“Brief Summary”

CULTURES:
Puerto Rico is Island rich with history and culture. Although Puerto Rico is now a United States territory, it thrives on
its historical traditions. Puerto Rican culture is much like its people—passionate and vibrant, with a history filled with
celebration.
History of Puerto Rico:
Puerto Rico takes great pride in its history. Its first inhabitants, the Taino were an indigenous group that lived on the
island 1,000 years before the Spanish arrived.
Upon returning from his second voyage to the Americas in 1493, Christopher Columbus landed at Puerto Rico and
claimed it for Spain. He named the island San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), but the name was changed not
long after to Puerto Rico, which means rich port, and San Juan became the capital city.
Because of the many interactions between the native Taino people and Spanish settlers, Puerto Rican culture is a
blend of Taino, Spanish, and African cultures. Aspects of all three can be seen in modern-day Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican Music and Dances:
Puerto Rico’s musical roots go all the way back to the Taino people. Their music has a predominant Caribbean
sound that was played on handcrafted instruments such as the mayohuacán, a wooden slit drum. The güiro is
another traditional Puerto Rican instrument used by the Taino people. It is a percussive instrument made from a
hollowed gourd.
Other music traditions were brought to Puerto Rico with the introduction of Spanish and African cultures. These new
inhabitants brought varying instruments, including several kinds of guitars with varying levels of strings. One that
stands out most is the Puerto Rican cuatro, which has 10 strings!
Percussion instruments go hand-in-hand with stringed instruments in Puerto Rican music. Tambours, which are
made from hollowed tree trunks often covered with animal skin, can be heard on the streets frequently.
One of the most recognized musical genres associated with Puerto Rico is the salsa, often called “the rhythm of the
islands.” The rhythms from salsa music are often complex and draw people onto the dance floor.
Salsa dancing often accompanies salsa music and is often describes as “flavorful and spicy.” It actually originated in
the Puerto Rican and Cuban communities of New York City, but it has become quite popular on the island as well.
Puerto Rican Dances:
Like other aspects of Puerto Rican culture, dance traditions come from the Taino people along with Spanish and
West African roots. Puerto Ricans love to tell stories through their dances, which often include beautiful and vibrant
costumes—women wear long, flowing skirts, and men wear large hats as well as sashes to match the women’s
skirts.
The bomba is one of Puerto Rico’s most storied dances and is loved by many. It was started at the end of the 17th
century. Those who worked in the sugar cane fields were slaves. They Created the dance and used it to express
their frustration about the hardships of their condition.

Holidays in Puerto Rican Culture:

The Puerto Rican people like to celebrate! They have over 19 official holidays on their calendar—compared to 10
government-recognized holidays in the mainland United States, 8 in the United Kingdom, and 7 in the European
Union. The island has the longest holiday season in the world, and they love it.
La Navidad, the Christmas season, starts right after Thanksgiving Day and extends into the middle of January. It
ends with a big celebration called “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian,” also referred to as “la SanSe.” People spend
the time singing “parrandas,” or Christmas carols; Puerto Ricans often take part in traditional Christmas caroling,
gathering around people’s homes and singing as a surprise.
Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena, is more celebrated by most than Christmas Day. A midnight mass often concludes
the Christmas Eve celebrations, where the Nativity is often reenacted.
Three Kings Day, which occurs on January 6, is another unique part of the celebrations. It memorializes the visit from
the Wise Men (the Magi) who visited Jesus after He was born. The night before the holiday, children set out
shoeboxes or hats under their beds for gifts from the Magi. The town of Juana has held a huge celebration on that
day for over 135 years. Over 25,000 people gather for the celebration.
Festivals and celebrations are held throughout the years in different provinces and communities. These festivals are
often accompanied by parades with colorful puppets and floats, food, dancing, and song.
Puerto Rican Baseball:
Baseball is by far the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. It was first introduced in the country by Americans and
Cubans, with the first leagues starting in 1897. It wasn’t popular at first, but it caught on just after the Spanish–
American War in 1900, when the Almendares Baseball Club beat the American Baseball Club of the Second
Regiment of Infantry 32 to 18. After that, baseball’s popularity in Puerto Rico spread quickly from town to town. It
even began to be taught in schools.
Because of Puerto Rico’s warm climate, baseball is a year-round sport. There have been many notable professional
baseball players from Puerto Rico, including Roberto Clemente and Carlos Beltran.
Religion in Puerto Rico:
Religion has always been important to the Puerto Rican people. The Taino people were deeply spiritual and
worshiped multiple gods who they believed lived in nature. When Ponce de Leon arrived in 1508, a little more than a
decade after Christopher Columbus, he brought with him the Roman Catholic faith. Today, Catholicism is the
predominant religion in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans hold Christianity near and dear to their hearts. It is believed that 75 to 85 percent of the population is
either Catholic or has strong Catholic ties. Each city has a patron saint who is celebrated with festivals and religious
processionals.

SOCIETY AND POLITICS:

In 2018 petitioners addressing the United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Decolonization described the United
States’ relationship with Puerto Rico, according to a UN report, “as one of genocide and ‘economic terrorism,’
characterized by multinational corporations—facilitated by the United States—exploiting Puerto Rico’s resources
even as that country’s Government implemented austerity measures that had forced schools to close and pensions
to go unpaid.”
This searing indictment is, from the perspective of many Puerto Ricans, more than a hundred years of history
condensed into one sentence. The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico began in 1898, when the
U.S. Army invaded the island—then under Spanish colonial rule—during the Spanish-American War. Puerto Rico
was officially ceded to the victorious U.S. later that year by the Treaty of Paris. Later, Puerto Ricans watched as the
U.S. recognized the independence of the Philippines and Cuba, island territories that had also been under American
occupation during the war, and they believed that they would finally be granted the independence some Puerto
Ricans had called for from Spain for centuries.
Instead the United States persisted in treating Puerto Rico as a colony.
Until 1917 Puerto Ricans weren’t considered U.S. citizens. Until 1952 the territory wasn’t allowed to have its own
constitution. Today the island, now called the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is relatively self-governing. New laws
are proposed and ratified without U.S. approval, and Puerto Rico’s governor—long a U.S. appointee—is voted in by
Puerto Ricans.
But while Puerto Ricans are subject to U.S. federal laws, pay into Social Security and Medicare, and are deeply
affected by federal policy—UN petitioners cited the lack of substantial federal aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria
—Puerto Ricans can’t vote in U.S. federal elections and aren’t represented by voting members of Congress. (The
one Puerto Rican congressional representative can serve on committees and introduce bills but is unable to vote.)
Puerto Rico does, however, share at least one “privilege” with U.S. states: it cannot declare bankruptcy. And yet, as
those UN petitioners pointed out, if Puerto Rico had been a state, the economic exploitation by American companies
that it had endured for decades would likely have been curtailed by the U.S. government. (In 2017 Puerto Rico
reached a “bankruptcy-like” settlement with the U.S. following a decade-long recession.)
It’s the centuries of colonization, then, that make Puerto Rico’s political status so complicated. Though we can never
know what the island would look like if freed from that history, methods of disentangling Puerto Rico from colonial
rule have been debated for decades, sometimes in the form of referenda that have usually presented the people of
Puerto Rico with three options:
Statehood: Puerto Rico would be admitted as the 51st state in the union. The island would receive increased
financial help and social security from the U.S. government but lose its current constitution, which is distinct from the
U.S. Constitution. In 2012, 61.2 percent of Puerto Rican voters favored statehood over remaining a commonwealth;
in 2017, 97 percent (of a small voter turnout) chose statehood over independence or commonwealth status; and in
2020 about 53 percent voted for statehood.
Independence: Puerto Rico would become an independent country. It would gain complete and total powers of self-
governance, but it would likely struggle economically as it separated from the United States. Proponents of total
independence were behind the 47 percent of voters who rejected statehood in 2020 as well as 2017’s small voter
turnout. (Because nationalists boycotted the 2017 referendum, only 23 percent of registered voters turned out—a
percentage far lower than for most elections, which had drawn more than 80 percent.)
Retaining commonwealth status: Puerto Rico would remain a commonwealth of the United States. Some Puerto
Ricans have proposed “enhanced commonwealth status,” which would increase the island’s powers of self-rule while
retaining a relationship with the United States, or “Sovereign Free Associated State” status, under which Puerto Rico
would function as an independent country with strong ties to the United States. However, these latter options have
appeared on referenda infrequently.
In 2020 Puerto Rico’s sixth referendum presented a straightforward yes-or-no question: “Should Puerto Rico be
immediately admitted into the Union as a state?” A majority (52.34 percent) of voters chose yes. Thus, in 2021 came
H.R. 1522 (or the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act), a bill that may have lacked the referendum’s directness but
still clearly made its point: “Puerto Ricans have contributed greatly to the nation and its culture and distinguished
themselves in every field of endeavor. However, the denial of equal voting representation and equal treatment by the
Federal Government stands in stark contrast to their contributions.”
H.R. 1522, however, was nothing new. It was about the 11th bill to propose statehood for Puerto Rico. And, as
Puerto Rico’s referenda are nonbinding, the U.S. Congress has long declined to vote on a change in the island’s
status.
The politics of Puerto Rico take place in the framework of a democratic republic form of government that is under the
jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States Congress as an organized unincorporated territory. ... Puerto Rico's
legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a Senate and a Camara De Representantes.
The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the island of
Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state. Because of that ambiguity, the territory, as a polity, lacks
certain rights but enjoys certain benefits that other polities have or lack. For instance, in contrast to U.S. states,
Puerto Rico residents cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections nor can they elect their own senators and
representatives to the U.S. Congress. On the other hand, in contrast to U.S. states, only some residents of Puerto
Rico are subject to federal income taxes.[a] The political status of the island thus stems from how different Puerto
Rico is politically from sovereign nations and from U.S. states. The status of the island is the result of various political
activities within both the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The United Nations removed it from the list of
non-self-governing territories in 1953, but it remains subject to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
According to the Insular Cases, Puerto Rico is "a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a
part of the United States within the revenue clauses of the Constitution".American and Puerto Rican political activities
regarding the status question have revolved around three sets of initiatives: presidential executive orders, bills in the
U.S. Congress, and referenda held in Puerto Rico. U.S. Presidents have issued three executive orders on the
subject, and Congress has considered four major bills on Puerto Rico's political status. Puerto Rican status referenda
have been held four times to determine the desired political status of Puerto Rico in relation to the United States of
America. None of them have been binding on U.S. Congress. Internationally, several organizations have called for
the U.S. government to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico while considering Puerto Rico
a Caribbean nation with its own national identity. For instance, the United Nations Special Committee on
Decolonization has called for the United States "to allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign
manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization,
insolvency and poverty.