La Borinqueña

Jonny Echevarria

A piece calling for Puerto Rico’s liberation from U.S. colonial rule, this collage features an image of the Puerto Rican flag over the Statue of Liberty. This image comes from an event which took place on October 25, 1977, where Puerto Rican nationalist activists locked themselves inside of the statue, climbed to the top, and hung the Puerto Rican flag over her crown in protest of the continued imprisonment of Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andrés Figueroa Cordero, and Irving Flores. These activists led an armed attack on the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954, which was designed to draw global attention to Puerto Rico’s colonial status under the United States and to demand Puerto Rican independence!! The words come from a poster that includes a quote by Lolita: “¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!”, their final words while being carried out as they sang La Borinqueña!!