Constructing identities: Ethnic boundaries and elite preferences in Puerto Rico

This article assesses elite preferences and the objectification of ethnic boundaries from a rational choice approach. Ethnic elites seek markers that distinguish their group from rivals while still maintaining their in‐group privileges. Contending mythmakers in Puerto Rico attempted to culturally objectify the Spanish language and Catholicism. It is contended that selecting language was in the best interest of the island's secular ethnic elites while a religious identity was a suboptimal alternative.