hi

st
or
ic
al
 puerto rico is a large caribbean island of
roughly 3,500 square miles located in the
west indies

i t’s th e eastern mo st i sl an d o f th e
greater antilles chain, which also
includes cuba, jamaica and hispaniola.

it has a population of some 3.4 million people and a vibrant

culture shaped by a mix of spanish, united states and afro-
caribbean influences.

the citizens often refer to the island as borinquen.

the name is derived from the w ord

birokèn, the local taíno name which
means ‘land of the valiant lord.’
in 1493 during his second expedition, christopher
columbus returned several taino captives to the island and
claimed it for spain

calling it san juan bautista but thanks to the gold in

t h e r i ve r, i t w a s s o o n k n o w n a s p u e r t o r i c o , o r " r i c h
port;" and the capital city took the name san juan

soon, puerto rico was a spanish

colony on its way to becoming an
important military outpost

under spanish colonial rule, puerto rico experienced

varying levels of economic and political autonomy
over the centuries.
 h o w e v e r b y t h e m i d - 1 9 t h c e n t u r y, a w a v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e m o v e m e n t s i n
sp ai n ’s so u th ameri can co l o n i es h ad reach ed p u erto ri co .

in july 1898, under the treaty of paris

u.s. army forces occupied puerto rico at
g u án i ca , o n th e i sl an d ’s so u th si d e
the interim u.s. military government
established on the island ended in 1900
after congress passed the foraker act,
w hich formally instituted a civil
government in puerto rico. in 1917, congress passed the jones-
shafroth act, which granted u.s.
citizenship to all puerto ricans and
made puerto rican males eligible for the
military draft.

in 1948, congress passed an act permitting puerto ricans to elect their

o w n g o v e r n o r. f o u r y e a r s l a t e r, p u e r t o r i c o w o u l d o f f i c i a l l y b e c o m e a
u.s. commonwealth, which enabled the island to create its own
constitution and granted other pow ers of self -government.
culture
• catholicism, baptism, padrinos, first holy communion

• when parents die, the land and property are still usually transferred to the eldest
son

• the skyw ard-pointing statue of christopher

columbus referenced in the saying “ cuando

colón baje el dedo” (“when columbus lowers

his finger”), meaning that something

will never happen.

• naming their children

• trulla or parranda

• clapping is a gesture of thanks that the plane has landed safely in the island
home.

• the puerto rican day parade in new york city

• the puerto rican christmas or navidad season lasts approximately from the end of
n o v e m b e r a t a r o u n d t h a n k s g i v i n g , u n t i l m i d - j a n u a r y.
• new year's day (día de año nuevo)-
2015-01-01
• three kings day (día de reyes)- 2015-
01-06
• birthday of eugenio maría de hostos
(natalicio de eugenio maría de hostos)-
2015-01-13
• m a r t i n l u t h e r k i n g j r. d a y ( n a t a l i c i o d e
m a r t i n l u t h e r k i n g , j r. ) - 2 0 1 5 - 0 1 - 1 9
• emancipation day (día de la abolición
de esclavitud)- 2015-03-22 good friday
(viernes santo)– 2015-04-03
• birthday of josé de diego (natalicio de
josé de diego)– 2015-04-20
• memorial day (recordación de los
muertos de la guerra)– 2015-05-25
• commonwealth constitution day
(constitución del estado libre asociado
de puerto rico)– 2015-07-25
• b i r t h d a y o f d r. j o s é c e l s o b a r b o s a
( n a t a l i c i o d e d r. j o s é c e l s o b a r b o s a ) –
2015-07-27
• columbus day (día de la raza
descubrimiento de américa)– 2015-10-
14
• discovery of puerto rico (día del
descubrimiento de puerto rico)– 2015-
11 - 1 9
• thanksgiving day (día de acción de
g r a c i a s ) – 2 0 1 5 - 11 - 2 6
• christmas day (día de navidad)– 2015-
12-25
• merengue
• plena
• bomba
• salsa
• cha-cha
• danza
• bachata
• décima
• reggaetón
• music is a keystone of puerto
rican food and entertainment

• common instruments used are

pandereta, guiro, maracas,
panderos, palitos, cuatro
p u e r t o r r i q u e ñ o , g u i t a r, t r o m p e t a s ,
and tamboras

• the major type of music coming

out of puerto rico is salsa

• puerto rican music culture today

comprises a w ide and rich variety
of genres, ranging from
essentially indigenous genres like
bomba to recent hybrids like
reggaeton
• mofongo - is traditionally made from deep-
fried green plantain pieces that are mashed
with garlic and either salt-cured pork, pork
c r a c k l i n g , b u t t e r, a n d / o r o i l . s o m e r e c i p e s u s e
a salty broth to soften the plantains while
mashing.
• arroz con dulce – sweet sticky rice cooked in
s p i c e s , g i n g e r, m i l k , c o c o n u t m i l k , r a i s i n s ,
and rum. national christmas dessert.
• arroz con gandules y lechón – yellow rice and
pigeon peas with roasted pork is the national
dish.
• asopao – similar to gumbo, the soup is made
with rice, shellfish, chicken, chorizo and other
ingredients.
• coquíto – coconut milk and rum eggnog.
national christmas drink.
• pasteles – dough made from stock, green
banana, squash, plantains and starch roots,
filled with meat and other ingredients.
national christmas dish.
• piña colada – made in 1954 at the caribe
hilton's beachcomber bar in san juan, puerto
rico. the national beverage of puerto rico
since 1978.
• tembleque – coconut corn starch pudding is
the national dessert.
S
P
A
N
I
S
H
• puerto rican spanish belongs to a group of caribbean spanish variants and
is largely derived from andalusian and canarian Spanish

• it is extremely different --quite Anglicized, and very specific to the island

• t's also considered very poor Spanish by other Spanish -speaking people

• The PR accent is also pretty hard for a non -native speaker to understand

• elimination of the letter “d” especially for words that end in –ado,

• -ido and -edo.

• aspiration or elimination of “s”. it will sound more or a breath or “h”

• interchanging “l” and “r” like huerva>huelva carne>calne amor>amol.

• sometimes the r also become like a “j” sound.

• there were also some african and us influence in the country that they
adapted some words like guineo (african), mambo, conga and marimba.

• in english they often say “wiken” (weekend) instead of fin de semana or es

tamos ready (we’re ready) instead of estamos listos.