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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"Que Alguien Me Diga" (Someone Tell Me) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa from his 12th studio album, Expresión (1999). It was written by Omar Alfanno with José Lugo and the artist handling its production. It is a salsa track in which the singer is searching for unconditional love. Santa Rosa would later record a ballad version. An accompanying music video features the singer in a dark room surrounded by female musicians. Both versions of the song received airplay on Latin radio stations.
"La Bomba" (transl. "the Bomb") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fourth studio album, Vuelve (1998). The song was written by Luis Gómez Escolar, K. C. Porter, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by the latter two. It was released by Columbia Records as the third single from the album on June 16, 1998. A Spanish-language salsa, dance, samba, bomba, and pop song, it is a metaphor in which Martin compares the music that makes the listener high from the rhythm of the dance to an alcoholic drink. The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the danceable rhythm and highlighted it as one of the album's best tracks.
"La Bomba" won the award for Best Danceable Tune at the 1999 Premios Eres. The song was commercially successful, reaching the top-five in several Spanish-speaking countries, including Guatemala and Spain. The accompanying music video was filmed in Miami, and directed by Wayne Isham. It shows Martin singing and dancing surrounded by people. The song was included on the set lists for all of Martin's tours since 1998, while he also performed it at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Several contestants on various dance competition talent shows have danced to the song, including Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace. (Full article...)
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Tropical Storm Dean south of Nova Scotia on August 27
Tropical Storm Dean was a strong tropical storm that affected at least twelve islands along its path from the tropical Atlantic Ocean to east of Atlantic Canada in August 2001. Dean developed from a tropical wave on August 22 over the Lesser Antilles, and was initially predicted to intensify further to reach hurricane status. However, strong wind shear quickly weakened Dean to cause it to dissipate on August 23. The remnants turned northward, and redeveloped on August 26 to the north of Bermuda. Located over warm waters and in an area of favorable conditions, Dean steadily strengthened while moving to the northeast, and peaked just below hurricane status on August 27 about 465 miles (748 km) southwest of Newfoundland. The storm subsequently weakened over cooler waters, and became extratropical on August 28.
The precursor tropical wave dropped heavy rainfall and produced moderate winds throughout the Lesser Antilles, though no serious damage was reported. In Puerto Rico, rainfall of up to 12.7 inches (320 mm) produced widespread flooding across the island. Thousands were left without power or water, and two houses lost their roofs from the storm. The passage of Dean resulted in $7.7 million (2001 USD, $9.4 million 2008 USD) in damage in Puerto Rico. The storm produced light to moderate rainfall in Bermuda and later in Newfoundland, though no damage was reported. (Full article...)
A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Betancourt played youth football for Fraigcomar while attending the Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. He made his senior debut at 15 years old, spending two seasons with High Performance FC followed by a year with Conquistadores de Guaynabo. He left his home island to attend college in the United States, spending two years with the men's soccer program at Valparaiso. After returning to Puerto Rico, Betancourt played the sport for four more years, splitting time between Bayamón and Metropolitan FA. He stepped away from the game in 2017, aged just 23. (Full article...)
López attended the University of Virginia, earning a degree in psychology despite leaving early to begin his baseball career. In 1997, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career as a starting pitcher but struggled, and was converted into a sidearm (or submarine) reliever while still in the Diamondbacks' organization. Before the 2003 season, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft, but was traded to the Colorado Rockies during spring training. He spent all of 2003 on Colorado's roster, nearly tying the franchise record for most consecutive batters retired and finishing third among major league rookies in games pitched. He struggled the next two seasons, getting claimed off waivers and later sent to the minors by Arizona in 2005. In 2006, he signed with the Chicago White Sox but failed to make the team and spent the first part of the season in the minors before getting traded to Boston during the year. (Full article...)
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Suavemente (English: Smoothly) is the debut studio album by American merenguero recording artist Elvis Crespo. Released by Sony Music Latin on April 14, 1998, the album established Crespo as a leading artist in the Latin music market. He collaborated with several songwriters and record producers to create an overall tropical music-flavored recording.
With romantic ballads and uptempo songs, Suavemente received favorable reviews from music critics who found the recording to contain energetic and catchy tracks. The album was commercially successful; it became the first merengue recording to peak at number one on the United States BillboardTop Latin Albums chart. Suavemente peaked at number 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Two of its singles, "Suavemente" and "Tu Sonrisa", topped the U.S. BillboardHot Latin Songs chart; Crespo was recognized as becoming the first artist to have placed two merengue singles at number one. Suavemente was Crespo's commercial breakthrough, introducing him to the popular music market with the Spanglish remix of its title track. (Full article...)
The cathedral has a history that dates to 1670. It has been damaged several times by fires and earthquakes. It stands out among Puerto Rico's other four cathedrals for its intricate design. It has a large pipe organ that was played by danza master and composer Juan Morel Campos. Architecturally, it is designed in the neoclassical style. Structurally, it follows a cruciform plan, with a large dome at the crossing. The interior consists of a main nave and two large aisles separated by a series of eight arcades. There are two small chapels in its interior. Two three-story square towers decorate the front facade.[citation needed] (Full article...)
"Júrame" (transl. "Swear to Me") is a song by American singer Gisselle from her seventh studio album, Voy a Enamorarte (2000). The song was written and produced by Colombian musician Kike Santander. It was recorded twice, as a popballad and a merengue track, respectively. In the lyrics, it deals with love's ambition. Both versions were released as a single from the album by BMG US Latin in 2000. A music video for the ballad version was filmed in Florida.
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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El Mesías in August 2012
Gilbert Cosme Ramírez (born May 25, 1976) is a Puerto Ricanprofessional wrestler, better known by his ring namesEl Mesías, Mil Muertes, Ricky Banderas and King Muertes. He began his career in the International Wrestling Association based in Puerto Rico. While performing in the company, he won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on five instances and held minor championships on fifteen separate occasions, before leaving the company in 2006. On March 12, 2006, he debuted in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), a promotion based in Mexico, as a character named Muerte Cibernetica and was involved in an angle where this character was "killed". In November 2006, Cosme was involved in the tapings of the Wrestling Society X television series, where he was the second and last wrestler to win the WSX Championship.
Following a month of performing in the International Wrestling Association, Cosme returned to AAA in a special event presented by the company, this time under the ring name of El Mesías. In September 2007, the company organized a unification tournament where all of the champions and first contenders participated. Over the course of the tournament, he won the GPCW Super-X Monster Championship and IWC World Heavyweight Championship, and on the tournament's finale, he became the first wrestler to win the AAA Mega Championship. While working in Mexico, Cosme signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) where he debuted as Judas Mesias on September 13, 2007. In March 2008 his association with TNA came to an end and he focused most of his time on AAA. In 2010 Cosme debuted for Puerto Rican World Wrestling Council, where he won the Universal Heavyweight Championship. He also wrestled in Lucha Underground under the ring name Mil Muertes. (Full article...)
The album was well received by critics who complimented George's production and Anthony's youthful voice. Anthony received two awards for "Best New Artists" at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and the Lo Nuestro Awards. The album produced three singles: "Hasta Que Te Conocí", "Palabras del Alma", and "Si Tú No Te Fueras", all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. As of 2002, Otra Nota has sold over 300,000 copies. (Full article...)
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Surface weather map of Hazel near landfall in North Carolina on October 15
In Haiti, Hazel destroyed 40 percent of the coffee trees and 50 percent of the cacao crop, which affected the economy for several years. The hurricane made landfall near Calabash, North Carolina, and destroyed most waterfront dwellings. It then traveled north along the Atlantic coast. Hazel affected Virginia; Washington, D.C.; West Virginia; Maryland; Delaware; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; and New York. It brought gusts near 160 km/h (100 mph) and caused $281 million (1954 USD) in damage. When it was over Pennsylvania, Hazel consolidated with a cold front and turned northwest towards Canada. When it hit Ontario as an extratropical storm, rivers and streams in and around Toronto overflowed their banks, which caused severe flooding. As a result, many residential areas in the local floodplains, such as the Raymore Drive area, were subsequently converted to parkland. In Canada alone, over C$135 million (2023: C$1.5 billion) of damage was incurred. (Full article...)
The Arecibo Observatory is the world's largest single-aperture telescope ever constructed. The telescope's dish has a diameter of over 1,000 ft (305m) and covers over 18 acres. The receiver array is suspended 450 ft (150m) above the dish, supported by three concrete towers each measuring between 265 ft (80m) and 365 ft (110m).
Non-Hispanic cultural diversity in Puerto Rico and the basic foundation of Puerto Rican culture began with the mixture of the Spanish, Taíno and African cultures in the beginning of the 16th century. In the early 19th century, Puerto Rican culture became more diversified with the arrival of hundreds of families from non-Hispanic countries such as Corsica, France, Germany and Ireland. To a lesser extent other settlers came from Lebanon, China, Portugal and Scotland.
Factors that contributed to the immigration of non-Hispanic families to Puerto Rico included the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution, and widespread crop failures in Europe. All this, plus the spread of the cholera epidemic, came at a time when desire for independence was growing among Spanish subjects of Spain's last two colonies in the Western Hemisphere, Puerto Rico and Cuba. (Full article...)
Kenny Omar Galarza Arocho (born October 16, 1985) is a professionalboxer. He competes in the light welterweight division, and represented Puerto Rico at numerous events as an amateur. Galarza won seven national championships locally and earned several recognitions in international competition. These include: two gold medals at the Junior Olympics Invitational, silver at the 2005 Pan American Boxing Championships and bronze in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Prior to the 2007 Pan American Games, Galarza closed his amateur career, signing with Seminole Warriors Boxing. He debuted defeating Jesse Francisco on May 16, 2007. This victory marked the beginning of a knockout streak, which has lasted for thirteen contests. On September 18, 2009, Galarza won his first professional title, defeating Joshua Allotey to become the first interim light welterweight champion of the North American Boxing Organization. Amassing a perfect record and knockout ratio earned him inclusion in other sanctioning bodies, including the World Boxing Organization (11th), WBO Latino (7th), World Boxing Association's FEDECARIBE (6th) and World Boxing Foundation's International (10th) rankings. (Full article...)
... that both Rafael Carrión, Sr., the founder of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the largest bank in Puerto Rico and the largest Hispanic bank in the United States,[1] and Angel Ramos, the founder of Telemundo, the second largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, were orphans born to poor families and neither had college degrees?
... that Juan Emilio Viguié, a pioneer in Puerto Rico's film industry, produced "Romance Tropical" the first Puerto Rican film with sound which in itself was also the second Spanish movie in the world with sound?
... that Nine Puerto Ricans have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award bestowed by the President of the United States and which is the highest civilian award in the United States?
... that Three Puerto Ricans have been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, an award bestowed by the President of the United States and which is the second highest civilian award in the United States?
... that In 2013, the Guinness World Records certified that Guillermo José Torres broke the record of being the anchorman with the longest career in the same station after forty-three years?[2]
... that Elsa Miranda, a native of Ponce, was a popular vocalist and that she participated in the first "Chiquita Banana" commercial where she sang the jingle? Plus, the she is considered to be the most famous Miss Chiquita?[5]
Image 3Sugar 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)
Image 5The first Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, established in 1900. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 6The 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 7El Imparcial headline: "Aviation (US) bombs Utuado" during Nationalist revolts. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 9"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 14Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 15The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 17Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 18Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 19An 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)
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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