hcs 320 cultural competency people of puerto rican heritage2
TRANSCRIPT
Running head: PUERTO RICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE
People of Puerto Rican Heritage
Culture and life in Puerto Rico
Maria S. Jimenez and Gloria Aznar
4/29/2014
Puerto Rico has one of the richest artistic, cultural and historical heritages of all periods.
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The culture of Puerto Rico has been greatly influenced by its history. This written
presentation is designed to illustrate the social and cultural developments of the island of Puerto
Rico and how Puerto Ricans have lived and shaped their way of life. With the blend of Taino
Indians, Spanish and African cultures, comes a melting pot of people and traditions, as well as
the impact of the United States political and social exchange into every aspect of life. Therefore,
Puerto Rican culture is somewhat complex. The people of Puerto Rico represent a cultural and
racial mix (Rivera, 2013).
Taino Indians inhabited the territory, called Boriken or Borínquen which means: “the great
land of the valiant and noble lord” or “land of the great lords”. On November19th 1493,
Christopher Columbus discovered the island in his second voyage to the New World. He found
the island populated by as many as 50,000 Taino or Arawak Indians. Originally the newcomers
called the island San Juan Bautista, for St. John the Baptist and the town Puerto Rico (rich
harbor). Often spelled Porto Rico in 19th century, the name was officially changed in 1932.
Puerto Rico quickly became Spain’s most important military outpost in the Caribbean. The
arriving Spaniard settlers, many of them gold-seekers, brought no women on their ships. To
populate the country, the Spaniards took Indian women. Some Taino words still used in the
Puerto Rican vocabulary are: Buricua- valiant people, Boriken- great land of the valiant and
noble lord, cabuya- fishing line, cacique- chief, coki- coquí - small tree frog, colibrí-
hummingbird, cucubano- lightning bug, fotuto- sea shell trumpet, guaraguao- red tail hawk,
jicotea- land turtle, and mime- fruit fly, among others (Rivera, 2013).
Sugar cane had been grown in Puerto Rico from the very beginning of Spanish rule. The
Spaniards came to depend on sugar cane as a valuable resource. Planting and harvesting sugar
cane was hard work. In the beginning the Spaniards depended on the Tainos, but with time there
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were not enough Tainos left to work for the Spaniards. Many Tainos had rebelled, others had
fled, and others became ill and died. With the demand on the sugar cane plantations, Spaniards
were in need of more slaves. In January of 1513, African slaves are introduced into the island.
By 1530 there were more Africans in Puerto Rico as slaves than all other people together.
Besides the slaves imported from Africa (Sudan, Congo, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leona, and the
Gold, Ivory, and Grain coasts), other ethnic groups brought to work on the plantations joined the
island’s racial mix. Africans were part of the formation of the “Puerto Rican” culture and identity
from the very beginning, helping to shape our music, art, language, and heritage. The African
imprint in Puerto Rican culture is apparent in many ways, food such as gandules- pigeon peas,
cocos- coconuts, bacalao- salted fish, ñames- a type of starchy root, funche- cooked corn meal,
platanos- plantains (a kind of banana), pasteles- a mix of mashed plantain, yautia, other roots,
species and meat wrapped on banana leaves, among others. Our religion is influenced by the
Yoruba tribes in Africa (Santeria) and our music is seasoned with African rhythms (Sabor
Africano). Also our culture is influenced by this peculiar speech pattern brought in by the West
Africans which spoke “bozal” Spanish, a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and Congo. Many
Puerto Ricans have the habit of swallowing the “s”, and often pronounce “r” as an “l”. This is
because in the African tongue there is no “s” or “r” sound (Figueroa & Rivera, 2014). Some Afro
Antillean vocabularies used by the Puerto Rican culture are bachata- party, bochinche- fight,
burundanga- dish made with heterogeneous ingredients, fufu- spell, gandinga- a heavy soup like
dish made with pork liver, heart, kidneys and condiments, conga- type of instrumental drum, and
griferia- black hair (Figueroa, 2013). Besides the slaves imported from Africa, French families
flocked from both Louisiana and Haiti, and from Scotland and Ireland journeyed to Puerto Rico
in search of a better life. They were joined by Spanish people from the Canary Islands,
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Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. To build roads, initially, Chinese workers were imported
followed by workers from Italy, France, Germany, and even Lebanon. The most significant new
immigrant population arrived in the 1960s, when thousands of Cubans fled from Fidel Castro’s
communist state. The latest arrivals to Puerto Rico have come from Dominican Republic
(Figueroa & River, 2013). According to the study funded by the U.S. National Science
Foundation, 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have Amerindian mitochondrial DNA, 27 percent
have African and 12 percent Caucasian (Kerns, 2003).
As a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Cuba became independent and Puerto
Rico was annexed to the United States. When the United States took control of Puerto Rico, the
island underwent another enormous cultural transformation. English became a common second
language, and has at times been proclaimed the official language. The U.S. dollar became the
legal tender. American corporations set up shop, bringing with them an influx of American
expatriates whose ways of dress, cuisine, and art were integrated into the existing culture. Puerto
Ricans are citizens of the United States by birth. They were granted citizenship in 1917.
Puerto Rico is actually an archipelago of islands within the archipelago of the Antilles. The
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is located north of the equator, which makes it part of the
northern hemisphere. It is about 1,000 miles southeast of the state of Florida. The Atlantic Ocean
is north of Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Sea lies to the south. Puerto Rico belongs to a cluster
of islands known as the West Indies. Puerto Rico is a volcanic island, rectangular in shape, about
100 miles long and 35 miles wide. It is the smallest and the most eastern island of the Greater
Antilles (Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico). The smaller nearby
islands are also part of Puerto Rico. Two of them, Vieques and Culebra, are municipalities and
most of the other small islands are used for wild life reserves and recreational areas. The
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territory is very mountainous (covering about 60%), except in the regional coasts, but Puerto
Rico offers an astonishing variety: rain forest, deserts, beaches, caves, oceans, and rivers. It has
three main physiographic regions: the central interior mountain ranges, northern karst, and
coastal plains. The climate is tropical marine and an average temperature year round of 70 °F to
80 °F (26 °C).
Spanish and English are the official languages, but Spanish is the dominant language.
English is spoken by about a ¼ of the population-with limited capabilities. English is required in
all federal matters. Spanish or Castilian is, like French, Portuguese, Italian, an Iberian Romance
language, derived from Latin. Spanish is a phonetic language, words are pronounced exactly as
they are spelled. Puerto Ricans integrated thousands of Taino words, adopted some
pronunciation habits from African dialects, and incorporated English words or phrases (known as
“Spanglish”) into the language.
About 96% of the people in Puerto Rico are literate. School is compulsory and free for
children between the ages of 5 and 18 which comprises the elementary and high school grades.
Students in Puerto Rico may attend either public or private schools. Puerto Ricans have higher
levels of education than the Hispanic population overall but lower levels than the U.S. population
overall. Some 16% of Puerto Ricans ages 25 and older -compared with 13% of all U.S.
Hispanics and 29% among the U.S. population- have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree
(Brown, & Patten, 2011).
Puerto Rican cuisine is a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taino, and American
influences using such ingredients as coriander, papaya, cacao, and plantains. Locals call their
cuisine “cocina criolla”. Cocina Criolla (creole cooking) can be traced back to the Arawaks and
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Tainos, who thrived on a diet of corn, tropical fruit, and seafood. When Ponce de Leon and
Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, the Spanish added beef, pork, rice, wheat, and olive oil to
the island cuisine. When slaves were imported from Africa, they brought with them okra and taro
(known in Puerto Rico as yautia) (Rivera, 2014). This mingling of flavors and ingredients are
passed from generation to generation resulting in a blend of Puerto Rican cuisine. Diet is
generally high in calories, complex carbohydrates, fats, and sodium. A Puerto Rican typical meal
will have chicken and /or beef, with rice and beans. Other dishes include: pigeon peas with rice
(arroz con gandules), stew (like sancocho) or soups, and a variety of dishes made from plantain
like the twice-fried fritter called tostones, which is also made from mashed breadfruit (panapen),
and the mofongo, which is made from mashing fried plantains, garlic, oil and deep fried pork
skin (chicharron). Tostones is the single most popular dish served in Puerto Rico. Coconut is
probably the most common dessert ingredient in the island. Almost 70 percent of the food on the
island of Puerto Rico is imported from the United States. Because of this, the Puerto Rican diet-
particularly the diets of younger generations has become more Americanized. High blood
pressure, obesity, and diabetes are conditions affecting Hispanics, a major risk for heart disease
(American Heart Association, 2014). According to Dietician Vilma Calderon, the Caribbean
island has reached epidemic proportions and is affecting from children to the elderly. Bad eating
habits are to blame for 67 percent of the obesity cases in the U.S. commonwealth. Calderon said
that 80 percent of her patients are overweight. She also pointed out the consequences to which
obese people are exposed to such as cardiac, visual, kidney, and circulation problems, as well as
breast, uterine, and colon cancer. According to Gans (2012), Puerto Ricans have a higher
prevalence of many fat-related eating behaviors compared with Dominican, Colombian, and
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Guatemalan. The four most prevalent fat-related behaviors were similar: cooking with fat/oil,
eating higher-fat sweets, eating higher-fat snacks, and eating dinners with meat.
In modern times, Puerto Ricans dress similarly to individuals in any Western country. The
guayabera shirt is among Puerto Rico’s most prevalent traditional garments. Taino people had
little clothing, with the men, children, and teens wearing nothing at all. Only married women
wore simple skirts called naguas. Men and women used paints to decorate their bodies and wore
jewelry made from bones, rocks, feathers, and coral. On the other hand, the Spaniards who first
arrived in Puerto Rico wore full uniforms despite the island’s extreme humidity (Hill, 2010).
Puerto Rico observes the traditional holidays of the United States and also observes nine
local public holidays. In Puerto Rico Christmas season is long, starting right after Thanksgiving
and officially lasting until Three Kings Day on January 6. The season combines delicious food,
great music, and festive merry making. On January 5th, the feast of Epiphany’s Eve, children
place water and grass under their beds for the wise men’s (or the Three Kings as they are better
known locally) camels, and in return, the Three Kings bring presents, which they leave under the
bed after the camels eat the grass. Epiphany commemorates the day in which the three wise men
arrived bearing gifts for the Christ child. Each town celebrates an annual festival to honor its
patron saint. The festivities usually last a week and features dances, food, parades, and religious
processions. There are also other holidays, sometimes called carnivals, that have been adopted
from Catholic or pagan traditions. Vejigante masks are commonly used in this type of carnivals.
Vejigante (vey-hee-GANT-eh) were demons meant to terrify people into going back to church
and symbolized the devil in the battle between good and evil (Figueroa & Rivera, 2013).
Weddings in Puerto Rico are unique. A bridal doll identical to the brides’ gown is usually placed
on the center table with souvenirs attached to the dress. The groom and bride thank each person
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for their presence in their nuptials and each person is then pinned with a souvenir. The
Quinceañera tradition started centuries ago with the indigenous people as an important social
ritual to commemorate the transition from adolescence to womanhood. This celebration often
includes a religious ceremony at church, usually the Catholic Church, followed by a party. The
girl wears an extravagant white or pastel gown, similar to a wedding gown.
Puerto Rico’s political status is officially described in its 1952 constitution as a “freely
associated state” with the federal system of the United States (Mathews, 2014). Commonwealth
status links Puerto Rico to the United States through common citizenship, common defense,
common currency, and a common market. However, Puerto Ricans do not pay federal taxes, and
are denied voting representation in the U.S. Congress. Almost without exception, the same
federal rules and regulations apply to Puerto Rico as a commonwealth as to the States.
Manufacturing is the most important industry in Puerto Rico. The private and public sector have
developed five clusters: pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, communications and
information technology, and health services. There is a large variety of fruits in Puerto Rico but
the most important commercial fruits of this island are bananas, plantains, pineapples, avocados,
coconuts, and oranges and other citrus fruits. Puerto Rico is a major hub of Caribbean commerce,
finance, tourism, and communications. San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, is known as “La
Ciudad Amurallada” (the walled city), it is the second largest cruise port in the western
hemisphere and the second oldest European-founded city in the Americas (after Santo Domingo,
which was officially founded on August 5, 1498) (Figueroa, 2013). The Puerto Rican flag
consists of five alternate red and white stripes. On the left of the flag is a single white five-
pointed star resting in a blue triangle. The white star stands for the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico while the three sides of the equilateral triangle together represent the three branches of the
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Republican government (executive, legislative and judicial branches). The three white stripes
symbolizing the rights of man and the freedom of the individual are a perpetual reminder of the
need for vigilance of a democratic government that is to be preserved. The flag is not flown
except in company of the U.S. flag. The Puerto Rican flag was adopted officially by the
Commonwealth in 1952 but was originally designed over 100 years ago. The Puerto Rican Coats
of Arms uses symbols of the history, culture, and religion of the island. It was first recognized by
the Spanish Crown in 1511, but it wasn’t until March 9, 1905 that a law establishing the official
Coat of Arms was signed. After numerous investigations and amendments to that statute, the
final version was approved and signed into law in 1976. The motto reads: “Joannes Est Nomen
Ejus”, it means “John is it name”, the original name of the island. Our Coat of Arms is the oldest
in use in America, other countries created a new Coat when they became independent, ours is the
only one that remembers the Spanish presence in the “New World” (Horváth, 2011).
Puerto Ricans are friendly people who often smile while talking, outwardly warm and
hospitable; Puerto Ricans are also conservative and traditional. They like to be very direct about
issues and feelings, and they may be a bit emphatic while doing it. Shaking hands is common for
both men and women. Men and women who are friends may kiss each other on the cheek. Older
people are respected and usually introduced first. Puerto Ricans tend to stand close when
conversing, at about 1 to 1 ½ feet with direct eye contact. They often touch other people when
talking such on the arm or patting them on the back. Puerto Ricans consider their country to be
part of the United States, therefore, avoid saying something like “We Americans…”, as if they
are not. Sitting or standing with arms crossed or putting your hands on your hips are considered
challenging or aggressive postures. It is important to mind your manners and not appear overly
friendly before you have developed a personal relationship (kwintessential, 2013). Do not inquire
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about families or marital status and do not talk about Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. territory
because these are sensitive and controversial topics (Soon Lee & Roberts, 2014).
A deep attachment to family life is the most outstanding characteristic of Puerto Rican
society. The family structure is a tight one. Puerto Rican children and young adults cherish the
love and approval of their parents. Family honor is of primary importance to Puerto Ricans, and
they value an extended family, or modified extended family, which is the basic support system
for first- and second-generation families in the U.S. Individual achievement is not considered as
valuable as family loyalty. Dignity is also important for most Puerto Ricans. The home is the
center of social life and most people prefer to celebrate birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc. at
home rather than in public places. Music, dance, and food play an important role in Puerto Rican
festivities. Changes in the American family unit have affected Puerto Rico in recent years, and
Puerto Rican values have changed slightly, therefore, affecting family structure. Nevertheless,
the home continues to be a place of comfort, warmth, and family solidarity. It is quite common to
find three generations living under the same roof and married couples tend to live in a house or
apartment near their parents. Placing elderly relatives in nursing facilities is unusual.
Grandparents usually live with their children (Serpa, 2005).
Puerto Ricans are predominantly Catholics, yet their beliefs, rituals, and practices often
stray outside the orthodox boundaries of Catholicism. Some Puerto Ricans practice a hybrid form
of religion called Espiritismo, which combines elements of the Catholic religion and Indian
beliefs in nature-dwelling spirits that can be called on to affect change in one’s life. Similarly,
some Puerto Ricans of African descent practice Santeria, introduced to the island by Yoruba
slaves from West Africa in which is known today as Nigeria (Van Atten, 2013). It also observes
multiple gods and combines elements of Catholicism. In addition to the rich homage paid to
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saints, parts of the island still host beliefs in the evil eye, saints’ miracles, faith healing, and
witchcrafts. Mal de ojo, or evil eye, is believed to result of excessive admiration or envious looks
by others. Having newborn babies wear an azabache (a gold bracelet or necklace with a black or
red coral charm in the form of a fist), is believed to protect them from the evil eye. Once United
States arrived in Puerto Rico in 1898, Protestantism began to grow on the island, and all major
sects are represented, and there is a small Jewish community on the island as well. Baptisms,
marriages, weddings, vigils, processions, and funerals all come within the scope of Catholic
ceremonies. In addition to this, Puerto Ricans celebrate religious and political holidays with great
enthusiasm –singing, playing music, drinking, and feasting in recognition of a sacred day, a
historical event or figure, or a time of the year (Rank, n.d.).
There are lots of recreational activities in Puerto Rico. Although baseball is the national
sport, boxing is also very popular. Basketball, golf, kite surfing, sports fishing, diving and
snorkeling, horse back riding, horse racing, trail walking, and rock climbing are among the most
popular.
Language barriers are common, even when native speakers are available to translate. The
family plays a central role in health practices and healing in the Puerto Rican culture. Illness is a
family affair and not just a problem of the individual. May stream providers may find that Puerto
Rican patients have had and may be acting upon a preliminary diagnosis which is based on a
family member’s opinion or the advice of a traditional healer. The problems among Puerto
Ricans today are compounded by cultural traditions. Many Puerto Ricans still rely on folk
medicine to cure their ills. Compared with persons of other ethnic groups in New York City, the
Puerto Ricans are more suspicious of scientific medical care, tend to use general health services
less, and more limited health horizons than any other ethnic group. Aside from the
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unsophisticated health practices stemming from knowledge of Puerto Rican folk medicine, the
cultural phenomena of spiritualism plays a significant role in retarding the health status of the
Puerto Rican. Puerto Ricans who view illness as possession by evil spirits will consult a medium
or curandero for treatment instead of a physician. Curanderos (native curers) and brujas
(witches) are still prevalent through the island; these individuals often mix herbal remedies with
religious ritual and Western medicines in their cures (Galli, 1975). Agua de azahar (orange-
flower water), tilo (linden tea), yerba buena (peppermint), anis estrella (star anise), and
manzanilla (chamomile) are common herbal remedies used by Puerto Ricans to treat nerves and
digestive disorders. There is a high incidence of alcohol, smoking, and HIV in the Puerto Rican
society. In Puerto Rico, death and passage into the afterlife are commonly marked by vigils, or
wakes, and novenas, which are days of prayer for the dead.
There is a difference between Hispanic and Latino. Hispanic is a term that originally
denoted a relationship to ancient Hispania (Iberia Peninsula). Now it relates to the contemporary
nation of Spain, its history, and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a
Hispanic. Latino refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin.
The term Latino is restricted to immigrants and their descendants from Spanish, French, Italian,
Romanian or Portuguese speaking countries in North, Central and South America, and it includes
the French-speaking areas of Haiti, French Guiana, French speaking Canada, and the French
West Indies. While there is a significant overlap between the groups, Brazilians are a good
example of Latinos who are not Hispanic (they speak Portuguese) (Diffen). Skin colors in
Puerto Ricans vary from “white” or pale skin to dark skin or “black” and passing by all shades of
brown. Skin color and other physical characteristics are used by residents in the island of Puerto
Rico to identify themselves in terms of race. The terms trigueño (light brown or olive-skinned),
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blanco (white) or moreno (dark brown skin) are perceived by Puerto Ricans as racial
classifications. Other aspects considered for racial identification are color, class, facial features
and texture of hair, thus resulting in a variety of racial classifications that are not recognized in
the North American society (Peña-Perez, 2005).
The typical Puerto Rican musical instruments reflect the influence of the different ethnic and
racial groups existing in Puerto Rico during the colonization of the island. The güiro and the
maracas came from the Taino Indians who inhabited the island when the Spanish conquerors
arrived. The cuatro and the tiple are several of stringed instruments brought by the Spaniards,
such as the guitar. The drums, timbales and marimbolas represent the Afro-Antillean black
influence. Because musical instruments were difficult to get to the interior of the island,
draftsmen made them from local materials. While they were at it, they made alterations to suit
the taste of the costumers often decorating them with carvings and inlays representing flowers,
birds, and landscapes. To make these instruments, the Puerto Ricans used the fruit of some
tropical trees like the higüera and the marimba. They also use the trunk and bark of other trees.
The Puerto Rican Danza is of Spanish origin. This dance forms part of Puerto Rico’s musical
culture. Danza La Borinqueña is the national anthem of Puerto Rico. Other dances of Spanish
origin with Indian influence are the Cadenas, the Fandanguillo, the Sonduro, the Seis and the
Puntillanto. There are a great variety of dances of African origin, including the Mariyanbda, the
Guateque, the Curinqueque, the Candungue, the Bomba and the Plena (Christoforo-Mitchell,
1991). Although usually grouped together, bomba y plena are actually two entirely different
types of music that are coupled with dance. Bomba pure African was brought over by black
slaves who worked on the island’s sugar plantations in the 17th century. It’s a rhythmic music
using barrel-shaped drums covered with tightly stretched animal skins and played by hand. This
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form of music is produced by one large drum plus a smaller drum called a subidor. The drums
are accompanied by the rhythmical beating of sticks and maracas to create a swelling tide of
drumbeats, in which “aficionados” can hear drummers bang out a series of responses one to
another. Bomba is described as a dialogue between dancer and drummer. It’s as if the drummer
were challenging the dancer to a rhythmical duel. The dance can go on just as long as the dancer
can continue. Although critics are uncertain about the exact origin of bomba, it is divided into
different rhythmic backgrounds and variations such as the Euba, Cocobale, and Sica. As the
dance and the most purely African version of this music and dance, may come from the northern
coast town of Loíza Aldea. Bomba y plena remain the most popular forms of folk music on the
island, and many cultural events highlight this music for entertainment. The major type of music
coming out of Puerto Rico is salsa, the rhythm of the islands. Its name literally translated as the
“sauce” that makes parties happens. Originally developed within the Puerto Rican community of
New York, it draws heavily from the musical roots of the Cuban and the African-Caribbean
experience. Salsa is a combination of fast Latin music that embraces the rumba, mambo, cha-
cha, guaguanco, and merengue. Highly danceable, its rhythms are hot, urban, rhythmically
sophisticated, and compelling. Today, the center of salsa has probably shifted from New York
back to Puerto Rico. Salsa has definitely made Puerto Rico famous in the world of international
music (welcome.topuertorico).
Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that is most prevalent in people of
Puerto Rican descent. It is said that 1 in 1,800 Puerto Rico natives carries the HPS gene. Little is
known about Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) but its most common symptoms are albinism,
legal blindness/visual problems, bleeding disorders, gastrointestinal/digestive difficulties, and
sometimes fatal pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs) (caliricans.). Puerto have high
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incidence rates for disorders such as oculocutaneous albinism, Herman-Pudlack Syndrome,
Spondylothoracic Dysostosis (Jarcho-Levin syndrome) and Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (Carlo, et al.,
2008). Sarcoidosis is a disease that causes inflammation of the body’s tissues. In sarcoidosis,
immune system cells that cause inflammation overreact and cluster together to form tiny lumps
called granulomas. People of Scandinavian, German, Irish, Asian, and Puerto Rican origin also
are more prone to sarcoidosis than the general population (lungusa.org).
Some major landmarks and attractions in Puerto Rico are:
El Castillo San Felipe Del Morro- Since 1983, the fort has been a designated World
Heritage Site, along with Castillo San Cristobal and Fortin San Juan de la Cruz, two
additional fortifications located in San Juan and dating to the 16th century.
El Yunque- El Yunque or “The Anvil,” is home to the only rainforest in the U.S. National
Forest System. The Tropical Rain-Forrest in Luquillo is one of the rainiest zones in our
planet. Approximately 200 inches of rain fall in this area each year.
Observatorio de Arecibo - The world’s largest single-dish radio telescope and most
sensitive radio telescope in the world, is located in Puerto Rico. The dish measures a
thousand feet in diameter and spans about 20 acres. In the climatic last scene in the James
Bond movie Goldeneye, the showdown between 007 and the bad guy takes place right
there.
Cuevas de Camuy- A 20-story building would fit inside the main chamber of Cueva
Clara. The Camuy River Cave Park is home of more than 13 species of bats. The bats in
Batman Forever were filmed here. The Rio Camuy is the world’s third-largest
subterranean river. Seventeen entrances, over 220 caves, two other smaller cave systems
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and more than 10 miles have been mapped so far and experts still say the cave system
could be larger.
San Juan Cathedral and Iglesia de San José- Two of the oldest churches in the Americas
lie in Old San Juan. More famous and beautiful, is the Catedral de San Juan (or San Juan
Cathedral) originally built in the 1520s but fell victim to two hurricanes, attacks, and
lootings. The cathedral includes the remains of Ponce de León and a wax-covered, glass-
encased mummy of a saint. Built in the 1530s, the Iglesia de San José (or “Church of San
José”) in Old San Juan is the second oldest church in the western hemisphere, a
wonderful example of Spanish gothic architecture.
Isla de Mona- Puerto Rico has its own “Galapagos Island.” Off the western shore of
mainland Puerto Rico, lies Isla de Mona (Mona Island), which has been compared to the
Galapagos Island for its unspoiled-by-man natural beauty and its colony of Iguanas. The
Mona Iguana is found nowhere were else on the planet.
Tibes and Caguana- Puerto Rico’s Taino heritage is best preserved in two different
locations, Tibes and Caguana. Tibes, located north of Ponce, has many replicas of Taino
dwelling and is the location of historic ceremonies. Caguana, an ancient ceremonial site,
lacks historical ruins but it makes up for with dramatic botanical gardens and a few
petroglyphs among the ruins of “bateyes,” court used for sport by the ancient Taino
people.
Puerto Rico is home of three bioluminescent bays: Mosquito Bay in Vieques, Laguna
Grande in Fajardo, and La Bahia Fosforescente in La Parguera. The bays are filled with
a species of phosphorescent dynoflagellate, making the water glow.
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Puerto Rico has over 270 miles of beaches. It has beaches with black, magnetic sand to
beaches with rusted military tanks left as a poignant memorial; from secluded, idyllic spots to
glitzy, star-studded stretches of resort-front property; and from surfing havens to tranquil waters.
Puerto Rico has a tremendous variety of beaches. Puerto Rico’s unofficial mascot is a tiny tree
frog native of the island. The inch-long amphibian has a powerful and melodic voice, and its
high-pitched, chirrupy song can be heard for miles. The Coquí, is the much-loved symbol of
Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican culture is colorful and complex, a mixture of history, traditions, food,
music, nature, and religion. Puerto Ricans are friendly, outwardly warm and hospitable, where
friends become family, and hugs and kisses are the order of the day. They value and honor
family. Family is the most important structure of the Puerto Rican culture. Although Americans,
Puerto Ricans will always be Boricua and their love will always be Puerto Rico, Isla del Encanto
(“The Enchantment Island”).
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References
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