#boriken

And I was just posting it because I rlly love it and i'm excited for it's release and want more people to know about it, especially if you also like clutch powers 🥹🥹 😢

(this is mostly concept art-for the visuals-though official art is coming soon!)This has been in the works since March of 2023, and there is no official release date! (sorry) but i will be posting updates 😋 BUT, When released, it'll be on Webtoon, Tumblr, Tiktok, Twitter, and Bluesky! It will be updated bi-weekly! (i think)

These include fiction, non-fiction, and authors not of Taino descent. It can be quite hard to find booklists for this, so I'm generating my own:

The Aborigines of Puerto Rico and Neighboring Islands by Jesse Walter Fewkes

Anacaona: Golden Flower by Edwidge Danticat

Ancient Borinquen by Peter E. Siegel

Cacicas by Margaret R. Ochoa

Caciques and Cemi Idols by Jose Oliver

Canoa by Miguel Sague-Machiran

The Caribbean Before Columbus by William F. Keegan

The Cemi Guayakan by Naniki Reyes Ocasio

Cocuya Lights the Way by Danielle Smith-Llera

Comparative Arawakan Histories by Jonathan D. Hill

Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago

Los Cuentos de Mi Abuela by Tere Marichal-Lugo

Earth and Spirit by Maria Benedetti

Encounter by Jane Yollen

The Golden Flower by Nina Jaffe

Guak’toka Taíno by Selena Lapham

History of Puerto Rico by Fernando Pico

History of Puerto Rico by Loida Figueroa (out of print; very rare)

History Smashers by Kate Messner and Jose Barreiro

How the Sea Began by George Crespo

The Indigenous People of the Caribbean by Samuel M. Wilson

Indigenous Resurgence in the Contemporary Caribbean by Maximilian C. Forte

Itiban ka Kalliare by Sergio Mojica

Keeping the Taino Language Alive by Richard Morrow Porrata

The Legend of the Cacique Princess by Michael Dorta (as well as its prequel and sequel)

The Myth of Indigenous Caribbean Extinction by Tony Castanha

The Mythology and Religion of the Tainos by Sebastian Robiou Lamarche

On this Beautiful Island by Edwin Fontanez

People of blue thoughts by Enrique Perez Diaz

The Peoples of the Caribbean by Nicholas J. Saunders

The Sea-Ringed World by Maria Garcia Esperon

Song of the Taino by Devashish

Taino Ceremonies, Myths, Rituals & Zemis by Lynne A. Guitar

Taino Genealogy and Revitalization by Richard Morrow Porrata

Taino Indian Myth and Practice by William F. Keegan

Taino Remedies by Isamar Rivera

The Taino Sun by Tere Marichal-Lugo

Taino Tales: The Secret of the Hummingbird by Vicky Weber

Taino Tales: The Legend of Coqui by Vicky Weber

Taino Tales: The Miracle of Salome by Vicky Weber

The Tainos by Irving Rouse

Tainos and Caribs by Sebastian Robiou Lamarche

Talking Taino by William F. Keegan

Zandunga by Robert Solano

The tale of the Tainos and Caribs by Gabriel Figueroa

Anani and the Cave of Cacibajagua by Selena Lapham

Anacaona by Viviana S. Torres

Tainos y Caribes by Sebastian Robiou Lamarche

Comparative Arawakan Histories by Jonathan D. Hill

Women in Caribbean History by Verene Shepherd

Taino by Ricardo E. Alegria

Tales of the Taino Gods by Osvaldo Garcia-Goyco

Taino Ni Rahu series by Lynne A. Guitar

Taíno Sun by Tere Marichal-Lugo

A Contested Caribbean Indigeneity by Sherina Feliciano-Santos

Anacaona by Maryse Noel Roumain

Taino by Jose Barreiro

Dreaming Mother Earth by Jose Barreiro

The Moonlit Vine by Elizabeth Santiago

Claiming a blessed magical October in FL

☀️🎃🐚🐉🌴

IG: @ ania.aine

My piece for submission to the softboysclub_ / softpublishing zine for "Rest and Resistance Zine".

I couldn't wait to share this one. I've been holding off making Taíno art for worrying my art wasn't good enough or some invisible barrier of perfection. But overcoming that little voice to just make the art reflect me, as it is meant to anyways. Celebrating how much culture and people are. I've been focusing on the Mexican side for awhile but I want to get better about depicting my Puerto Rican side and not be so anxious.

So just as Resting and Resistance is important, so is embracing all sides of ones self. This is how I will rest, the way my ancestors did. Full of love and light for myself and my people.

This feels like an embarrassing post to make, but I need to say it anyway. I am half Puerto Rican, but I grew up in the States, cut off from my Hispanic side of the family and from the parent who carried that culture. Nobody in my household speaks Spanish. I went through Spanish classes in school and still retained almost nothing, and even then it was not Boricua Spanish. On top of that, I am light-skinned, which makes me feel even more out of place.

I do not want to keep feeling this distance from where I come from. I want to connect with my roots, but it feels like a huge gap stands between me and the culture that should have been mine. I do not want to skim the surface or rely on stereotypes. I want to actually learn. I want to feel closer to my ancestors, to my people, and to the history that I was separated from.

I do not know where to begin. How do I start learning Spanish in a way that is explicitly tied to Puerto Rican dialect, expressions, music, and everyday conversation. How do I immerse myself in a culture when I do not have family or community to guide me. What Content Creators can I watch to learn from?

If you can, please share what you know about Puerto Rican history and culture, not just the polished versions but the unfiltered things. I want to learn about traditions, recipes, dances, stories, characters, representations, important figures, and timelines. I want to understand the struggles and resilience, the creativity and beauty, that have always defined Puerto Rico and its people.

Anything you can share, whether big or small, would mean the world to me. I am just trying to reconnect with this part of myself that I have been separated from for far too long.