The Borinqueeners

Nov 22, 2013 @ 8:00pm

Q&A with executive producer Noemi Figueroa Soulet and 65th Regiment veteran Eugenio Quevado.
The Borinqueneers chronicles the never-before-told story of the Puerto
Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, the only all-Hispanic unit in U.S. Army history, The 65th Infantry Regiment was nicknamed “The Borinqueneers” after “Borinquen,” the name given to the island by its indigenous inhabitants, the Taino, Finally give the chance to be fully participate in a military conflict they excelled during the first years of the Koran War, earning great praise from General MacArthur But in the fall of 1952 the regiment would be the center of a series of dramatic events, where dozens of its soldiers abandoned their positions and were tried in one of the larges courts marital of the war. “It was the first case in this war in which men from a unit that won international
recognition for bravery unexplainedly seemed to have changed their character under fire,” The New York Times. For more than 50 years, the events that led to the regiment’s darkest hour have been shrouded in mystery and controversy. The Borinqueneers sheds light on this story through the dramatic testimony of the men who were there.
It is fitting we screen The Borinqueneers this November in honor of Veteran’s Day celebrated this month, but also because as BORIMIX has dedicated this month to Rafael Hernández, who came to the mainland as part of the 369th Regiment in World War I. It is a reminder, that when those who have a powerful voice and large platform within society— such as Ken Burns did with his WWII documentary—but neglect to include our stories, then we must tell them ourselves. Rafael was one of 18 musicians who enlisted to serve in the “Harlem Hellfighters” Regimental Band (the band that introduced many of France’s citizens to early jazz music—so we were also part of jazz’s early history too!); and many Latinos from all over the country enlisted and fought during World War II. A young Ernest “Tito” Puente joined the Navy in the 1940s and took part in many battles, including Guadalca- nal (Photo courtesy of Joni and Ronnie Puente).
For more information see:
The Voces Oral History Project documents the contributions of U.S. Latinos and Latinas of the WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War generations. The project was created in 1999 by University of Texas journalism professor Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez and initially focused solely on the WWII generation. At the time, it was known as the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project. In 2010, the project ex- panded into the Korean War and the Vietnam War generations of Latinos and Latinas: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/voces/