Today in several neighborhoods of northeastern United States there are still remnants that tie predominate Puerto Rican communities together. In these communities you won't find much room for big businesses. On the contrary, here several of the corner stores (called bodegas) offer more of an impact than other larger businesses. In these smaller stores you can sometimes buy goat meat, mangoes and even "plantanos"

(a platanain is a banana-like fruit that is eaten boiled or fried). These stores not only have ties to a lifestyle far from the every day burger and fries feeding frenzy, but it also gives "state-side" Puerto Ricans a chance to experience food products that are authentic to Puerto Rico. The bodega, in fact, has been a key part of Puerto Rican development. Bodegas are a necessity to Puerto Ricans because they offer strong ethnic enclaves and a history of helping Puerto Rican migrants to better integrate themselves into "state-side" culture.

When Puerto Ricans came to "the States" as labor migrants, with and without government sponsored labor contracts, the transition was difficult. Around the time of the Second World War, employers and g

associated with prejudice. In an article from, Stirring the Pot, a document, one man accounts his case in which he was discriminated, "I remember when I came to Philadelphia, there was a store owned by Germans who refused to sell to Puerto Ricans. This store was located at 5th and Jefferson. The Germans didn't want to sell any goods to Puerto Ricans. There were many German families living in that area at that time." ( Taller Puertorriqueno, Inc.,60,1985). Moreover, even if a business would sell there were still other problems.

For some of the Puerto Ricans who had stayed in the states through informal networks in Philadelphia after the labor shortage of WWII problems occurred with language. "The problem was that most Latinos that did speak English had trouble keeping up with others that were native English speakers."( La Raza,5, 1976) Moreover, since those who didn't speak English depended on those with limited skills more trouble arose . On the other hand, the bodega offered people a bilingual clerk who could both translate and at the same time accustom island "boricuas" with the understanding of the state-side equivalent of products and foods they needed. Though the bodega assisted with transition of language for migrant workers, it also provided job transitions of language for migrant workers as well.

War had ended, the governments of Puerto Rico and the United States encouraged a contract labor program for Puerto Rican men to come to the continental United States for only seasonal farm work in Pennsylvania, and it's other surrounding areas in New York and New Jersey. "For migrants, the contract labor program was part of an economic strategy to earn seasonal income or a stepping stone towards permanent settlement."(Whalen, 24, 1998). Indeed, many migrant workers used the opportunity along with the money they had collected in farm labor to find a permanent home in areas such as Pennsylvania. In several cases of Puerto Rican migration the use of informal contacts through family and friends was a necessity. Through informal contacts many migrant farm workers settled in areas like Philadelphi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Puerto Rican, Puerto Ricans, Commerce Philadelphia, La Raza5, Puerto Rico, North Philadelphia, York Jersey, puerto rican, Philadelphia York, Stirring Pot, puerto ricans, World War, ethnic enclaves, migrant workers, informal networks, foods native, puerto rico, puerto rican migrants, rican migrants, informal contacts, rican community, puerto rican community, sell puerto ricans, taught trades clerical, store taught trades,
Approximate Word count = 1424
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)