Thanks to my grandfather Toribio, who migrated from Zamora, Spain to Puerto Rico in the early 1900’s and married my grandmother Pilar whose 7th son Fernando, along with my mother Minerva, brought me to the world, I am able to become a Spanish national. After a process that took 2 years and 11 months and the Spanish consulates in Miami, San Juan and Zürich, on Tuesday November 20, I finally got my Spanish passport.

Petra and I went to a Spanish restaurant in Zürich to celebrate it. I told the waiter, a young man from Alicante, why we came to eat there. He congratulated me in a polite and fairly unexcited manner. He probably thought, what is there to celebrate when Spain is in the pits now, with no jobs to offer. Perspective and relativity keeps me going!

Check out the video and photos.

7 Comments

  1. Primo:Lamancha de platano no nos la quita nadie. somos nacionales de Puerto Rico (Boricuas) porque nacimos alli. Al igual que tu compartimos 3 ciudadanias(P.R.,E.U.. y Espanola) La ciudadania es solo un vinculo politico con un Estado politico organizado. Mis saludos ati y al resto de la familia (incluyendo a mia Abruna) Quique Abruna II

    1. Esto no es una posicion politica privada que requiera moderacion. Me aplica a mi tambien al igual que a cualquier persona. Nacionalidad y ciudadania no son terminos equivalentes. Primo tenemos una sola nacionalidad aunque a lo largo de la vida podamos obtener muchas ciudadanias

  2. Congrats :-)
    Your dog is barking so nicely when you take out the passport … and your grandfathervis looking like you!

  3. ¡Felicidades!
    Yo no he recogido el mio aunque si tengo hace meses la ciudadanía. Buen recordatorio para hacerlo esta semana y planificar un viaje para estancarlo y de paso darme un brinco par de países al este.
    Un abrazo, primo

  4. Congratulations! Now you’re an official EU citizen!

  5. Congratulations prof! Neil (my husband) also got his Spanish citizenship two years ago through his father. His dad is from Spain (Basque Country). I know you are truly Puerto Rican but at least you are now even more legal to reside in the EU. hehehe! BTW, you look slimmer in that Spanish passport pic. Keep it up! Cheers!

  6. Ah no, you may have a passport and citizenship and heritage and so forth but clearly you’re still very Puerto Rican because you do not understand Spanish waiters who are famous for even competing with each other to see who can be the most taciturn, unimpressed, and cultivating the most superior to their clients. I lived in Madrid for a bit and they can make the rest of Spain seem down right friendly. You are from a sunny, warm, open culture and clear proof that nurture trumps nature. But congratulations anyway; now you have official permission to be unimpressed with the world and taciturn.

    And from your other nature… the Greater Everglades Bioregion… Happy Thanksgiving! No matter where we are we can find our gratitude…. thanks for being our friends and imagine our smiles while saying that. Tere y Brad

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *