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 following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. 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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The Cerro Maravilla murders, also known as the Cerro Maravilla massacre, occurred on July 25, 1978, at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Ponce, Puerto Rico, wherein two young Puerto Rican pro-independence activists, Carlos Enrique Soto-Arriví (1959–1978) and Arnaldo Darío Rosado-Torres (1953–1978), were murdered in a Puerto Rico Police ambush. The event sparked a series of political controversies where, in the end, the police officers were found guilty of murder and several high-ranking local government officials were accused of planning and/or covering up the incident.
Originally declared a police intervention against terrorists, the local media quickly questioned the officers' testimonies as well as the only surviving witness for inconsistencies. Carlos Romero Barceló (PNP), then Governor of Puerto Rico, ordered the local Justice Department to launch various investigations, and asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Justice Department to aid in the investigations, which concluded that there was no wrongdoing on the officers' part. However, after the main local opposing political party (PPD) launched its own inquiries, new evidence and witness testimonies surfaced which uncovered gross negligence and murder on the officers' part, as well as the possibility of a local and federal cover-up. Trials were held and a total of 10 officers were convicted of various crimes. (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...)
Puerto Rican recording artist Ricky Martin has released ten studio albums, seven compilation albums, two live albums, one soundtrack album and four box sets. Martin has sold over 70 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. His self-titled debut studio album was released in November 1991 by Sony Discos. Two years later, Columbia Records released Martin's second studio album, Me Amaras. Despite both albums failing to achieve a significant commercial success, they pushed Martin towards superstar status in many Latin American countries. His third studio album, A Medio Vivir, was released in September 1995 by Sony Latin. The album features a "harder rock edge style" than his previous efforts, while being mixed with Latin references such as flamenco and cumbia. A Medio Vivir charted in several countries and peaked at number seven in Spain and number 11 on the US Latin Albums chart.
In 1998, Martin released his fourth studio album, Vuelve, which became his first record to chart on the US Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 40; it became the highest-selling Latin album of 1999 and is the tenth bestselling Latin album of all-time in the country . Additionally, it peaked at number one on the US Latin Albums chart and in Spain, where it was certified six-times platinum by Promusicae. He released his fifth studio and second eponymous album in 1999; it was a commercial success reaching number one in Australia, Finland, Spain and in the United States, and number two in the United Kingdom. It was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the United States. As of April 2011, Ricky Martin has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, making it his best selling-album. (Full article...)
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The 1985 Puerto Rico floods produced the deadliest single landslide on record in North America, that killed at least 130 people in the Mameyes neighborhood of barrio Portugués Urbano in Ponce. The floods were the result of a westward-moving tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. The system moved into the Caribbean Sea on October 5 and produced torrential rainfall across Puerto Rico, peaking at 31.67 in (804 mm) in Toro Negro State Forest. Two stations broke their 24-hour rainfall records set in 1899. The rains caused severe flooding in the southern half of Puerto Rico, which isolated towns, washed out roads, and caused rivers to exceed their banks. In addition to the deadly landslide in Mameyes, the floods washed out a bridge in Santa Isabel that killed several people. The storm system caused about $125 million in damage and 180 deaths, which prompted a presidential disaster declaration. The tropical wave later spawned Tropical Storm Isabel. (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...)
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"Píntame" (transl. "Paint Me") is a song by Puerto Rican American singer Elvis Crespo from his 1999 second studio album of the same name. The song was written by Crespo with Luis Angel Cruz and Robert Cora handling its productions. It is a merengue song in which Crespo asks an artist to materialize his lover by painting her. The song was met with positive reactions from three music critics who found the song to be catchy. An accompanying music video for the single features Crespo dancing with other performers in a white background.
Commercially, "Píntame" peaked at number two and one on the BillboardHot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States. An English-language version of the song was released to dance radio stations in the US. The track garnered several accolades including the Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Song of the Year in 2000. In 2019, Dominican Republic singer Gabriel Pagán [es]covered the song with Crespo and their version topped the merengue charts in the Dominican Republic. (Full article...)
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The Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico began in the 15th century with the arrival of the anusim (variously called conversos, Crypto-Jews, Secret Jews or marranos) who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. An open Jewish community did not flourish in the colony because Judaism was prohibited by the Spanish Inquisition. However, many migrated to mountainous parts of the island, far from the central power of San Juan, and continued to self-identify as Jews and practice Crypto-Judaism.
It would be hundreds of years before an open Jewish community was established on the island. Very few American Jews settled in Puerto Rico after it was ceded by Spain to the United States under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. (Full article...)
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"Qué Rico Fuera" (transl. "How Sweet It Would Be") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin and Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami. The song was written by Martin, Mami, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz, Juan Camilo Vargas, and Wissem Larfaoui, while the production was handled by Vargas, Cruz, and Larfaoui. It was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin on June 10, 2021. A primarily Spanish language urban pop, Afro-Latin, and Latin pop song, its lyrics are sensual and flirty.
"Qué Rico Fuera" received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its fusion of sounds. It was nominated for International Collaboration of the Year at the 2021 Premios MUSA. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, as well as the top 10 in Argentina and El Salvador, and Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay in the United States. It also became Mami's first entry on the BillboardLatin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, Latin Digital Song Sales, Argentina Hot 100, and Mexico Airplay charts. (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...)
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Anuel AA in January 2022
Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago (born November 26, 1992), known professionally as Anuel AA, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His music often contains samples and interpolations of songs that were popular during his youth. He is seen as a controversial figure in the Latin music scene for his legal troubles and feuds with fellow Puerto Rican rappers Cosculluela, Ivy Queen and Arcángel as well as American rapper 6ix9ine. Raised in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he started recording music at age fourteen and began posting it online four years later in 2010, before eventually signing to the Latin division of fellow American rapper Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group. His 2016 mixtapeReal Hasta la Muerte was well-received, but his success was put on hold the same year by a 30-month prison sentence for illegal firearm possession in Puerto Rico. He recorded the entirety of his debut album while incarcerated, during which time his genre of music surged in popularity.
Anuel AA released his debut album, also titled Real Hasta la Muerte, on July 17, 2018, the day he was released from prison. The album was a critical and commercial success. In the coming six months, he appeared on the BillboardHot Latin Songs, solidifying his position as one of the top Latino artists. In August 2019, he released the song "China", a collaboration with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin, which was a global success. He has since released the hit song "Me Gusta" with Shakira, and his second album, Emmanuel, which was released on May 29, 2020. In November 2020, Anuel AA made a statement on Instagram and released a new song suggesting his imminent retirement from the music industry, citing family and relationship issues. He was back to music with his collaborative album Los Dioses with Ozuna. His third studio album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren was released on November 26, 2021, including 16 tracks. (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.
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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"Te Conozco Bien" (English: "I Know You Well") is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his second studio album, Todo a Su Tiempo (1995). The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with production being handled by Marc Anthony and Sergio George. It was released as the first promotional single from the album on May 30, 1995. A salsa song, it sees the singer express certainty that someone is regretful. The song was awarded the Billboard Latin Music Award in 1996 for "Hot Latin Track of the Year" in the Tropical/Salsa field and was nominated for the Tropical Song of the Year award at the 8th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards in the same year. It was a recipient of the ASCAP Latin Award in 1996. Commercially, the song peaked at number seven on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number one on the Tropical Airplay chart in the United States. It was the best-performing song of 1995 on the latter chart. The song was covered by Puerto Rican singer Ángel López as a ballad on his studio album Historias de Amor (2010). (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...)
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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...)
Photo credit: US Department of Agriculture
The Common coquí is considered the unofficial national symbol of Puerto Rico. Although miniature in size (average length of 34 mm), the male's sound calls can sometimes reach 100 dB.
A piraguaSpanish pronunciation: [piˈɾa.ɣwa] is a Puerto Ricanshaved ice dessert, shaped like a cone, consisting of shaved ice and covered with fruit-flavored syrup. Piraguas are sold by vendors, known as piragüeros, from small, traditionally brightly-colored pushcarts offering a variety of flavors. Besides Puerto Rico, piraguas can be found in mainland areas of the United States with large Puerto Rican communities, such as New York and Central Florida. (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 by mutual agreement with Congress, Puerto Rico is an independent taxation authority, and therefore Puerto Rico residents do not pay federal income taxes? Puerto Ricans living on the island instead pay income taxes to the local taxation authority.[5]
... that as of 2003, twenty-five percent of all pharmaceutical products manufactured in the United States were shipped from Puerto Rico, and sixteen of the top twenty best selling prescription drugs in the United States were produced on the island?[6]
Image 2Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 3The 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 4The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 6Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 7El Imparcial headline: "Aviation (US) bombs Utuado" during Nationalist revolts. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 8Sugar 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 17Flag flown by Fidel Vélez and his men during the "Intentona de Yauco" revolt. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 18'La escuelo del Maestro Cordero' by Puerto Rican artist Francisco Oller. (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 19Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 20An 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 23"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 24The first Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, established in 1900. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 25Royal Cédula of Graces, 1815, which granted legal entry of some foreigners to Puerto Rico. (from History of Puerto Rico)
I am concerned that many young people in this Hemisphere seem to envision the United States as a nation intoxicated by power, addicted to warfare, controlled by a military-industrial complex, and determined to preserve the status quo, that we are against rapid economic and social growth...
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^Coffee Growers Try to Revive a Toast of Cafe Society.Archived 2018-12-26 at the Wayback Machine Abby Goodnough. The New York Times. (A version of this article appears in [The New York Times print version] on July 24, 2005, with the headline: "Adjuntas Journal; Coffee Growers Try to Revive a Toast of Cafe Society.") 24 July 2005. Accessed 25 December 2018.
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