Puerto Rico Research Paper

Puerto Rico is a small country that is located southeast of Florida, between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The island is 108 miles long and 40 miles wide and the total area is 3,515 square miles. It was originally discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, who named the island San Juan Bautista, after Saint John the Baptist. The town which is now called San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico by Columbus. In 1521 the names of the city and country were switched and the island has been known as Puerto Rico ever since. Puerto Rico is Spanish for ‘rich port’ and Columbus named it that because the river was full of gold nuggets. In 1508 the Spanish began to colonize the country with the settlement of Caparra. Because of its

The country is known for its music. One of the most popular instruments is the güicharo, or güiro, which is a hollowed out gourd. Many instruments are adapted from the Spanish guitar, such as the bordonua, the requinto,the triple and the cuatro. A cuatro is a 10 stringed instrument that makes a unique sound. Puerto Rico’s cooking may be similar to Spanish, Cuban, and Mexican cooking but it is still unique. They call their food ‘cocina criolla’, which means Creole cuisine. They use ingredients like yampee (a type of yam), coriander (an herb, also known as cilantro), celery, papaya, nispero (or loquat), plantains, and cacao. Art is important to many Puerto Ricans and there are many museums and art galleries in Puerto Rico. Since the 15 hundreds people have carved religious figures, called Santos, made from clay, gold, stone, or wood. Sports which are popular in Puerto Rico because they were introduced by the Spanish are cockfighting, dominoes, horse racing, and boliche, a game that is like bowling. They celebrate the same holidays in Puerto Rico as they do in the US. They have seven other local holidays in Puerto Rico, such as the birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera in July and Saint John’s Day, celebrating the capital city’s namesake, on June 24th. Puerto Rico’s architecture is influenced by the Spanish which can be seen in the tile-roofed, pastel-colored buildings and the winding, narrow cobblestone