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By Haylee Bragg

The islands of Puerto Rico have become more than just a scenic tourist Mecca.

An ever-growing number of young, culturally diverse Puerto Ricans are getting involved and speaking out about their current political status as a commonwealth territory of the United States.

It appears as if Puerto Ricans seek change, but not independence from the United States.

“I am completely in disfavor of independence,” said Sergio Salazar, in a phone interview. Salazar is 21-year-old student at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

“I don't think independence is an issue Puerto Ricans take seriously," he said. "I think the Independence Party [PIP] is just there for cultural reasons, reminiscent of a time when independence was a viable option. The PIP only gets about 2 or 3 percent of the Puerto Rican vote.”

According to a new Gallup poll, 28 percent of Americans would like to see Puerto Rico become an independent nation, while 30 percent prefer to admit it as the 51st state and 26 percent want Puerto Rico to retain current commonwealth status.

Puerto Ricans seek more representation

The biggest issue Puerto Ricans are concerned about is the lack of representation in government. The Iraq war and the current economy are causing tempers to flare and resentments toward the U.S. to deepen, said the students.

Nine percent of Puerto Ricans say that the island's economy is stable. Of that, only 7 percent feel it is improving, according to results by a recent Gallup World Poll.

"Very few support the war, and even fewer understand it,” said Ricardo Santiago, 21, a college student and native of Ponce, Puerto Rico. “We don’t get to vote for the president, but … our boys die without representation. We did not elect President Bush.”

Some fear loss of culture

Puerto Ricans are also worried about losing their culturally diverse background to the sometimes overwhelming American influences.

“We have American influence, but our traditions and culture have not changed that much,” said José Delgado, 18, a student and native of Hatillo, Puerto Rico.

“There are a few who fear that we are going to lose our culture completely," he said. "We take are traditions very seriously. We celebrate Las Mascaras in December. People get dressed up with masks that were originally a Canary tradition.”

Many see fusion between the two cultures occurring.

“It’s already a mixed culture as it is; just maybe not as integrated as it would be if we became a state,” said Salazar. "We have many English words that have been integrated into our language already. For instance, we use party instead of ‘fiesta,’ parking instead of ‘estacionamiento,’ and sandwich instead of ‘emparedado.’”

“Most people think that they’re going to change the language to English,” said college student Hector Armando, 19, of San Lorenzo, a Chicago native who returned with his family to Puerto Rico.

“The main concern with becoming a state is that we will not be able to represent our flag, our island in the Olympics,” said Salazar. “Especially since we were the first team to ever beat the U.S. Dream Team in 2004. We're very proud of our culture.”

Split from U.S. may not be feasible

Although most do not want to separate from the U.S., several are interested in gaining statehood. As a self-governing territory, Puerto Rico is living under U.S. federal law, but has not been allowed to represent themselves in return. Many doubt they will be granted statehood.

“First of all there needs to be a voting for status referendum, even if people vote statehood, I doubt that the United States will want to make us a state,” said Delgado, “probably because more money would be given to Puerto Rico and some states would have less, and since Puerto Rico has a population of three million or more, some states with less population wouldn't like that.”

While the majority isn’t openly resentful of the U.S., lingering feelings of racism and prejudice are deeply rooted. Many Puerto Ricans still remember the "El Cerro Maravilla Incident" in 1978 when two young protesters were fatally shot by the police under the excuse of terrorism. The FBI and U.S. Justice Department poorly investigated the crimes.

“There is resentment, but it mostly just comes out when the government is directly related to an issue,” said Salazar. ”I don't approve of some of the flag-burning that has occurred.”

While some favor statehood or independence, other still are content for the present condition.

“I wouldn't like things to change,” said Salazar. “In my opinion, our ties with the U.S. are fine the way they are. It's our own government that needs to change. The political parties here are too busy pointing fingers that they forget to help Puerto Rico prosper.”

Click here to view interactive map of students and their home towns!