Whiteness In Puerto Rico - by Guillermo Rebollo Gil

About the Book

"The issue of race in Puerto Rico has, historically and institutionally, been presented as a non-issue, with the majority of Puerto Ricans identifying as white in the US census. As a result, pervasive racial discrimination against Afro-Puerto Ricans has largely been, and continues to be, left unattended. In this book Guillermo R. Gil examines the social construction of whiteness on the island, using the study of American racism to inform his analysis of Puerto Rican racism and the two culturally distinct, yet intrinsically linked, spaces to study whiteness. Examining the work of Puerto Rican activists, writers and artists, Gil documents the ways in which whiteness shapes and informs Puerto Rican cultural producers while simultaneously being challenged by them. Cross-disciplinary in approach, Notes on Whiteness in Puerto Rico speaks to the present political moment in a country marked by austerity, disaster capitalism and protest"--

Book Synopsis

Using autoethnography to examine the social construction of whiteness in Puerto Rico. Guillermo Rebollo Gil draws from artistic, activist and popular culture registers to examine the multifarious yet often subtle ways race privilege shapes and informs daily life in the Puerto Rican archipelago. Cross-disciplinary in approach, Whiteness in Puerto Rico speaks to the present political moment in a country marked by austerity, disaster capitalism and protest.

Review Quotes

The category blanquito in Puerto Rico means more than just whiteness. It refers to a specific form of embodied white privilege that combines race, class, (colonial)power, place and even language. As a blanquito himself (or born and raised as one) and an experienced narrator, the author skillfully uses his own biography, complemented with interviews and recent historical events, to show us how blanquitos happen, how they learn to be and behave, how they stay in power and how they help perpetuate racism. Rebollo Gil has given us a highly engaging book that should be read by anyone interested in the use of autoethnography to tackle difficult questions and understand contemporary social issues.
Rima Brusi, anthropologist and author of 'Fantasmas'

Guillermo Rebollo-Gil's Whiteness in Puerto Rico is a remarkable reflection on the hegemonic, but not monolithic, power of whiteness in Puerto Rico. Clear, crisp, and beautifully written, Rebollo-Gil's auto-ethnography achieves a level of creativity, honesty, and intimacy that is rare, refreshing, and admirable, without ever falling on trite anti-racist posturing. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in understanding how white privilege operates in so-called "racial democracies," and developing effective anti-racist collective projects in Puerto Rico and beyond.
Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas, author of 'Parenting Empires: Class, Whiteness and the Moral Economy of Privilege in Latin America'

Whiteness rules best in silence. In this important collection of essays, Professor Rebollo Gil cracks its rule by discussing how blanquitos (rich white folks) in Puerto Rico deploy their whiteness in a variety of ways and spaces. His interrogation comes from a deep place as he is himself a blanquito. This book deserves serious attention as it unveils a face of whiteness in a self-proclaimed racial paradise.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, author of 'Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America'

About the Author

Guillermo Rebollo Gil is a writer, sociologist, translator, and attorney. He is the author of several academic, poetry and creative non-fiction books, in both English and Spanish, including Writing Puerto Rico: Our Decolonial Moment (2018).