President's Day [17.02.2025]

My unfortunate fellow American citizens, today is Presidents Day and I’m standing here at el Paseo de los Presidentes, a monument to colonialism located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a colony of your United States since 1898. The statues that line this sidewalk celebrate the 8 Presidents who made official visits to the island and were erected by the pro-statehood governing party in 2010. As you can see, gringo tourists love taking pictures at this pathetic display of colonial subservience. Yet today isn’t just Presidents Day. Puerto Rico used to celebrate separate holidays for its own political and intellectual elites such as Luis Muñoz Rivera, José de Diego, José Celso Barbosa, and the great Eugenio María de Hostos. In 2014, the Puerto Rican legislature consolidated these holidays under George Washington’s birthday, added some distinguished women to the list, and imposed US heritage on Puerto Rico’s collective memory. This is part of their project to Americanize Puerto Rico and make it more compatible with the American way of life. This video is a reminder that when you visit Puerto Rico you become complicit in the colonial project. Think about the implications of your visit and the reasons why it’s so convenient in the first place. As we wait for Donald Trump’s statue, remember, these are not our Presidents nor do we want them to be, and I am not your fellow American citizen, nor do I care to be. Happy Presidents Day.