ABC de Puerto Rico 

This collaborative work by Rubén del Rosario (Puerto Rican linguist), Isabel Freyre de Matos (author and educator), and Antonio Martorell (graphic artist) is the eighth book in the series Puerto Rico: Realidad y Anhelo (Puerto Rico: Reality and Desire). It features colorful woodcut images that represent each letter of the alphabet with a word and a short poem in the colloquial Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico. This two-page spread presents the word boricua, which has a rich history. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Indigenous Taínos called their island Borikén, or “land of the brave lord.” This name became Boriquén in Spanish (eventually Borinquen), and the term boricua has become symbolic of cultural identity and pride. In 1968 the U.S. Department of Education banned ABC de Puerto Rico and removed it from school settings because of this very emphasis on Puerto Rican culture and identity.