Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was then colonized by Spain in 1493 following the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers, but remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. An influx of African slaves and settlers primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the island. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of indigenous, African, and European elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.
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This is a list of the flags of Puerto Rico. These flags represent and symbolize Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people. The most commonly used flags of Puerto Rico are the current flag, which represents the people of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the Grito de Lares flag, which represents the Grito of Lares (Cry of Lares) revolt against Spanish rule in 1868; municipal flags, which represent the 78 municipalities of the archipelago; political flags, which represent the different political beliefs of the people; and sports flags, which identify Puerto Rico as the country represented by its athletics during competitions.
Each of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico has adopted flags which represent the municipality and its people, employing designs that oftentimes derive their symbolism from the municipality's coat of arms. Most of the political parties in Puerto Rico also have their own flags, which represent and symbolize the political ideals of its members. These political party flags are usually displayed in public during political rallies, meetings, or parades in a show of political strength and unity. Various sports associations in Puerto Rico have adopted flags which represent them and which are used during competitions and other sport events. (Full article...)
Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known by his stage name Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as "X", "Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; the later three are from his 2017 album Fénix. He has frequently collaborated with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. While his early music exemplified traditional fast-paced reggaeton, his newer compositions place more emphasis on sung vocals and romantic lyrics.
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father, his family moved to Puerto Rico when he was ten years old. He began recording music at age fourteen with his first EP ...Distinto a los demás (1995), and eventually caught the attention of Daddy Yankee. The two formed the group Los Cangris, which was active from the late 1990s to 2004. The pair split acrimoniously and Nicky Jam's career quickly took a sharp decline, followed by a period of legal struggles and substance abuse. (Full article...)
Hurricane Erika was the strongest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave on September 3 and moved west-northwestward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, steadily intensifying until it attained hurricane status on September 4, becoming the fifth named storm and third hurricane of the season. Erika passed a short distance to the north of the Lesser Antilles, and later turned to the north in response to an approaching trough. The hurricane quickly strengthened to become the only major hurricane of the season, reaching maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) on September 8; after maintaining its peak strength for 24 hours, Erika began to weaken as it passed over cooler waters. It turned to the east, weakened to a tropical storm, and became extratropical after passing near the Azoresarchipelago.
The hurricane produced light rainfall and winds throughout the northern Lesser Antilles. The passage of Erika carried a cloud of volcanic ash to Antigua from the eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano on Montserrat, a rare occurrence. Strong waves from the hurricane produced beach erosion and coastal flooding in northern Puerto Rico, and caused the death of two surfers. Moderate wind gusts in the northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico left thousands of residents without power, and resulted in $10 million (1997 USD, $12.6 million 2006 USD) in damage in the U.S. Caribbean territories. Erika also produced gusty winds and light rain in the Azores. Erika was the only tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean in the months of August and September, the first occurrence of such event in an Atlantic hurricane season since 1929. (Full article...)
Tropical Storm Karen was a weak tropical storm that impacted the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in September 2019. The twelfth tropical cyclone and eleventh named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, it originated from a tropical wave which entered the tropical Atlantic on September 14. The wave quickly organized as it neared the Windward Islands on September 20, becoming a tropical depression just two days later. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Karen later that day, as it moved across the southern Windward Islands. By 18:00 UTC that day, Karen had reached its first peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1,003 millibars (29.6 inHg). Karen weakened back to a tropical depression at 06:00 UTC on September 23. However, just 12 hours later, Karen re-intensified into a tropical storm. It then entered the central Atlantic, early the next day. Karen began to degrade on September 27, when it weakened into a tropical depression, due to strong wind shear. The system subsequently degenerated into a surface trough later that day.
Karen caused significant flooding and widespread power outages in Trinidad and Tobago. Damage on the island of Tobago reached $3.53 million (USD). Flooding and power outages also occurred in Puerto Rico where roughly 29,000 customers lost electricity. Only minimal impacts were reported in Venezuela, the remainder of the Windward Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. (Full article...)
Rodríguez was awarded the ALMVP award in 1999. He won the 2003 World Series with the Florida Marlins and played in the 2006 World Series while with the Tigers. In 2009, he set an MLB record by catching his 2,227th game, passing Carlton Fisk. He had the best career caught-stealing percentage of any major league catcher, at 45.68% (versus a league average of 31%), and he had nine seasons with a caught-stealing rate of 50% or higher. Only one major league catcher (Yadier Molina) has more putouts. (Full article...)
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Coat of arms
The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Arawak Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is Honor et Fidelitas, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. The Army Appropriation Bill created by an act of Congress on 2 March 1899 authorized the creation of the first body of native troops in Puerto Rico. On 30 June 1901, the "Porto Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry" was organized. On 1 July 1908, Congress incorporated the regiment into the Regular Army as the Puerto Rico Regiment of Infantry, United States Army. On 14 May 1917, the regiment was activated and additional men were assigned, with the unit being sent to serve at Panama. On 4 June 1920, the regiment was renamed 65th Infantry. During World War II, the regiment saw action throughout Europe, especially France and Germany, participating in Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno and Rhin. Several Purple Hearts were awarded posthumously to members of the 65th Regiment.
"Quiero Bailar" ('I Want To Dance') is a song by Puerto Ricanreggaetónrecording artistIvy Queen, from the platinum edition of her third studio album, Diva (2003). It was composed by Queen alongside her then-husband Gran Omar, produced by Iván Joy and released as the lead single from the album in 2004. Lyrically, "the song talks about a guy expecting sex after a dance like it was a bad thing." Addressing the topic of female autonomy of the body, the song has become recognized as a female empowerment anthem.
The song became the first Spanish-language song to reach the top position on Miami's WPOW Rhythmic Top 40, the first Spanish song to do so, while reaching the Top 10 of the Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. The song has become known as the first female reggaeton feminist anthem among songs that lyrically degraded women. An accompanying music video was filmed for the song which featured cameos from her ex-husband Omar Navarro, known artistically as Gran Omar. (Full article...)
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Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles (29 January 1909 – 4 November 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo and moved to Ponce early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in sprinting and baseball. Coimbre played thirteen seasons in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR), with the Leones de Ponce. During this period the team won five league championships. He finished his career with an average of .337, and had an average of 2.2 strikeouts per season, this included four consecutive seasons from 1939 to 1942, without any strikeouts. Coimbre also won two LBPPR batting titles and the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943.
Coimbre traveled to New York City, after completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico, where he joined the Porto Rico Stars baseball team of the Negro leagues.[A] He was contracted by the New York Cubans while playing with the Porto Rico Stars. He joined the NY Cubans and played several seasons for them. Coimbre's batting average remained over the .300 mark, including two seasons in which he batted over .400. While playing in the Negro leagues he was selected to play in the league's East–West All-Star games twice, where he played with several players who in the future would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also played with teams established in Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Following his retirement, Coimbre worked as a coach and manager of teams in both the professional and amateur leagues of Puerto Rico. Coimbre, who was eighty years old, died due to a fire at his home. (Full article...)
The film entered development in 2014 at 20th Century Fox; Kushner began writing the screenplay in 2017. In January 2018, Spielberg was hired and casting began that September. Justin Peck choreographed the dance sequences. Principal photography occurred in New York and New Jersey; filming began in July 2019 and ran for two months. (Full article...)
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Escobar in the 1930s
Sixto Escobar (March 23, 1913 – November 17, 1979) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion.
Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he received his primary education and took interest in boxing. After gathering a record of 21–1–1 as an amateur, Escobar debuted as a professional in 1931 defeating Luis "Kid Dominican" Pérez by knockout. Early in his career, he moved to Venezuela due to the lack of opponents in his division. There he received an opportunity for the Venezuelan Bantamweight championship, but lost by points to Enrique Chaffardet. Subsequently, he moved to New York and began boxing in other states, eventually capturing the Montreal Athletic Commission World Bantamweight Title. In 1936, he defeated Tony Marino to unify this championship with the one recognized by the International Boxing Union, in the process becoming the third Latin American undisputed world boxing champion. After retiring, he worked as a spokesperson for beer companies in New York, before returning to Puerto Rico in the 1960s, where he resided until his death. He received several posthumous recognitions and his name was used in several sports venues and buildings. In 2002, Escobar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
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"Da la Vuelta" (English: "Turn Around") is a song written by Emilio Estefan and Kike Santander and performed by American singer Marc Anthony. Produced by Anthony, Estefan, and Ángel "Cucco" Peña, it is a salsa track which deals with the singer letting go of his former lover. It is one of the three Spanish-language songs to be included on Anthony's 1999 self-titled album and was released as a promotional single in the same year.
"Dejaría Todo" (transl. "I'd Leave Everything") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Chayanne from his ninth studio album, Atado a Tu Amor (1998). The song was written and produced by Estéfano and released as the lead single from the album in September 1998 by Sony Discos.The rockballad details everything the singer is capable of doing for his lover. The song received generally positive reactions from music critics and is listed among Chayanne's best songs. A music video for the song was filmed and features a dark scenery. Commercially, it topped the BillboardHot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the United States. The track was nominated for Pop Song of the Year at the 11th Lo Nuestro Awards and Song of the Year at the inaugural Ritmo Latino Music Awards in 1999 and was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2000 Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Awards.
"Dejaría Todo" has been covered by Brazilian singer Leonardo, Puerto Rican singer Johnny Ray, and Latin American boy band CNCO. Leonardo recorded the Portuguese version, "Deixaria Tudo", which reached number two in Brazil, while Johnny Ray's cover peaked at number 15 on the Tropical Airplay in the US. CNCO's rendition was included on their covers album, Déjà Vu (2021). It peaked at number four on the Monitor Latino Peruvian pop charts. (Full article...)
Old San Juan is characterized by a mixture of Spanish architecture, cobblestone streets and open public plazas. Most buildings and plazas are maintained to preserve their history, with some, such as the Quinto Centenario Plaza being modernized with recent architecture and works of art.
Puerto Ricans have both immigrated and migrated to New York City. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the Contiguous United States.
That was until 1917, when the United States Congress approved Jones–Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states in which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both on the island and on the mainland. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the U.S. military during World War I. The Jones–Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. The advent of air travel was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration." (Full article...)
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. He is known as the "King of Latin Trap". Bad Bunny is the first non-English-language act to become Spotify's most streamed artist of the year (he led Spotify's list from 2020 to 2022). He holds the second-biggest streaming year of any artist in Spotify history, generating over 18.5 billion streams in 2022. As of December 2023, his album Un Verano Sin Ti is the most streamed album on Spotify with over 14 billion streams.
Bad Bunny was born and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. His 2016 song "Diles" led to a recording contract with Hear This Music, and he went on to release songs such as "Soy Peor" and collaborate with Farruko, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin. His 2018 single "Mia" (featuring Drake) and appearing on Cardi B's single "I Like It" alongside J Balvin, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Bad Bunny's debut studio album, X 100pre (2018), peaked at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200, while his collaborative album with J Balvin, Oasis (2019), reached the top-ten. His second solo album, YHLQMDLG (2020), became the highest-charting all-Spanish album to appear on the Billboard 200 at the time. It was followed up with the compilation album Las que no iban a salir (2020). (Full article...)
... that Emilio "Millito" Navarro (born September 26, 1905) was the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues and that at 102, is also the oldest living professional baseball player to have played in the Negro Leagues?[2]
... that Orlando Antigua, whose mother is Puerto Rican, in 1995, became the first Hispanic and the first non-black in 52 years to play for the Harlem Globetrotters?[4]
... that Pedro Montañez, also known as El Torito De Cayey (The Little Bull of Cayey), considered by many to be one of the best boxers in history, never to won a world title? In his career he was 92-7-4.[5]
... that Professional wrestler Pedro Morales in 1995 became the first and only Puerto Rican inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?
... that Alfred "Butch" Lee, became the first Puerto Rican in the NBA when in 1978 he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. Lee was also the first Puerto Rican to play on the NBA play-offs as a member of the 79-80 Los Angeles Lakers. He was awarded an NBA Championship ring, even though he did not participate in the "Finals" because of his injuries.
Image 4'La escuelo del Maestro Cordero' by Puerto Rican artist Francisco Oller. (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 5Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 7"El desastre es la colonia" (the disaster is the colony), words seen on light meter six months after Hurricane Maria (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 11An 1899, caricature by Louis Dalrymple (1866–1905), showing Uncle Sam harshly lecturing four black children labelled Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Cuba (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 12The 45-star flag, used by the United States during the invasion of Puerto Rico, was also the official flag of Puerto Rico from 1899 to 1908. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 14Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 15US and Puerto Rico flags on a building in Puerto Rico (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 16Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 17The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 18Flag flown by Fidel Vélez and his men during the "Intentona de Yauco" revolt. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 25Sugar cane workers resting at the noon hour, Rio Piedras. Photograph by Jack Delano, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. Ca. 1941. (from History of Puerto Rico)
A lot of Puerto Rican Americans sometimes feel outside of the Puerto Rican experience..., and then they get ridiculed from that. Some people may call them a "fake Puerto Rican". And I don't think that that's fair, because they still grew up on rice and beans. They still listen to salsa and merengue.
You know, you may not be born in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rican is definitely born in you.
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