SAN JUAN, U.S.A.

I enjoyed Roderick Mann’s article on the very talented and versatile actor Raul Julia (“ ‘Spider Woman’ Kissed Julia’s Career,” July 26).

There is, however, one inaccuracy that needs to be corrected because it contributes to the already misunderstood status of Puerto Ricans in American society. To say that Julia “arrived in the United States from Puerto Rico” is as incorrect as saying someone arrived in the United States from Washington, D.C.

Puerto Rico, like D.C., is not a state with all the rights and privileges accorded a state, but it is part of the United States and has been since the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans are citizens of the U.S. by right of birth, with the same rights and privileges as other Americans. Puerto Ricans are not immigrants to the U.S. but are migrants, in the same way that a Californian can move to New York.

As an American citizen born in Puerto Rico, it is bothersome to be asked what nationality you are and, after responding that I’m an American, to have to explain to the uninformed what I have tried to clarify above.

CARLOS DIAZ

Los Angeles