This compelling autobiography traces the trajectory of the groundbreaking Puerto Rican leader Antonia Pantoja, from a struggling school teacher in Puerto Rico to her work as principal engineer of the most enduring Puerto Rican organizations in New York City.
- Cover
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Table of contents
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword
- Editor’s Note
- Introduction
- First Part. Toward a Clear Identity (1922–1944)
- Grandfather
- Grandmother
- Aunt Magui
- Other Family Members
- My Mother and the Unknown Father
- Growing Up Poor in Barrio Obrero
- Vacations in an Enchanted Different World: Another Culture, Another Race
- Establishing a Home and Becoming a Teacher
- The War Years in Puerto Rico—1942–1944
- Teaching and My Departure from Puerto Rico
- Second Part. I Take a Leap Over the Sea and I Land on My Feet (1944–1949)
- The Trip Across the Ocean into a Frightening World
- Arriving in New York City
- Employment in the City
- I Become a New Yorker
- The Years of a Bohemian Life
- Third Part. A Builder of Institutions (1950–1960)
- I Discover My Leadership Ability
- A Graduate Student
- Working at the Commission on Intergroup Relations
- Fourth Part. The Puerto Rican Forum (1957–1964)
- ASPIRA, the Most Important Work of My Life
- The Second Institution: The Puerto Rican Community Development Project and the Study on the Poverty Conditions of Our Group
- Learning the History of My Country While in Exile
- Fifth Part. Leadership in the Overall Society (1965–1969)
- A University Professor
- A Delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention
- A Member of Mayor Lindsay’s Bundy Blue Ribbon Panel
- Reflections and Ruminations
- Sixth Part. Return to Puerto Rico and Return to New York (1969–1983)
- Returning Home
- A Research Center and a University
- California
- A Professor Again
- We Teach Community Development
- Seventh Part. I Return to Puerto Rico to Retire (1984–1998)
- Living in the Rain Forest
- PRODUCIR, a Community Economic Development Project
- Third Emigration: The Return to New York City
- Epilogue. Reflections and Ruminations
- The Tropics
- Possessing the Virgin Image
- Vision
- The Moon
- Bibliography