10 facts simple about puerto rico?

Greetings=Saludos here are your 10 facts on Puerto Rico: 1)Food: Rice (arroz), beans(habichuelas),beef stew (carne guisada),fried plantains(tostones if green, maduros is yellow), roast pork(lechon asado),arroz con dulce(sweet rice traditional sweet treat for Christmas season), coquito(like egg-nogg but with coconut), codfish fritters(bacalaitos). These are the traditonal foods and still are prepared. This is not the whole list but maybe on another round I can include more. These foods the majority are prepared everyday. The lechon asado is prepared year round and if you can't wait until Christmas to eat some, many take the trips to Guavate an area between Caguas and Cayey in the mountains where people eat lechon asado. Ensalada or your basic lettuce and tomato salad is part of the everyday meal used with aceite de oliva or olive oil. 2.Holidays: This is interesting because we do celebrate the holidays that is celebrated in the States plus ours are: Celebration of the birth of Luis Munoz Marin(first governor elected in Puerto Rico, Barbosa day( his birthday because he was always fighting for Puerto Rico to be a State of the Union, julio 25( july 25 which is the day Puerto Rico made it's constitution), Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico(Discovery of Puerto Rico on November 19), Dia de Reyes(Three Kings Day January the 6th where the Kings gave gifts to Jesus and they come house to house on their camels. The children on the 5ht but under their beds a shoe box with staw, hey or grass for the camels to eat and the Kings leave gifts for the children, Fiestas Patronales(Patron Saint Festival is where for example on this week several towns such as Aguas Buenas, Salinas celebrate the festival of their Patron Saint and that saint is Virgen de la Monserrate or Monserrate Virgins Festival, this is celebrated in the traditional plaza publica or public plaza with machinas=rides, comidas tipicas-typical foods, juegos=games, musica=music,bailes=dances and so much more. The festival lasts for a week. The Christmas Season is starting in December, but many decide to decorate starting in September and then take the decorations down after the Three Kings Day. During the Christmas holiday there are parrandas=caroling with our traditonal musical instruments from house to house and the house you visit prepares traditonal food for all. 3.The culture of Puerto rico is varied. We still have our traditional Musica Jibara or our Country Music such as songs in decimas-tenths played at a nice rythem, with giutarra-guitar,maracas,guiro-the scraper or hollowed gourd with ridges,cuatro-fourth like a guitar but smaller with 4 sets of strings and each set has 4 strings. 5.Size of the Island.It is about as big as the State of Connecticut 35 miles North to South and 100 miles East to West. There are of course highways with toll boths but this does not beat those old country roads that are constanly winding from North to South with those large Flamboyant trees. On these old roads you will see red brick square homes with windows and a couple doors on a knoll by the road, here the caminero lived or the road taker. Back then before tar was layed, the caminero would take care of the road cleaning it and reparing it at a certain distance then the next caminero would take care of the other section of road. Some of these old homes still stand today. 6. Schools: the students wear uniforms in a color accorded by all parents and style. This will and has always identified the student to the school and save on wearing out the regular clothes. The school buildings were build in sections. One school that I worked in had one building for the office, one for the library, one for the 2 first grade classrooms and so on. The distance between each can range from a few feet to several yeards apart. The cafeteria or comedor is usually by itself. They do serve traditonal foods for lunch which is freet to all the children no matter what because all students have to eat. 7.Politics: Puerto Rico has a democracy. We vote every 4 years for the governor, mayors, senators and legislators. Also for the town reps. There are 3 basic political Parties. The PNP Partido Nuevo Progresista or New Progressive Party founded by Luis Antonio Ferre in 1967 and he won the election for governor in 1968(I was here at that time as a student in school). The next is the PIP or Partido Independentista or Independent Party, founded by various such as Pedro Albuzu Campos and followed by Ruben Berrios, who want Puerto Rico to be independent. Then is the PPD or Partido Popular Democratico who does not want independence nor statehood this party was founded by Luis Munoz Marin in the late 1940's who lost in 1968 to Luis A. Ferre. 8.Language: In Puerto Rico lived the Taino Indians who came from SouthAmerica from the Arawak Tribes. Examples of Taino words are: bohio=hut,batey=patio=yard,cacique=chief… for the chief,jamaca=hammock. The Saniards arrived and the Tainos suffered over the years and many died, but the Spanish language and the Taino mixed. Then the African Slaves were brought over, and their traditions, languages and customs mixed in and thus the Taino + Spaniard +African=Puerto Rican. Another word for Puerto Rican born here is boricua. Because Puerto Rico was called by the Tainos Borikuen late to Borinquen. The Americans came in 1898 and many of the boricuas or jibaros or country people received English classes and help in agriculture.Mr.Delano back in the 40's up to the early 70's was an agricultural photographer from the Federal Government who came here to photograph the people, the land and everything for his agricultural studies and for the history of Puerto Rico. 9.Sporst: The traditional game was pelota-ball formed by the Tainos which later turned into baseball that is played today. Of course Puerto Rico has teams that play in the off season of the MLB. But due to "politics and red tape" our baseball season ended.Other sports played here is the American Football, Notre Dame College here has a team, there is also tennis, volleyball and the favorite basketball. 10. Weather: Puerto RIco is all year round warm. Right now it is 89 outside. We are from May to November in hurrican season with the most active months being September and October even November has had it's storms. There are at time heavy rains with winds, but it is not an all year round thing. I hope this helped you out. and Your Welcome = De nada.

1. Our folk food is arroz con gandules, ensalada de papa and lechon asado, pasteles ( rice with peas, potato salad and rosted pork, some kind of patties). Very popular on the Holidays and every family reunion. 2. We have the longest christmas celebrations start in december( christmas eve) and end in the end of January with las octavitas. 3. We celebrate USA holidays and our own holidays, because we are so we have a lots of holidays here. 4. We are a unincorporated territory of the United States with Commonwealth status. Something hard to understand to people from the states and other countries. 5. We have 78 towns o pueblos. including Vieques and Culebra two smaller islands on the east. 6. We have three main political partys Partido Popular Democratico ( PPD) now ruling, Partido Nuevo Progresista ( PNP) and the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueno ( PIP). 7. We are a mix of three cultures Africans, tainos and Spanish. 8. The name of the actual Governor is Anibal Acevedo Vila 9. We have a train that runs in the metro area call the Tren Urbano. 10. We invented reggaeton music. 11. We have the only rain forest in the USA territories name El Yunque.

1. Puerto Rico is the only latin american country to have 5 miss universe queens crowned. The names of the 5 beauty queens and miss universe are Marisol Malaret, Dayanara Torres, Deborah Cathy Deu, Zuleyka Rivera, Denisse Quiñones 2. Puerto Rico's national olympic team has won many medals. The PR basketball team won against the USA basketball team in athens 2004 3. Puerto Rico along with Cuba and Dominican Republic are the 3 countries that speak spanish in the caribbean 4. The flag of Puerto Rico and Cuba are the same but with inverted colors. Both were designed at the same time. 5. Puerto Rico has a larger population in the western hemisphere than Jamaica, Bahamas, Panamá, Costa Rica, Belice, French Guyana, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and the same or more population than 30 of the 50 states of the US. More population than 10 of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada 6. In 1858, Samuel Morse sets up the first telegraph in Latin America, was located in Arroyo, Puerto RIco. 7.Puerto Rico's coat of arms is the oldest in Latin America. 8.Puerto Rico has more than 40 champions in the sport of Boxing, including the first world champion: Sixto Escobar and the youngest boxer to ever win a world championship: Wilfredo Benitez (1976) 9.The place in the world with more pharmaceutical companies per square mile is Puerto Rico 10. Puerto Rico has the largest christmas celebration in the world. it ends with the Dia de los Reyes Magos (3 KINGS DAY) on January 6 and it is the biggest christmas celebration for puerto ricans during that day.

1. PR is a Territory of the US 2. Puerto Ricans are considered US Nationals 3. No passport required for travel to and from US and PR 4. Music and Dance of PR is Salsa 5. The Natives of the Island are called Tainos 6. Spanish is the official language 7. Puerto Ricans living on the island are unable to vote in presidential elections for US 8. Puerto Rico does claim one seat in the US House of Representatives 9. Located in the Caribbean 10. PR has two smaller inhabited islands Vieques and Culebra 11. PR is compared to Cuba (as far as food, music and culture) 12. Santeria is practiced by some on the island. 13. US Federal Holidays are observed but some differences take place. As well as observing XMAS Puerto Rico also celebrates 3 Kings Day and a 12 day celebration for XMAS.