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Racial inequality in Puerto Rico is not only a taboo subject in the public sphere, it is a concealed one. Despite the national denial, nonwhite Puerto Ricans are racially marginalized, experience racism in their daily lives and are underrepresented in various institutions. There are few nonwhite political candidates and officeholders, yet the connections between race and politics are seldom discussed. How then, if at all, does race matter politically for nonwhite Puerto Ricans? This article finds that although the silence about racism influences identity politics and consideration of a candidate’s race, it does not obscure racial consciousness and overall acknowledgement of racism among nonwhites.