Inés María Mendoza Rivera de Muñoz Marín

The Luis Muñoz Marin Foundation is asking persons possessing materials of a documentary nature about Inés María Mendoza, or Doña Inés as she was known, to donate the materials to the foundation. They are looking for photographic images, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and any audio or video recordings.

For those of you who were sleeping during Puerto Rican History class, Doña Inés was married to Luis Muñoz Marin and became Puerto Rico's First Lady when her husband became the first democratically elected governor in 1948. She lived in La Fortaleza for 16 years after her husband was successfully re-elected tree times.

The foundation wishes to incorporate the materials into a 100th birthday celebration for Doña Inés, who had she still be living today would have turned 100 back on January 9th. If you have anything that you think might be of interest to the foundation, please contact them at (787) 755-7979 or with electronic mail: flmm at coqui dot net.

Los Borinqueneers

This just came through by inbox today, but I found the information extremely interesting. So while it's a day late, I liked to share a few excerpts and encourage you all to read through it. Having traveled up 65th Infantry street hundreds of times, it's fascinating to read the history. Here excerpted from "Salute Latinos for defending America" from the The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

"Among those we need to remember this Memorial Day are the brave men of Puerto Rico's 65th Infanteria/Infantry Regiment who, like many others, sacrificed much to defend the American way of life.

The 65th or "Los Borinqueneers" (derived from "Boriken," the Taino Indian name for Puerto Rico) was a segregated Army unit composed of Puerto Ricans. The 65th began as an all-volunteer unit in 1899, soon after the Spanish-American War, when the U.S. government cultivated Puerto Rico as a strategic buffer in defense of U.S. interests in the region."

The article goes on to point out that a documentary of "Los Borinqueneers" will soon be released by filmmaker Noemi Figueroa Soulet, which provides a poignant account of the military history of the Puerto Rican soldier.

Through the use of rare film footage and interviews with 65th Infantry members and their American commanders, the documentary will offer keen insight into the personalities that drove many decisions made in the field during the Korean War.