¡Dos "Santos Reyes" viajan desde el Oriente a Borikén!: crónicas de dos varones libaneses en el barrio de San Mateo de Cangrejos (Santurce-Puerto Rico)

Abstract

This brief article is a summary of a comprehensive historiographical essay about the Marquet Place in Santurce, Puerto Rico. The academic research was performed, beginning in 1990 through a period of time of six years, ending year 1996; as a requirement to meet the curriculum to obtain a Ph.D in Social Psycology in the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain. As a part of this research, thirty eigh testimonies were used along with other official sources like; real estate registries, maps, photos, journals, police complaints report and recent events reports on file. All these aforementioned sources mix themselves like a spider‘s web to give birth to a historic investigation and psico-sociological alternative. Market-men and clients as well that coexist in the San Mateo de Cangrejos suburb (as they were known before, in the Santurce community) tell theirs needs, penuries and happiness in a simple and subtle way leading to an endless journey of adventures. The lebaneses, those called vox-populi as "Arabians" can‘t stay out of this libretto. They showed tenaciousness, thus transmiting hope to our island farmers so called "jíbaros" and for the inhabitants of the so called "loza" (i.e., the urban zone of the city of San Juan and all its suburbs) as well.