It may be apocryphal by now, but it has often been said, and it is repeated again by Rodriguez in her most recent contribution to the literature that Puerto Ricans still hold the dubious distinction of being among the most researched and least understood people in the United States, if not the world. Rodriguez\u27s use of the existing voluminous literature on the Puerto Rican experience certainly reinforces this widely held belief. Puerto Ricans are the second largest Latino ethnic group in the United States, and in New York City one out of every eight people is Puerto Rican. This is a remarkable statistical finding, especially when one considers that most non-Puerto Ricans remain culturally illiterate about the history, migration, education, politics and daily life of this struggling community. So, it may well be true that while volumes of research studies sit on the shelves of our educational institutions, most Americans remain woefully ignorant about who the Puerto Ricans really are, and why so many continue to be scattered in barrios throughout the fifty states, including Hawaii
