Half-Mast: Shifting Landscapes of Protest and Demilitarization in Vieques

Abstract

This chapter examines watershed moments and smaller transgressions in the problematic relationship between the United States and Vieques. These include the ongoing and less discrete destruction of the ecosystem and the continual harassment of Viequense women as well as the economic dependency on the Navy. The chapter studies a variety of media that range from music, folktales, novels, short stories, poetry, documentary, and performance art to explicate the role of artistic activisms and symbolic acts of resistance in protest of the United States’ military presence. This cultural production is presented in thematic clusters focused on Vieques’s society prior to the Marines’ arrival and their heyday, ecological impact, and demilitarization.