LA BANDERA

A fierce, hopeful series of verses filtered through the Puerto Rican flag that focuses on the island, its people, and their fight for freedom.

Fourteen poems highlight the origins of la bandera (Spanish for flag) and key figures across the island’s history of rebellious defiance against its colonizers, spanning the late 19th century through the present. A concise foreword sets the stage, discussing the island’s current status as an unincorporated territory under the United States before shifting to the opening poems: “Brazo de Oro” details how Mariana Bracetti created Puerto Rico’s first bandera; “El Grito de Lares” centers on the first documented revolt against Spanish oppression. From there, readers glimpse moments of triumph and setbacks, including the eight days of independence from Spain and subsequent U.S. annexation in 1898, the “Gag Law” enacted in 1948 and enforced against anyone “calling for Puerto Rico’s freedom,” and the great unfurling of the Puerto Rican flag atop Lady Liberty by activists in 1977. Helpful contextual passages accompany some poems; the verse ranges from clear-eyed narrative threads to evocative, confident calls for strength, wrapped in piercing language. Throughout, Aldamuy Denise stresses the multifaceted will of Puerto Ricans, “woven into the fabric of us.” Lugo’s artwork, meanwhile, showcases the flag’s vibrant colors from poem to poem, with windswept images that lend momentum to each page. An intimate author’s note and brief notes of historical context for each poem provide ample space for further reflection.

Compelling and powerful.