In spite of the common image of a paradise island, Puerto Rico has indeed had a tortured history of colonialism, oppression, and economic woes. It has not achieved political sovereignty but has managed to thrive as a purely “cultural nation”. “Puerto Rico belongs to, but is not a part of the U.S.” is a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has been official policy. As such, the authors examine the political and historical issues that are the genesis of the first airborne diaspora when thousands of men, women and their families left the island to embark on a new existence in the United States.