Amanda and Jasmine Pacheco ride in a limousine with relatives, including (on the left) brothers Vicente, 2, and Emilio, 9. The sisters recently celebrated their 15th birthdays, or 'quinceañeras,' with both a religious ceremony and a big party./Dana Romanoff, The Free Lance-Star View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Focus: Puerto Ricans are citizens, not immigrants Marta Fuentes is never surprised when someone asks her if she has a green card. Even after she tells them she was born in Puerto Rico, people still wonder whether she’s in the country legally. “There is a lack of knowledge, big time, even among Americans, of our status,” she said. “Even people from Mexico, South America, they don’t understand.” People born in Puerto Rico have been American citizens since 1917, when Congress passed the Jones–Shafroth Act, according to the Library of Congress. But Fuentes and other local residents who work with Hispanics realize a lot of Americans don’t see it that way. “Most people are not going to say, ‘Oh, you’re Puerto Rican, that’s just like being born in Arkansas,’” said Sue Smith, executive director of LUCHA Ministries, which serves local Latinos. “The idea most people have is, ‘They’re Hispanic, they’re probably illegal.’” Fuentes works for Healthy Families, a program offered by the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. Studying English was mandatory in the Puerto Rican school she attended. She tells young Hispanic mothers to start learning English when their children are babies. “You come to this country, and you can’t expect everything to be in Spanish,” she tells them. Fuentes is among an estimated 2 million Puerto Ricans who have moved to the United States. Because of this massive migration, it’s said there are more Puerto Ricans in New York City than in San Juan, the capital of the country, according to the Web site Welcome.toPuertoRico.org. There’s even a term that refers to New Yorkers born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent. It’s “Newyorican.” Of interest At birth, Hispanics are given three to four names, in this order: first name, middle name, father’s last name and mother’s last name. When a woman gets married, she drops her mother’s last name. But she keeps her father’s surname and takes on her husband’s last name. ‘Spanish women remain forever linked to the men in their lives. It’s the ultimate in machismo,’ says ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning Spanish.’ Cousins reunite The two relatives hadn’t seen each other since 1944, but when they reunited recently, their connection was as strong as it had been 62 years earlier. “I have family again,” Olimpia Hernandez said, hugging her cousin. “We are the children of a brother and sister, and we love each other very much.” Hernandez, 82, and Berta Lopez, 84, reunited in March at their children’s homes in Fredericksburg. The two grew up together in different villages in Guatemala, but lost contact after marriage. Each would think of the other from time to time, but neither knew where the other was. As decades went by, each assumed the other had passed away, as so many from their generation had. All three of Hernandez’s brothers are dead. Lopez has one surviving sister of 12 siblings. The two found each other again by way of their children. Lopez’s daughter, Maria Gordillo, lives in the Bragg Hill area. During one of her regular visits with her nephew, who lives a few streets away, she met Raul Castellanos, who recently moved from Los Angeles. As the two talked, they realized their mothers are sisters. Soon thereafter, Gordillo’s mother was visiting Fredericksburg, and Castellanos’ mother was in New York, seeing another son. Castellanos went to New York to get his mother and bring her to see her long-lost cousin. The two started spending every minute together, talking about the old days. After a few weeks, Hernandez headed back to Connecticut to stay with another child, and Lopez went to Arizona for the same reason. Between them, the two cousins have 14 children, 65 grandchildren and 52 great-grandchildren. Their children in Fredericksburg were glad to connect with relatives as well. “When you are alone, you are nobody,” said Castellanos’ wife, Soila. “We are not alone now. We have family.” Spotsylvania County resident Gladys Brackett, who was present as an interpreter, said the scene reminded her of her childhood. She, too, grew up in Guatemala, where she spent as much time with her cousins as with her siblings. The bond between Hispanic cousins is strong, she said. “For us,” Brackett said, “this is really almost two sisters being reunited.”

Date published: 8/26/2006