Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island that is a self governing commonwealth of the United States of America. Located in the Caribbean Sea to the east of the Dominican Republic and west of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico lies on a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal, the Mona Passage.
Regions
Municipalities
Other destinations
Understand
Climate
Puerto Rico has a tropical marine climate, which is mild and has little seasonal temperature variation. Temperatures range from 70˚F to 90˚F (21˚C to 32˚C), and tend to be lower at night and up in the mountains. The average annual temperature is 26°C (80°F). Hurricane season spans between June and November. Periodic droughts sometimes affect the island.
Terrain
Puerto Rico is mostly mountainous, although there is a coastal plain belt in the north. The mountains precipitous to the sea on the west coast. There are sandy beaches along most of the coast. There are many small rivers about the island and the high central mountains ensure the land is well watered, although the south coast is relatively dry. There is a fertile coastal plain belt in north. Puerto Rico's highest point is at Cerro de Punta, which is 1,338 m above sea level.
Get in
By plane
Puerto Rico's main airport is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (IATA: SJU) in San Juan. Jet Blue, Continental and Delta Connection also fly to smaller airports in the cities of Aguadilla and Ponce.
As Puerto Rico is part of the US commonwealth, U.S. Immigration and Customs Laws and Regulations apply, however, U.S. citizens flying back to the U.S. mainland from Puerto Rico will not have to pass through Customs before boarding their flight. Travel between the mainland and San Juan, Ponce and Aguadilla is the same as if it were between two mainland cities.
Most U.S. and many international airlines offer direct flights from many cities to Puerto Rico. Flights are economical and numerous. SJU is the biggest and most modern airport in the Caribbean and offers all the conveniences and services (McDonalds, Dominos, Starbucks, etc.) of a major city airport. American Eagle operates a hub at SJU and airlines like Caribbean Sun, Liat and Cape Air offer cheap and easy connections to most Caribbean islands.
If you have lots of luggage, beware there are no baggage carts in the domestic terminal, although there are plenty of baggage porters available to help you for a tip or fee. Luggage Carts are available in the international terminal of the airport. At the exit, a porter will assist you with your luggage for a fee.
Transferring from the airport to your hotel usually requires taking a taxi, although some hotels provide complimentary transportation to their properties in special buses. Puerto Rico Tourism Company representatives at the airport will assist you in finding the right transportation. All major car rental agencies are located at the airport, and others offer free transportation to their off-airport sites.
Typical flight times (outbound flights are slightly longer due to headwinds):
On your way back out of Puerto Rico, note that you'll be required to pass all your check-in bags through a US Dept of Agriculture inspection before checking in. Many agricultural products, including most fruits and vegetables, are in fact permitted , but will be checked for disease. Cruise ship passengers with ship luggage tags are exempted.
By boat
A commercial ferry service connects the west coast city of Mayaguez and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This service is very popular and convenient way to travel between both cities. Also, more than a million passengers visit the island on cruise ships every year, whether on one of the many cruise lines whose homeport is San Juan, or on one of the visiting lines. No passport is required for U.S. citizens who use this service.
Get around
Public transportation in Puerto Rico is fairly bad: outside San Juan, there are no scheduled buses or trains. Most travelers choose to rent their own cars, but intrepid budget travelers can also explore the shared cab (público) system.
By car
If you are planning to explore outside of San Juan, renting a car is by far the most convenient way to get around. Rentals are available from the airport as well as larger hotels.
Parking in the Old Town of San Juan is virtually non-existent and traffic in all major cities is bad during rush hour (8-10am, 4-6pm), so give yourself plenty of time coming and going.
Road signs are Spanish language versions of their U.S. counterparts, so you shouldn't have trouble figuring them out. However, note that distances are in kilometers, while speed limits are in miles. Gas is also sold by the liter, not by the gallon, but prices are roughly equivalent to the continental US.
In additional to the regular free highway (carretera) network, there are three toll roads (autopista) on Puerto Rico. They're much faster and less congested than the highways, and it's worth using them if in any kind of hurry. Tolls for a 2-axle car range from $0.70 and $1.50. The lanes on the left are reserved for people with RFID toll passes, which you probably won't have on your rental car. If you need change, head for the lanes marked with a "C", usually the furthest to the right.
Off the main highways, roads in Puerto Rico quickly become narrow, twisty and turny, especially up in the mountains. Roads that are only one-and-a-half lanes wide are common, so do like the locals do and beep before driving into blind curves. Signage is often minimal, although intersections do almost always show the road numbers, so a detailed highway map will come in handy.
Police cars are easy to spot, as by local regulation, they must keep their blue light bar continuously illuminated any time they are in motion. Avoid getting a speeding ticket: fines start at $50 + $5 for each mile above the speed limit.
By público
A público is a shared taxi service and is much cheaper than taking a taxi around the island, and depending on your travel aspirations, might be cheaper than renting a car. Públicos can be identified by their yellow license plates with the word "PUBLICO" written on top of the license plate. The "main" público station is in Río Piedras, a suburb of San Juan. They're also known as colectivos and pisicorres.
There are two ways of getting on a público. The easier way is to call the local público stand the day before and ask them to pick you up at an agreed time. (Your hotel or guesthouse can probably arrange this, and unlike you, they probably know which of the multitude of companies is going your way.) This is convenient, but it'll cost a few bucks extra and you'll be in for a wait as the car collects all the other departing passengers. The cheaper way is to just show up at the público terminal (or, in smaller towns, the town square) as early as you can (6-7 AM is normal) and wait for others to show up; as soon as enough have collected, which may take minutes or hours, you're off. Públicos taper off in the afternoon and stop running entirely before dark.
Públicos can make frequent stops to pick up or drop of passengers and may take a while to get to their destination terminal, but you can also request to be dropped off elsewhere if it's along the way or you pay a little extra. Prices vary depending on the size of the público and the distance being traveled. As an example, a small público that can seat three or four passengers from Ponce to San Juan will cost roughly $15, while a 15 passenger público that is traveling between San Juan and Fajardo will cost about $5 each person.
By ferry
Ferries depart from San Juan and Fajardo.
Do
Whether you're dreaming about spectacular surfing waves, a challenging golf course, or the perfect sunbathing beach, Puerto Rico offers the active traveler a tremendous array of opportunities. Surfing and golf compete with tennis, fishing, kayaking, scuba diving, and horseback riding, not to mention windsurfing and parasailing, for your active time. The island has over 15 championship golf courses a short drive away from the San Juan metropolitan area.
Learn about the different character of Puerto Rico's favorite beaches, or find out where to participate in your favorite sports. The hardest part will be choosing what to do first.
Blue Flag in Puerto Rico
The Blue Flag Program, initiated in Europe since 1987 has been modified for implementation in the Caribbean. It is voluntary program and it has proven along the years to be a very effective strategy to guarantee the best quality in beach services for bathers in different parts of the world.
Scuba dive
... Puerto Rico's Caribbean coasts. Spectacular wall diving offshore Guánica, or the cayos of the Spanish Virgin Islands of Culebra & Vieques. PADI 5 star Instruction.
El Yunque
El Yunque, Puerto Rico's rain forest is a must see. It spreads out over a mountain, so if you walk uphill from the road you're in a cool to cold rain forest. At any altitude you'll see numerous varieties of plant and animal life. There are tons of hiking trails and the Yokahu tower is a great spot to see the forest from above.
Talk
: See also: Spanish phrasebook
Officially, Puerto Rico is unilingually Spanish. It's the mother tongue of all native Puerto Ricans, and any traffic signs and such are written exclusively in Spanish. However, people working in tourism-related businesses are usually fluent in English, and even locals in less touristed areas of the island can usually manage basic English, as it's taught as a foreign language in school. Menus in restaurants, even off the beaten track, are almost invariably bilingual.
That said, as anywhere, it's respectful to try make an effort and try to learn at least the basics. If you're already familiar with the language, beware that Puerto Rican Spanish speakers have a very distinct accent, and is often spoken at a relatively faster speed than Central American or Mexican Spanish. It is also full of local jargon and slang unfamiliar to many outside the island.
Buy
Puerto Rico is full of modern shopping malls and outlet centers. The most notable of which, Plaza las Americas, is currently the largest such shopping mall in the Caribbean and offers a wide array of stores, eating facilities and a large movie theater. Most major U.S. mainland and European retailers are located in the mall.
The Condado section of San Juan is home to fine designer stores such as Cartier, Gucci, Ferragamo, Mont Blanc and Dior.
You might want to check out the Belz Factory Outlets and the Prime Outlets of Puerto Rico. They house stores like Polo, Hilfiger, Banana Republic, Puma, Gap, PacSun, etc.
Most of the large cities on the island have a large regional mall with very familiar international stores.
There are plenty of ATM around the commonwealth. Most are linked to the Cirrus, Plus, American Express and Discover networks.
If you're looking for local crafts of all sorts, and want to pay less than in Old San Juan while getting to know the island, try going to town festivals. Artisans from around the island come to these festivals to sell their wares: from typical foods, candies, coffee and tobacco to clothing, accessories, paintings and home décor. Some of these festivals are better than others, though: be sure to ask for recommendations. One of the most popular (yet remote) festivals is the "Festival de las Chinas" or Orange Festival in Las Marías.
Duty free
One of the interesting facts about Puerto Rico that might not be emphasized enough in travel guidebooks is that since Puerto Rico is self governing due to its Commonwealth status, there are no federal taxes or import duties paid on on commodities like gasoline (about $0.75/liter for 87 octane in San Juan, as of May 2007) or rum.
This might be an important consideration when planning how much empty luggage to bring (allowance for U.S. customs is 5 liters per person), as a 750 ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label costs only $120 in the duty-free airport shop vs. $200+ on the mainland. Bacardi liquor brands are very inexpensive as well -- paying $8.00 for a 750 ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin can be something of a shock, after paying $9.00 for a single 4 oz martini of the same booze at La Guardia only 4 hours earlier.
Don Q Rum is recommended by some folks – although Bacardi is better, and apparently not available in all states.
Eat
Puerto Rico is a drive-through buffet. All you need is a car, an appetite (the bigger the better), time, and the realization that your swimsuit won't fit as well when you get to your destination. The island has the most diverse culinary offerings in the entire Caribbean. There's something for everyone. You can enjoy the finest Puerto Rican food on most traditional town squares and also (for those of you who get homesick) have a steak at a place like Morton's.
Cuisine
Authentic Puerto Rican food (comida criolla) can be summed up in two words: plantains and pork, usually served up with rice and beans (arroz y habichuelas). It is rarely if ever spicy, and to many visitors' surprise has very little in common with Mexican cooking.
Plantains (plátanos) are essentially savory bananas and the primary source of starch back in the bad old days, although you will occasionally also encounter cassava (yuca) and other tropical tubers. Served with nearly every meal, incarnations include:
The main meat eaten on Puerto Rico is pork (cerdo), with chicken a close second and beef and mutton way down the list. Seafood, surprisingly, is only a minor part of the traditional repertoire: the deep waters around Puerto Rico are poorly suited to fishing, and most of the seafood served in restaurants for tourists is in fact imported.
A few other puertorriqueño classics include:
Places to eat
Meals in sit-down restaurants tend to be fairly pricy and most touristy restaurants will happily charge $15-30 for mains. Restaurants geared for locals may not appear much cheaper, but the quality (and quantity) of food is usually considerably better. It's not uncommon for restaurants to charge tourists more than locals, so bring along a local friend if you can! Note that many, if not most, restaurants are closed on Mondays and Tuesday.
If you want to eat like a local, look for places that are out of the way. There is a roadside food stand or 10 at every corner when you get out of the cities. Deep-fried foods are the most common, but they serve everything from octopus salad to rum in a coconut. You might want to think twice and consult your stomach before choosing some items - but do be willing to try new things. Most of the roadside stand food is fantastic, and if you're not hung up with the need for a table, you might have dinner on a beach, chomping on all sorts of seafood fritters at $1 a pop, drinking rum from a coconut. At the end of dinner, you can see all the stars. In the southwest of the island, in Boqueron, you might find fresh oysters and clams for sale at 25 cents a pop.
If you are really lucky, you might get invited to a pork roast. It's not just food - it's a whole day - and it's cultural. Folks singing, drinking, hanging out telling stories, and checking to see if the pig is ready, and staying on topic, you'll find the pig likely paired with arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas).
With all these choices - roadside stands, local hangouts that you just might find - things that you've never seen before - do yourself a flavor and never eat from the commercial fast food restaurant except maybe, the fried chicken restaurants, which just do it differently in PR.
Finally, there are some wonderful restaurants, and like everywhere, the best are found mostly near the metropolitan areas. Old San Juan is probably your best bet for a 4-star meal in a 4-star restaurant. However if your experimental nature wanes, there are lots of "Americanized" opportunities in and around San Juan. Good luck, keep your eyes open for the next roadside stand, and make sure to take advantage of all the sports to counteract the moving buffet.
Dietary restrictions
Strict vegetarians will have a tough time on Puerto Rico, although the larger towns have restaurants that can cater to their tastes. Traditionally almost all Puerto Rican food is prepared with lard, and while this has been largely supplanted by cheaper corn oil, mofongo is still commonly made using lard, bacon or both.
Drink
Unlike most U.S. territories and states Puerto Rico's drinking age is 18. That coupled with the fact that that the U.S. will require all U.S. residents to have a passport before being permitted to leave and re-enter the U.S. means Puerto Rico is becoming increasingly popular during spring break.
Beer, wine and hard liquor is available at almost every grocery store, convenience store, panadería (bakery) and meat shop.
Puerto Rico is obviously famous for its rum and rum drinks, and is the birthplace of the world renowned Piña Colada. Several rums are made in Puerto Rico, including Bacardi and Don Q. Although not as common in the U.S., the national rum of choice in Puerto Rico is Don Q.
Most stores stock a locally-produced beer called Medalla Light that can be purchased for $1-$2 each. Other beer options for the discriminating drinker include Presidente, a light pilsner beer from nearby Dominican Republic (note: it's a different brew from the Dominican version), and Beck's. Beck's imported to Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean is a different brew from the one that makes it to the U.S., and is considered by many to be better. Other beers which have popularity on the island are Budweiser, Bud Light, Heineken, Corona and Coors Light. Many other imported beers are also available, but usually at a higher price.
Most of the beers sold vary from 10 to 12 ounce bottles or cans. The portions are small (compared to the Mainland) in order to be consumed before the beer has time to warm up. Tap water is treated and is officially safe to drink.
Sleep
International chains such as Sheraton, Westin, Marriott, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, Holiday Inn as well as some luxurious independent resorts offer very reliable accommodations. There is a boom underway in boutique hotel construction which promise a higher level of service and Miami-chic appeal. Most large cities have at least one international chain hotel.
There are also many fully furnished apartments you can rent by the day, week and month, specially in Old San Juan. These are usually inexpensive, clean and comfortable and owned by trustworthy people. They are located mostly in the residential area, which is safe (day and night), and within walking distance to everything from museums to nightlife.
See the San Juan section for contact numbers for hotels and short-term rental apartments.
Learn
Most universities in Puerto Rico are accredited by US authorities and they offer quality educational programs. Its very easy to find Spanish courses as well as learn to dance salsa.
Puerto Rico has 3 ABA-accredited law schools which are very competitive. The University of Puerto Rico Law School is very friendly towards international students and is a great option for foreigners looking for a quality, cheap education (subsidized by the government)that is less than 10 minutes from a beach!
Also the island has major medical teaching centers which are internationally acclaimed such as the University of Puerto Rico Center for Medical Sciences and the Ponce School of Medicine.
Work
There is a small international workforce on the island. In general, it's possible to find a nice job on the island doing various things. The island is full of international businesses which look for skilled labor all the time.
Stay safe
If you look at the statistics, it's clear that Puerto Rico has a crime problem. As of 2002 the island's murder rate was twice that of New York City (but less than Washington DC).
Nearly all crime is concentrated in the big metropolitan cities of San Juan and Ponce, and most of it is connected to the drug trade. However, the tourist areas of both cities are heavily patrolled by police, and violent crime directed against tourists is very rare. The main problem is theft: don't leave your belongings unattended on the beach. Car theft is also an issue, so take care where you leave your car and don't leave valuables inside.
Make sure to stay away from public housing complexes known as caseríos, which are numerous and widespread throughout the island, and avoid shanty slums as well (La Perla in San Juan). These are frequently the location of drug dealers and other illegal activity as well as violent crime. If you must venture into such a location, avoid doing so at night and do not take pictures or film the locals without permission. Avoid drawing a lot of attention to yourself and be polite at all times.
The crime rate outside the metropolitan areas are much lower. Cities like Arecibo, Aguadilla and Mayaguez are generally very safe.
Stay healthy
Fresh water lakes and streams, in metropolitan areas, are often polluted so avoid going in for a dip. You can however find freshwater streams and ponds in the rainforest that are safe to swim in. Generally if you see Puerto Ricans swimming in it then you are probably okay, especially high in the rain forest. Puerto Rico is a tropical island but it is free of most diseases that plague most tropical countries in other parts of the Caribbean and the world.Tap water is officially safe to drink but having bottled water on hand is always a plus.
Medical facilities are easily available all around the Island, and there are many trained physicians and specialists in many medical fields. There are a number of government as well as private hospitals. However, health services are fairly expensive. Keep in mind that a visit to the doctor may not be as prompt as one is used to, and it is common to have to wait quite some time to be seen.
Visitors should expect a high level of quality in their medical service - it is comparable to the U.S. mainland. Drug stores are plentiful and very well stocked. Walgreens and El Amal are the biggest and most popular chains, although Walmart, K-Mart and Costco offer medicines as well as numerous smaller local chains.
Respect
Politeness and a simple smile will get you far. Many locals are willing to help tourists provided no arrogance is shown. When greeting a member of the opposite sex, or when greeting female to female, it is very common to customarily kiss on one cheek. This is never done male to male (except sometimes between relatives). Puerto Rican society is in general very social, and you will commonly see neighbors out at night chatting or gossiping with each other. It may be wise in some cases to avoid discussing the island's politics, especially in regards to its political status with the United States. Arguments are often very passionate and can lead to heated debates. It is common for attractive women to have cat calls, whistles and loud compliments directed at them. These are usually harmless and it is best to just ignore them.
Contact
Cell phones
Puerto Rico has a very advanced communications network. Major American carriers Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, SunCom and Centennial have networks on the island. European carrier Movistar is also involved in a local wireless joint venture. Cell-phone coverage is very good.
Internet
The island also has widely available broadband internet access. High speed public wireless internet service in public areas (coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and malls) finally is also growing and free in most places. Look for Blue Zones or for DMAX hotspots.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico", IPA estado libɾe asosjado de pweɾto riko), also Porto Rico (archaic) and more commonly Puerto Rico, is a self governing unincorporated territory of the United States with Commonwealth status located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands; approximately two-thousand kilometers (2,000 km; 1,280 miles) off the coast of Florida (the nearest of the mainland United States). The archipelago of Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, and a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Mona, Vieques, and Culebra. Puerto Ricans sometimes refer to their island as Borikén, or the Spanish variant Borinquen, a name for the island used by indigenous Taíno people. The current term boricua derives from the Taíno name for the island, and is commonly used to identify oneself as Puerto Rican.
Even though all people born in Puerto Rico are statutory U.S. citizens, the nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate on the island, in the United States Congress, and in the United Nations. Those who support maintaining the status quo (i.e., Commonwealth status) insist that upon attaining this status, Puerto Rico entered into a voluntary association with the U.S. "in the nature of a compact", but according to a President's Task Force report, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, subject to the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress and with the "right to establish a constitution for the internal administration of government and on matters of purely local concern".
History
Pre-Columbian era
The history of the island of Puerto Rico (Spanish for rich port) before the arrival of Christopher Columbus is not well understood. What is known today comes from findings and from early Spanish accounts. The first comprehensive book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786, 293 years after the first Spaniards arrived on the island.
The first indigenous settlers of Puerto Rico were the Ortoiroid, an Archaic age culture. An archaeological dig in the island of Vieques in 1990 found the remains of what is believed to be an Arcaico (Archaic) man (named Puerto Ferro man) which was dated to around 2000 BC (4,000 years ago). Between AD 120 and 400, the Igneri, a tribe from the Orinoco region, arrived on the island. Between the 7th and 11th century the Taíno culture developed on the island and, by approximately AD 1000, the Taíno culture had become dominant, a trend that lasted until the Spanish arrived in 1493.
Spanish Colony
When Christopher Columbus arrived at Puerto Rico during his second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by a group of Arawak Indians known as Taínos. The Taínos called the island "Borikén" or "Borinquen". Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist. Later the island took the name of Puerto Rico (Rich Port) while the capital was named San Juan. In 1508, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the island's first governor to take office.
The island was soon colonized by the Spanish. Taínos were forced to work for the Spanish crown but were soon decimated by diseases brought by the Spaniards and the harsh conditions in which they were forced to work. African slaves were introduced as labor to replace the decreasing populations of Taíno. Puerto Rico soon became an important stronghold and port for the Spanish Empire in the Caribbean, gaining the title of "La Llave de las Americas" (The Key of the Americas). Colonial emphasis during the late 17th - 18th centuries, however, focused on the more prosperous mainland territories, leaving the island impoverished of settlers. A prominent resident of this early period was Bernardo de Balbuena, Bishop of Puerto Rico, who wrote Baroque poetry extolling the beauty of the New World, especially Mexico. Many of his manuscripts were burned by Dutch pirates when they sacked the island in 1625.
Because of concerns of threats from European enemies, over the centuries various forts and walls, such as La Fortaleza, El Castillo San Felipe del Morro and El Castillo de San Cristóbal, were built to protect the port of San Juan. The French, Dutch and English made several attempts to capture Puerto Rico but failed to wrest long-term occupancy of the island.
In 1809, while Napoleon occupied the majority of the Iberian peninsula, a populist assembly based in Cádiz recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain with the right to send representatives to the Spanish Court. The representative Ramon Power y Giralt died soon after arriving in Spain. These constitutional reforms were reversed when autocratic monarchy was restored. Nineteenth century reforms augmented the population and economy, and expanded the local character of the island. After the rapid gains of independence by the South and Central American states in the first part of the century, Puerto Rico and Cuba became the sole New World remnants of the large Spanish empire.
Toward the end of the 19th century, poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as "Grito de Lares". The uprising was easily and quickly crushed. Leaders of this independence movement included Ramón Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican nation, and other political figures such as Segundo Ruiz Belvis. Later, another political stronghold was the autonomist movement originated by Román Baldorioty de Castro and, toward the end of the century, by Luis Muñoz Rivera. In 1897, Muñoz Rivera and others persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to a Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico. The following year, Puerto Rico's first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized. The charter maintained a governor appointed by Spain, who held the power to annul any legislative decision he disagreed with, and a partially elected parliamentary structure.
Puerto Rico under United States rule
On July 25, 1898 at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guánica. Following the outcome of the war, Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States under the Treaty of Paris (1898). Puerto Rico began the twentieth century under the military rule of the United States with officials, including the governor, appointed by the President of the United States. The Foraker Act of 1900 had given Puerto Rico a certain amount of popular government including a popularly-elected House of Representatives. By 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans - a status they still hold today - and provided for a popularly-elected Senate to complete a bicameral elected Legislative Assembly. Until the first gubernatorial election in 1948, the Presidency of the Senate and the Resident Commissioner seat in Congress were held by Puerto Rico's top politicians. Many Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. Armed Forces beginning in World War I. Natural disasters and the Great Depression impoverished the island. Some political leaders demanded change; some, like Pedro Albizu Campos, would lead a nationalist (The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party) movement in favor of independence. He served many years in prison for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. Government in Puerto Rico. Luis Muñoz Marín initially favored independence, but saw a severe decline of the Puerto Rican economy, as well as growing violence and uprisings and opted to support the "commonwealth" option instead. The "commonwealth" was supported before Luis Muñoz Marín by other political leaders.
Change in the nature of the internal governance of the island came about during the later years of the Roosevelt–Truman administrations, as a form of compromise spearheaded by Muñoz Marín and others, and which culminated with the appointment by President Harry Truman in 1946 of the first Puerto Rican-born governor, Jesus T. Piñero. In 1947, the United States granted the right to democratically elect the governor of Puerto Rico. Luis Muñoz Marín became the first elected governor of Puerto Rico in the 1948 general elections, serving as such for 16 years, until 1964.
Starting at this time, there was heavy migration from Puerto Rico to the Continental United States, particularly New York City, in search of better economic conditions. Puerto Rican migration to New York displayed an average yearly migration that is summarized as follows: 1930-1940, 1,800; 1946-1950, 31,000; 1951-1960, 45,000, 1953 (peak year), 75,000. As of 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are more people of Puerto Rican birth or ancestry living in the United States than in Puerto Rico itself.
On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate President Harry S Truman. Subsequently, the Truman Administration allowed for a democratic referendum in Puerto Rico to determine whether Puerto Ricans desired to draft their own local constitution. Puerto Rico adopted its own local constitution in July 25, 1952 which adopted the name of "Estado Libre Asociado" (Free Associated State), translated into English as Commonwealth, for the body politic and which continues to denote Puerto Rico's current relationship with the United States. During the 1950s Puerto Rico experienced a rapid industrialization, due in large part to Operación Manos a la Obra ("Operation Bootstrap") (an offshoot of FDR's New Deal) which aimed to industrialize Puerto Rico's economy from agriculture-based into manufacturing-based.
Present-day Puerto Rico has become a major tourist destination and a leading pharmaceutical and manufacturing center. Still, Puerto Rico continues to struggle to define its political status. Three locally-authorized plebiscites have been held in recent decades to decide whether Puerto Rico should pursue independence, enhanced commonwealth status, or statehood. Narrow victories by commonwealth supporters over statehood advocates in the first two plebiscites and an unacceptable definition of Commonwealth by the pro statehood leadership on the ballots in the third has allowed the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States government to remain unchanged. In the latest status referendum of 1998, the "none of the above" option won over Statehood, a rejection by Commonwealthers of the definition of their status on the ballots, with 50.2% of the votes. Support for the pro-statehood party (Partido Nuevo Progresista or PNP) and the pro-commonwealth party (Partido Popular Democrático or PPD) remains about equal. The only registered independence party on the island, the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño or PIP, usually receives 3-5% of the electoral votes, though there are several smaller independence groups like the Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Nationalist Party), el Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano (National Hostosian Independence Movement), and the Macheteros - Ejercito Popular Boricua (or Boricua Popular Army).
On 25 October2006, the Puerto Rico State Department conferred to Juan Mari Brás Puerto Rico Citizenship. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the Puerto Rican Secretary of Justice determined that the Puerto Rican citizenship in fact exists and was recognized in the Constitution of Puerto Rico, as in the Insular Cases (Casos Insulares in Spanish) of 1901 through 1922 of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Puerto Rico State Department has developed, since the summer of 2007, the protocol to grant the Puerto Rican citizenship to Puerto Ricans .
Geography
Puerto Rico consists of a main island of Puerto Rico and various smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos. Of the latter five, only Culebra and Vieques are inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited through large parts of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. There are also many other even smaller islands including Monito and "La Isleta de San Juan" known as Old San Juan.
The mainland measures some 100 miles by 35 nautical miles (170 km by 60 km). It is mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the north and south regions of the island. The main mountainous range is called "La Cordillera Central" (The Central Range). The highest elevation point of Puerto Rico, Cerro de Punta (4,390 feet; 1,338 m), is located in this range. Another important peak is El Yunque, located in the Sierra de Luquillo at the El Yunque National Forest, with a maximum elevation of 3,494 feet (1,065 m). The capital, San Juan, is located on the main island's north coast.
Located in the tropics, Puerto Rico enjoys an average temperature of 82.4 °F (28 °C) throughout the year. The seasons do not change very drastically. The temperature in the south is usually a few degrees higher than the north and temperatures in the central interior mountains are always cooler than the rest of the island. Hurricane season spans between June and November.
Puerto Rico has 17 lakes, all of which are man-made reservoirs, and more than 50 rivers, most born in the Cordillera Central. The rivers in the northern region of the island are typically larger and with higher water flow rates than those of the south region, given that the south receives less rain than the central and north regions.
As of 1998, 239 plants, sixteen birds and 39 amphibians/reptiles have been discovered that are endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The majority of these (234, 12 and 33 respectively) are found on the main island. The most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride is the Coquí, a small frog easily recognized by the sound from which it gets its name. The El Yunque National Forest, previously known as the Caribbean National Forest, a tropical rainforest is home to the majority (13 of 16) of species of coquí. It is also home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic and 50 bird species, including one of the top 10 endangered birds in the world, the Puerto Rican Amazon.
Geology
Puerto Rico is composed of Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic and plutonic rocks, which are overlain by younger Oligocene to recent carbonates and other sedimentary rocks. Most of the caverns and karst topography on the island occurs in the northern Oligocene to recent carbonates. The oldest rocks are approximately 190 million years old (Jurassic) and are located at Sierra Bermeja in the southwest part of the island. These rocks may represent part of the oceanic crust and are believed to come from the Pacific Ocean realm.
Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates and is currently being deformed by the tectonic stresses caused by the interaction of these plates. These stresses may cause earthquakes and tsunamis. These seismic events, along with landslides, represent some of the most dangerous geologic hazards in the island and in the northeastern Caribbean. The most recent major earthquake occurred on October 11, 1918 and had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale. It originated off the coast of Aguadilla and was accompanied by a tsunami.
The Puerto Rico Trench, the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic, is located about 75 miles (120 km) north of Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates. The trench is 1,090 miles (1,754 km) long and about 60 miles (97 km) wide. At its deepest point, named the Milwaukee Deep, it is 27,493 feet (8,380 m) deep, or about 5.2 miles (8.38 km).
Puerto Rico enjoys year round summer temperatures, an average annual temperature of 80ºF (26ºC).
Demographics
During the 1800s, hundreds of Corsican, French, Lebanese, Chinese, and Portuguese families, along with large numbers of immigrants from Spain (mainly from Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands) and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America, arrived in Puerto Rico. Other settlers have included Irish, Scots, Germans, Italians, and thousands others who were granted land from Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 (Royal Decree of Graces of 1815), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with a certain amount of free land. This mass immigration during the 19th century helped the population grow from 155,000 in 1800 to almost a million at the close of the century. A census conducted by royal decree on September 30,1858, gives the following totals of the Puerto Rican population at this time, with 300,430 identified as Whites ; 341,015 as Free colored; and 41,736 as Slaves. More recently, Puerto Rico has become the permanent home of over 100,000 legal residents who immigrated from not only Spain, but from Latin America as well. Argentines, Cubans, Dominicans, Colombians and Venezuelans can also be counted as settlers.
Emigration has been a major part of Puerto Rico's recent history as well. Starting in the Post-WWII period, due to poverty, cheap airfare, and promotion by the island government, waves of Puerto Ricans moved to the continental United States, particularly to New York City; Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Camden, New Jersey; Chicago; Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts; Orlando; Miami and Tampa, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California. This continued even as Puerto Rico's economy improved and its birth rate declined. Emigration continues at the present time, and this, combined with Puerto Rico's greatly lowered birth rate, suggests that the island's population will age rapidly and start to decline sometime within the next couple of decades.
In the 2000 U.S. Census Puerto Ricans were asked to indicate in which racial categories they consider themselves to belong.95.8% answered. The breakdown is as follows: 80% described themselves as "white"; 8% described themselves as "black"; 12% described themselves as "mulatto" and only 0.4% described themselves as "American Indian or Alaska Native" (the US Census does not consider Hispanic to be a race, and asks if a person considers himself Hispanic in a separate question).
A recent study of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 800 individuals found 61.1% as having Amerindian maternal mtDNA, 26.4% as having African maternal mtDNA, and 12.5% as having Caucasian maternal mtDNA. Conversely, patrilineal input, as indicated by the Y chromosome, showed that 70% of all Puerto Rican males have inherited Y chromosome DNA from a male European ancestor, 20% have inherited Y chromosome DNA from a male African ancestor, and fewer than 10% have inherited Y chromosome DNA from a male Amerindian ancestor. In summary, the results suggest that the three largest components of the Puerto Rican genetic pool are Amerindian, African, and European.
Languages
The official languages of the island are Spanish and English. Spanish is the primary language of Puerto Ricans, though English is taught as a foreign language in public schools from elementary levels to high school. As of 2006, an estimated 3,860,120 people use Spanish as their primary language; English is the primary language of 82,000, which is less than 2.2% of the population. The large majority of residents living in metropolitan areas are bilingual.
In 1991, Governor Rafael Hernández Colón signed a law declaring Spanish as the sole official language of the island's government. While some applauded the governor's decision (mainly members of the political parties supporting commonwealth-status and independence), others opposed it, including statehood supporters. As a result of his actions, the People of Puerto Rico won the Prince of Asturias Award in 1991, which is awarded annually to those who defend and contribute to the growth of the Spanish language. Upon his election as governor in 1993, pro-statehood former Governor Pedro Rosselló overturned the law enacted by his predecessor and once again established both English and Spanish as official languages. This move by the pro-statehood governor was seen by many as another attempt to move the island closer to statehood, however, despite many attempts and plebiscites, it never came about during his two consecutive terms.
Religion
The Roman Catholic Church has been historically the most dominant religion of the majority of Puerto Ricans, although the presence of various Protestant denominations has increased under American sovereignty, making modern Puerto Rico an interconfessional country. Protestantism was suppressed under the Spanish regime, but encouraged under American rule of the island.
The three main Islamic mosques are located in Rio Piedras, Ponce, and Vega Alta.
Taíno religious practices have to a degree been rediscovered/reinvented by a handful of advocates. Various African religious practices have been present since the arrival of enslaved Africans. In particular, the Yoruba beliefs of Santeria and/or Ifa, and the Kongo derived Palo Mayombe (sometimes called an African belief system, but rather a way of Bantu lifestyle of Congo origin) find adherence among individuals who practice some form of African traditional religion.
Politics
Government of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico's head of state is the President of the United States. The government of Puerto Rico is based on the formal republican system composed of three branches: the Executive branch headed by the Governor, currently Anibal Acevedo Vila, the Legislative branch consisting of a bicameral Legislative Assembly (a Senate and a House of Representatives), headed by the President of the Senate, currently Kenneth McClintock and the House Speaker, currently Jóse Aponte Hernandez, and the Judicial branch, headed by the Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, currently Federico Hernandez Denton, that form the formal government. The legal system is based on a mix of the civil law and the common law systems. The governor as well as legislators are elected by popular vote every four years. Members of the Judicial branch are appointed by the governor with the "advice and consent" of the Senate.
Puerto Rico has limited representation in the U.S. Congress in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a nonvoting delegate, and the current Congress had returned the Commissioner's power to vote in the Committee of the Whole, but not on matters where the vote would represent a decisive participation. Because no federal elections are held in any of the unincorporated territories, Puerto Rico does not have electors in the U.S. Electoral College.
Administrative divisions
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. Government, but there are 78 municipalities at the second level (Mona Island is not a municipality, but part of the municipality of Mayagüez).
Political history
In 1950, the U.S. Congress gave Puerto Ricans the right to organize a constitutional convention, contingent on the results of a referendum, where the electorate would determine if they wished to organize their own government pursuant to a constitution of their own choosing. Puerto Ricans expressed their support for this measure in a 1951 referendum, which gave voters a yes-or-no choice for the commonwealth status, defined as a 'permanent association with a federal union' but which did not offer independence or statehood as ballot options. A second referendum was held to approve the constitution, which was adopted in 1952.
Prior to approving the new constitution, the Constitutional Convention specified the name by which the body politic would be known. On February 4 1952, the convention approved Resolution 22 which chose in English the word “Commonwealth ”, meaning a “politically organized community” or “state,” which is simultaneously connected by a compact or treaty to another political system. The convention adopted a translation into Spanish of the term, inspired by the Irish saorstát (Free State) of “Estado Libre Asociado” (ELA) to represent the compact between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States. Literally translated into English, the phrase means “Associated Free State.”
In 1967, the Legislative Assembly tested political interests of the Puerto Rican people by passing a plebiscite Act that allowed a vote on the status of Puerto Rico. This constituted the first plebiscite by the Legislature for a choice on three status options. Puerto Rican leaders had lobbied for such an opportunity repeatedly, in 1898, 1912, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1929, 1932, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1956, and 1960. The Commonwealth option, represented by the PDP, won with an overwhelming majority of 60.4 percent of the votes. The Statehood Republican Party, as well as the Puerto Rico Independence Party boycotted the vote.
Following the plebiscite, efforts in the 1970s to enact legislation to address the status issue died in Congressional committees. In the 1993 plebiscite, in which Congress played a more substantial role, Commonwealth status was again upheld. In the 1998 plebiscite, all the options were rejected when an absolute majority of the voters (50.3%) voted in favor of the "none of the above" option, again favoring the commonwealth status quo by default.
International status
On November 27, 1953, shortly after the establishment of the Commonwealth, the General Assembly of the UN approved Resolution 748, removing Puerto Rico’s classification as a non-self-governing territory under article 73(e) of the Charter from United Nations. However, the UN General Assembly did not apply its full list of criteria to Puerto Rico for determining whether or not self-governing status had been achieved. In fact, in a 1996 report on a Puerto Rico status political bill, the U.S. Committee on Resources stated that Puerto Rico’s current status “does not meet the criteria for any of the options for full self-government.” The House Committee concluded that Puerto Rico is still an unincorporated territory of the United States under the territorial clause, that the establishment of local self-government with the consent of the people can be unilaterally revoked by the U.S. Congress, and that U.S. Congress can also withdraw the U.S. citizenship now enjoyed by the residents of Puerto Rico at any time, as long as it achieves a legitimate Federal purpose. The application of the Constitution to Puerto Rico is limited by the Insular Cases.
Even though Puerto Rico has no established embassies, it hosts Consulates from 42 countries, mainly from the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Most consulates are located in the vicinity of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico.
Political status within the United States
Under the 1952 constitution, Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth and enjoys an administrative-autonomy similar to that of a state of the Union. Because it is not a state of the Union, federal elections are not held on the island, but everyone born in Puerto Rico is a US citizen and may vote in federal elections held in any state or incorporated territory as long as the citizen can claim residence in said state or incorporated territory. Puerto Rico does participate in the internal political process of both the Democratic and Republican Parties in the United States, and delegates from the island vote in each party's national convention.
Puerto Rico is classified by the U.S. government as an independent taxation authority by mutual agreement with the U.S. Congress. A common misconception is that residents of Puerto Rico do not have to pay federal taxes. Residents of the island pay federal taxes (import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc.) and some even pay federal income taxes (Puerto Rico residents who are federal employees, or who do business with the federal government, Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S., etc). While most residents of the island do not pay federal income tax, they do pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare), as well as Puerto Rico income taxes. In addition, because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority than if the IRS code were applied to the island. Puerto Rico residents are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. Puerto Rico is excluded from Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Puerto Rico receives less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would be allotted as a state.
As statutory U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans may enlist in the U.S. military. Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft, when it has been in effect. Puerto Ricans have fully participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably in World War II, in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the current Middle-Eastern conflicts. Many Puerto Rican soldiers have died serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Recent developments on status
According to a December 2005 report by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, it is not possible “to bind future (U.S.)
Congresses to any particular arrangement for Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth”. This determination was based on articles in the U.S. Constitution regarding territories. The Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vilá has since challenged the task force report, while his party, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), denounced the task force as a political fraud that represents a threat to democracy and is a violation of the basic agreements held between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States since 1952. It also announced a commitment to challenge the task force's report and validate the current status in all international forums including the United Nations. It also rejects any colonial or territorial status as a status option, and vows to keep working for the enhanced Commonwealth status that was approved by the PPD in 1998 which included sovereignty, an association based on "respect and dignity between both nations", and common citizenship.
The Legislative Branch, controlled by the opposing New Progressive Party (PNP), supported the White House Report's conclusions and has supported bills introduced by Reps. Jose Serrano (D-NY) and Luis Fortuño (R-PR) and Sens. Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) to provide for a democratic referendum process among Puerto Rico voters.
Political parties
As unincorporated territory dependent on the U.S. since 1952, the ideology of Puerto Ricans is represented by its political parties, which stand for three distinct future political scenarios that are non-conformist regarding Puerto Rico's territorial or colonial status: (1) those who favor an autonomous, sovereign bilateral relationship with the United States (so-called "improved"/"enhanced" U.S. Commonwealth outside the U.S. Constitution's "Territorial Clause" or Free Associated Republic status); (2) those that favor that Puerto Rico's national independence should be recognized by the United States, as a full-fledged sovereign republic within the concert of the international community at-large; and, (3) those who favor Puerto Rico's entry into the United States as a full-fledged state of the federated union, by becoming the 51st state of the aforementioned country. The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) seeks to maintain the island's "association" status as a commonwealth, improved commonwealth and/or seek a true free sovereign-association status or Free Associated Republic, and has won a plurality vote in referendums on the island's status held over six decades after the island was invaded by the United States (that said, most referendums' fairness have been impugned by one or two of the opposition parties). The New Progressive Party (PNP) seeks statehood for Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican Independence Party and the Nationalist Party both seek independence for the nation of Puerto Rico, albeit through different means. The Nationalist Party, for example, does not participate in elections held every four years. Although they maintain close relations and are considered allies within an otherwise rather divided Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, on the other hand, does participate in nation-wide gubernatorial elections held every four years since 1948 (fifty-years after the U.S. invasion of the island).
Economy
In the early 1900s the greatest contributor to Puerto Rico's economy was agriculture, its main crop being sugar. In the late 1940s a series of projects codenamed Operation Bootstrap encouraged, using tax exemptions, the establishment of factories. Thus manufacturing replaced agriculture as the main industry. Puerto Rico is currently classified as a high income country by the World Bank.
The economic conditions in Puerto Rico have improved dramatically since the Great Depression due to external investment in capital-intensive industry such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and technology. Once the beneficiary of special tax treatment from the U.S. government, today local industries must compete with those in more economically depressed parts of the world where wages are not subject to U.S. minimum wage legislation. In recent years, some U.S. and foreign owned factories have moved to lower wage countries in Latin America and Asia. Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. trade laws and restrictions.
Tourism is an important component of the Puerto Rican economy supplying an approximate $1.8 billion. In 1999, an estimated 5 million tourists visited the island, most from the United States. Nearly a third of these are cruise ship passengers. A steady increase in hotel registrations, which has been observed since 1998, and the construction of new hotels and new tourism projects, such as the Puerto Rico Convention Center, are indicators of the current strength of the tourism industry.
Puerto Ricans had a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate of $19,100 for 2006, which demonstrates a growth over the $14,412 level measured in the 2002 Current Population Survey by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. In that survey, Puerto Ricans had a 48.2% poverty rate. By comparison, the poorest State of the Union, Mississippi, had a median level of $21,587, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, 2002 to 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplements. Since 1952, the gap between Puerto Rico's per capita income and U.S. national levels has essentially remained unchanged — one third the U.S. national average and roughly half that of the poorest state. The United Nation's Human Development Index ranking is not regularly available for Puerto Rico, though the UN Development Program assigned it a .942 score in 1998, which would place it among the top 15 countries in the HDI rankings. (See List of countries by Human Development Index)
On May 1, 2006, the Puerto Rican government faced significant shortages in cash flows, which forced the closure of the local Department of Education and 42 other government agencies. All 1,536 public schools closed, and 95,762 people were furloughed in the first-ever partial shutdown of the government in the island's history. On May 10, 2006, the budget crisis was resolved with a new tax reform agreement, with plans to apply a temporary 1% tax input so that all government employees could return to work. On November 15, 2006 a 5.5% sales tax was implemented. Municipalities have the option of applying a municipal sales tax of 1.5% bringing the total sales tax to 7%.
Culture
Puerto Rican culture is a mix of four cultures, African (from the slaves), Taíno (Amerindians), Spanish, and, more recently, North American. From Africans, the Puerto Ricans have obtained the "bomba and plena", a type of music and dance including percussions and maracas. From the Amerindians (Taino's), Puerto Ricans have kept many names for their municipalities, foods, musical instruments like the güiro and maracas. Many words and other objects have originated from their localized language. From the Spanish they got the Spanish language, the Catholic religion and the vast majority of their cultural and moral values and traditions. From the United States they received the English language, the university system -- the University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1903, --five years after the island became part of the United States -- and a variety of hybrid cultural forms that developed between the United States mainland and the island of Puerto Rico.
The official symbols of Puerto Rico are the bird, Reinita mora (Spindalis portoricensis), the flower, Flor de Maga (Thespesia grandiflora), and the tree, Ceiba or Kapok (Ceiba pentandra). The unofficial favorite amphibian is the Coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui). Another popular unofficial symbol of Puerto Rico is the "jíbaro" , the "countryman" .
Puerto Rico has its own representatives in international beauty pageants including Miss World and Miss Universe. Puerto Rican beauty queens have won the Miss Universe pageant five times (1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006), second only to Miss USA, and the Miss World pageant once (1975). The island's contestant was first runner- up in the 2005 Miss Universe pageant and second runner- up in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant. The island's contestant was also second-runner up in the 2005 Miss World pageant, and held the title of Miss World Caribbean the same year.
Sports
Puerto Rico has an Olympic team in the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics, as well as international representation in many other sporting events including the Pan-American Games, of which, Mayaguez will host the upcoming 2010 event; and the Central American and Caribbean Games, and the Caribbean World Series. Puerto Rican athletes have won 6 medals (1 silver, 5 bronze) medals in Olympic competition, the first one in 1948 by boxer Juan Evangelista Venegas. Puerto Rican professional tennis player Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández won two gold medals in Olympic tennis doubles competitions representing the United States Olympic Team.
Although boxing, basketball, and volleyball are popular, traditionally baseball is the most popular sport. Puerto Rico has its own professional baseball league which operates as a winter league. No major league franchise or affiliate plays in Puerto Rico, however, San Juan hosted the Montreal Expos for several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. Puerto Rico has participated in the World Cup of Baseball winning 1 gold (1951), 4 silver and 4 bronze medals. Famous Puerto Rican boxers include Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto,Wilfredo Benitez, and Wilfredo Gomez . Puerto Rico despite being a little island have a long list of Boxing world champions compared with other countries and potences. Basketball players include Carlos Arroyo, Jose Juan Barea and Jose Piculin Ortiz.
August 8, 2004, became a landmark date for Puerto Rico's national Olympic team when the basketball team of Puerto Rico defeated the U.S. basketball team in Athens, Greece, the defending gold medalist and basketball powerhouse in Olympic play. On September 29, 2005, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium would be one of the sites of the opening round as well as the second round of the newly formed World Baseball Classic, a 16-country tournament featuring top players, which was held in San Juan in March 2006. Puerto Rico fielded its own team in that event, composed mostly of MLB players, which survived the opening round but was eliminated in the second round.
Professional wrestling has enjoyed much popularity in Puerto Rico for a long time. Matches have been televised since the 1960s, and multiple, non-televised matches are held each week across the island. The World Wrestling Council is the main wrestling promoter in Puerto Rico. Famous Puerto Rican wrestlers have included Barrabas, Carlos Colon and his son, Carlito, Los Invaders, Savio Vega, Pedro Morales, and Los Super Médicos. Many World Wrestling Entertainment stars, such as Randy Savage and Ric Flair have fought in Puerto Rico. Women's wrestling has been gaining popularity in Puerto Rico since the 1990s.
The Puerto Rico Islanders soccer team, founded in 2003, plays in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, which constitutes the second tier of soccer in North America.
Road running is a very popular sport and recreative activity across the island. Almost each weekend several road running events are held across the island. The most successful Puerto Rican road runner is Jorge "Peco" Gonzalez, who won several gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games and Pan American Games.
Transportation
Puerto Rico is connected by a system of freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by the Highways and Transportation Authority and patrolled by the Police of Puerto Rico. The island's metropolitan area is served by a public bus transit system and a metro system called Tren Urbano (in English: Urban Train). Other forms of public transportation include sea-born ferries (that serve Puerto Rico's archipielago, composed of various substantially-populated islands) as well as “Carros Públicos” (Mini Bus), similar to jitney service on the United States. The island's main airport, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, is located in Carolina, and serves the rest of the island as well as the Virgin Islands. The most recently renovated airport in the west of Puerto Rico is that of the former Ramey Military airbase in Aguadilla, Rafael Hernandez Airport, which has made it easier to explore the towns of the newly created tourism area known as "Porta del Sol." The main port of the island San Juan Port.
In what regards water-based transportation of any merchandise or persons shipped entirely or even partly by water between U.S. points—either directly or indirectly via one or any number of foreign points—U.S. Federal Law requires that said items or persons must travel in U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-citizen owned vessels that are U.S.-documented by the Coast Guard for such maritime “cabotage” carriage. This transportation/trade restriction is imposed on Puerto Rico per the Jones Act of 1920 (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). The Jones Act and various other United States laws that govern the domestic and domestic-foreign-domestic transportation of merchandise and passengers by water between two points in the United States, including Puerto Rico, have been extended to that island-territory since the initial years of United States’ claim over the sovereignty of the island.
Strictly construed, the Jones Act refers only to Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (46 U.S.C. 883; 19 CFR 4.80 and 4.80(b)), which has come to bear the name of its original sponsor, Sen. Wesley L. Jones. Another law that was enacted in 1886 requires essentially the same standards for the transport of passengers between U.S. points, directly or indirectly transported through foreign ports or foreign points (46 App. U.S.C. 289; 19 CFR 4.80(a)). However, since the mid-1980s, as part of a joint effort between the cruise-ship industry that serves Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican politicians such as then Resident Commissioner, U.S. non-voting Representative Baltasar Corrada del Río, obtained a limited-exception since no U.S. cruise ships that were Jones Act-eligible were participating in said market.
The application of these coastwise shipping laws and their imposition on Puerto Rico consist in a serious restriction of free trade and have been under scrutiny and controversy due to the apparent contradictory rhetoric involving the United States Government's sponsorship of free trade policies around the world, while its own national shipping policy (Cabotage Law) is essentially mercantilist and based on notions foreign to free-trade principles.
Further reading
External links
Puerto Rican government
Country profiles
Directories, news and travel
United Nations (U.N.) Declaration on Puerto Rico
Photos
