Ramie was exhausted when The Rio De Janeiro reached the port of Honolulu. It was precisely at each port of entry, including San Juan, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Honolulu and finally Maui, where she could inhale a good whiff of fresh air, catch a bug or two, and go on to the next stop. Ramie had survived the long journey, all the way from Aguirre, Puerto Rico to Maui, Hawaii. Why was she here?
It was the year 1900. Puerto Rico had been ceded by the Spanish Crown to the US as per the Treaty of Paris in 1898. At that time, together with Cuba and Hawaii, Puerto Rico was among the major exporters of sugar to the world markets. It was August 8 of 1900 when a major hurricane, San Ciriaco, hit the island with winds of over 100 mph, leaving the land in total devastation. On August 22nd, another hurricane flattened the island causing major floods and over 3,000 deaths. The rain kept pouring for 28 days. The sugar cane crops were destroyed. Many workers of the sugar cane fields were left unemployed and with little hopes as to where to turn. The island economy started one of the worst setbacks ever experienced.
This was the precarious living conditions that the Gonzales family, along with other family groups, had to face. Juan Gonzales, his wife Adelina and their three kids, Juan Pablo 6, Dora Michelle 4, and little Carlos Juan 3. The two natural disasters had left them homeless and without a plan to start a new.
Without the sugar from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hawaii were not able to supply enough inventory to the world markets. The Hawaii farmers saw this as an excellent opportunity to come to Puerto Rico to hire sugar cane displaced laborers. The word got around; the Puerto Rico newspapers announced in big letters that five major companies from Hawaii were coming to PR to hire laborers for their sugar cane fields. They offered to pay for relocation expenses, transportation, and living facilities at the plantations. At that time in history, the wages in Hawaii were $10 a month for males and $6.50 for females; not a strong enough incentive to hire Puerto Rican workers, yet much better than zero income.
The Gonzales family, like many others, saw the light shine upon them. Juan convinced Adelina that this was a no brainer, he could recover his job, at a higher wage. Their kids, Juan Pablo and Dora Michelle were going to have better educational opportunities and Carlos Juan could start his schooling in the unfamiliar territory. Yes, they were going to miss their relatives who were staying behind, but they could always come back on vacations and spend time with them. They were going to be economically stronger and could afford a trip every two years. “And who knows, maybe we can bring my brother and his family to come join us in Hawaii”, added Juan.
Soon after, Juan, Adelina and the kids were packing their few belongings in preparation for the long trip. One of the five strong employers had interviewed and hired Juan. While searching their flooded home for missing items they wanted to take with them, they had to remove rubble to find them, some of them still moist and with an awkward odor. While busy with the search, they overheard the voice of Juan Pablo, when he said: “Papá, Mamá, there’s a snake here, come get it”, “Oh, do not be scared, they will not do you any harm. Do not be surprised if you found a “coquí” in your socks or even in your shoes. When floods occur, the wild animals get disoriented, start looking for safety, and may end up hiding in unusual places, like shoes, boxes, and bags”, responded Juan.
What Juan and his family could not see was that Ramie, a tiny singing frog, known as the Puerto Rican “coquí”, found comfort inside a pair of shoes, and went undetected, traveling along until the family made it to their destination. Oblivious to her presence, the family arrived in Maui to meet representatives of Juan’s new employer.
Ramie, as well as its adopting family, were about to start a new life in the territory of Hawaii. Some days after arrival Ramie was able to change its cocoon from the shoe to a flowerpot Adelina had placed in the dining room. Pleasantly for her, she started to hear the voice of another singing frog and, sure enough, she responded with her own melody. It is the language among frogs, specially initiated by the male, hoping to attract females to his turf. When the Gonzales heard the familiar sound of the singing frogs, they realized that Ramie had come along with them as a stow away passenger.
What nobody could anticipate was that Ramie and her new singing friend multiplied in numbers and became predators of a bug that was in turn predator of a bad bug which was damaging the Hawaiian crops. Government officials noticed the absence of the crop protector bug and reached the conclusion that the imported Puerto Rican singing frog was the responsible for its extinction. This was enough for the Hawaiian government to declare Ramie and its descendants as public enemies and unwanted species that needed to be exterminated.
The Gonzales were able to progress as a new immigrant family, despite the harsh working conditions in the sugar cane fields. Juan Pablo and Dora Michelle did very well in school while younger Carlos Juan started his primary education. Adelina remained at home taking care of the kids. They all integrated very well into the new Hawaiian culture. They vacationed in Puerto Rico every three years and appeared to be looking forward to having a bright future full of hope and optimism. End