This book by John Vasquez Mejias showcases an important and often overlooked moment in American history. Told as a fable, in which the leaders of the Puerto Rican independence movement are visited by the ghosts of Michael Collins and Gandhi, The Puerto Rican War tells the story of the 1950 insurrection on the island that resulted in thirty-eight deaths and a failed assassination attempt against President Harry S. Truman—a historical touchstone for the movement.

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Copies of The Puerto Rican War are available for purchase through the Mark Twain Store; proceeds benefit The Mark Twain House & Museum. Books will be shipped after the event. We regret that we are NOT able to ship books outside the United States as it is cost-prohibitive to do so.

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About the Author and Artist:

John Vasquez Mejias, the son of Puerto Rican migrants, is an artist, educator, and musician. His books have been collected by the Thomas J. Watson library at the Metropolitan Museum of art. John also contributes to Museum of Modern Arts online Magazine “Drawn To MoMA”. He lives in the Bronx, New York.

About the Moderator:

Pablo Delano was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is a visual artist, photographer, and director for the Studio Arts Program at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He is the author of three monographic books of photography. Currently, his ongoing conceptual art installation titled The Museum of the Old Colony, based on the colonial history of Puerto Rico under U.S. occupation, is included in the Biennale di Venezia Arte 2024, on view in the Biennale’s Central Pavilion.