torres, J.L. Torres, Caridad de la Luz aka La Bruja, Lemon Andersen, and Bonafide Rojas.
Historically, the term has been used as a derogatory term by native Puerto Ricans when describing a person that has Puerto Rican ancestry but is born outside of Puerto Rico. It also can sometimes include those born in Puerto Rico who now live elsewhere in the United States (other than New York). This changed from the original meaning with the increase in travel back and forth to different parts of the United States and the globe. The definition includes those born in New York who have moved to Puerto Rico as well.
The term is used by some members of this community to identify their history and cultural affiliation to a common ancestry while being separated from the island, both physically and through language and cultural shifts. This distance created a dual identity that, while still somewhat identifying with the island, recognizes the influences both geography and cultural assimilation have had. Puerto Ricans in other cities have coined similar terms, including "Philly Rican" for Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia and "Chi-Town Rican" for Puerto Ricans in Chicago.
History
Many Nuyoricans are second- and third-generation Puerto Rican living in the Continental United States whose parents or grandparents arrived in the New York metropolitan area during the Gran Migración (Great Migration). Puerto Ricans began to arrive in New York City in the nineteenth century. The Puerto Rican flag was created in 1895 New York by Juan de Mata Terreforte along with 59 other exiled independentistas. Migration intensified following the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act on March 2, 1917, which granted U.S. citizenship to virtually all Puerto Ricans. The Gran Migración accelerated migration from Puerto Rico to New York during the 1940s and 1950s, but such large-scale emigration began to slow by the late 1960s. Due to this large scale immigration there is a huge Puerto Rican influence that can be felt throughout New York. For instance along with African Americans, Puerto Ricans have had a major influence on popular genres of music such as Hip-Hop, which is a genre of music originating out of the inner city neighborhoods of New York. Another significant contribution is the famous Puerto Rican Day Parade which has its origins in 1958 Spanish Harlem.
In 2000, the Puerto Rican population of New York was over 1,050,000. As of the 2010 census, Puerto Ricans represented 8.9% of New York City alone (32% of the city's Hispanic community), and 5.5% of New York State as a whole. Of over a million Puerto Ricans in the state, about 70% are present in New York City, with the remaining portion spreading increasingly within the city's suburbs and other major cities throughout New York State. Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and New Jersey, primarily for economic and cultural considerations, topped by another surge of arrivals after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 – consequently, the New York City Metropolitan Area has witnessed a significant increase in its Nuyorican population, individuals in the region of Puerto Rican descent, increasing from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,494,670 in 2016.
Historically, Nuyoricans resided in the predominantly Hispanic/Latino section of Upper Manhattan known as Spanish Harlem, and around the Loisaida section of the East Village, but later spread across the city into newly created Puerto Rican/Nuyorican enclaves in Brooklyn, Queens, and the South Bronx. Today, there are fewer island-born Puerto Ricans than mainland-born Puerto Ricans in New York City. Even though Puerto Ricans are one of the most prevalent ethnic groups in New York City, mainland Americans were not always so welcoming to their Nuyorican neighbors. In addition to the casual racism faced by Puerto Rican migrants moving into the Tri-state area, the U.S government ran a series of eugenicist campaigns throughout the first half of the 20th century known today as La Operación in an attempt to decrease the Puerto Rican population on both the Island and within the states. Under these campaigns, countless Puerto Rican women were sterilized after being pressured by health care providers or even without their consent. Due to the effectiveness of this campaign, it is estimated that by 1956, 1 in 3 Puerto Rican women were sterilized.
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