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Portal:Puerto Rico

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The Puerto Rico Portal

Location of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico (Spanish for 'rich port'; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing Caribbean archipelago and island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States under the designation of commonwealth. Located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Lesser Antilles, it consists of the eponymous main island and numerous smaller islands, including Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. With approximately 3.2 million residents, it is divided into 78 municipalities, of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan, followed by those within the San Juan metropolitan area. Spanish and English are the official languages of the government, though Spanish predominates.

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of Amerindian peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was claimed by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493 and subsequently colonized by Juan Ponce de León in 1508. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers into the 18th century but remained a Spanish possession for the next 400 years. The decline of the indigenous population, followed by an influx of Spanish settlers, primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia, and African slaves vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the archipelago. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategically significant role compared to larger and wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of European, African, and indigenous elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and can move freely between the archipelago and the mainland. However, residents of Puerto Rico are disenfranchised from federal elections and generally do not pay federal income tax. In common with four other territories, Puerto Rico sends a nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress, called a Resident Commissioner, and participates in presidential primaries; as it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the U.S. Congress, which oversees it under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. Congress approved a territorial constitution in 1952, allowing residents of the archipelago to elect a governor in addition to a senate and house of representatives. The political status of Puerto Rico is an ongoing debate.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the U.S. government, together with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, launched a series of economic projects to develop Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income economy. It is classified by the International Monetary Fund as a developed jurisdiction with an advanced, high-income economy; it ranks 40th on the Human Development Index. The major sectors of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, primarily pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and electronics, followed by services, namely tourism and hospitality. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: Mtmelendez

City halls in Puerto Rico, such as the one in Ponce, are usually the centerpieces of each Municipality's town center. Most are located across the town plaza, and are frequented by the public and tourists alike.

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The Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro, previously known as Cementerio Antiguo de Ponce (looking north)

The Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro (English: Román Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon) is a tract of land in Barrio Segundo of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, originally designed as the city's cemetery, but later converted into what has come to be a famous burial place. Established in 1842, it is Puerto Rico's first (and only) national pantheon. It is the only cemetery dedicated as a museum in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Prior to being dedicated as a Panteón Nacional, it was known as Cementerio Viejo or as Cementerio Antiguo de Ponce, and is listed under that name on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Pantheon is named after Román Baldorioty de Castro, a prolific Puerto Rican politician, and firm believer of Puerto Rican autonomy and independence. His remains are located here. The Pantheon also houses a small museum about the history of autonomism in the Island, and it is currently used both as a park and a venue for the expression of culture and the arts. It is called the Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño.

Prior to being turned into a National Pantheon in 1991, it was known as Antiguo Cementerio de Ponce (Ponce's Old Cemetery), to differentiate it from the newer (though now also over 100 years old) Cementerio Civil de Ponce (Ponce Civil Cemetery). Built in 1842, after the design of Antonio Torruella, the cemetery was enlarged in 1864, following the design of Nieto Blajol Iglesia. It closed in 1918. (Full article...)

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Daddy Yankee in 2015

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez[a] (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton", he is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers. He retired on December 3, 2023, after completing his final stage performance on his "La Meta" tour in Puerto Rico.

Ayala was born in Río Piedras and was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects neighborhood. He aspired to be a professional baseball player and tried out for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton artist DJ Playero. Ayala spent roughly a year and a half recovering from the wound; the bullet was never removed from his hip, and he credits the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career. (Full article...)

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History topics
The flag being removed from a building
  • ... that after the Spanish–American War and up to 1904, Puerto Ricans were considered as "aliens" in the United States?[1]
  • ... that the public display of the Puerto Rican Flag was once considered a felony (from 1892 to 1954) and that anyone who did so could end up in jail?
  • ... that in 1906, Theodore Roosevelt, the first US President to travel outside the United States, made a stop in Puerto Rico (thus, becoming the first president to visit the island) and that he stayed overnight in Ponce?[2]
  • ... that in 1914, the Revenue Cutter USS Algonquin (1897), which was stationed in the Caribbean, set sail with a crew of fifteen Hispanic-Americans (a fourth of the cutter's complement) to San Juan, Puerto Rico to assist the Puerto Ricans battling fires that threatened to destroy parts of that city? In 1915, the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico, paid tribute to the crew of the cutter Algonquin and presented them with an Official Resolution of Thanks.[3]
  • ... that Fort San Felipe del Morro was designated a World Heritage Site (a list that includes sites such as the Taj Mahal) by the United Nations in 1983, and a National Historical site by the United States?
  • ... that Puerto Rico has never had a civil war?
  • ... that even though Puerto Rico has never been an independent country, there is a Puerto Rican citizenship? Puerto Rican citizenship was first legislated by the U.S. Congress in Article 7 of the Foraker Act of 1900 and later recognized by the Puerto Rican constitution.[4][5]
  • ... that on October 29, 1950, the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party revolted against US rule in Puerto Rico and that uprisings were held in various cities and towns in the island in what is known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party revolts of the 1950s?[6]
  • ... that in 1948, Luis Muñoz Marín presided over the Puerto Rican legislature which was controlled by the PPD and that they approved the infamous "Ley de la Mordaza" known as Puerto Rico's Gag Law and that it became law with the signature of the United States-appointed governor Jesús T. Piñero? Did you also know that the law made it a crime to own or display a Puerto Rican flag, to sing a patriotic tune, to speak or write of independence, or to meet with anyone, or hold any assembly, with regard to the political status of Puerto Rico, violating the First Amendment of the US Constitution?[7]
  • ... that according to the United States Supreme Court, Puerto Rico belongs to but is not part of the United States?[8]

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The following are images from various Puerto Rico-related articles on Wikipedia.

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On Wikipedia, anyone can edit. So if you're interested in Puerto Rico and its related subjects and articles, feel free to add and edit current content or start a new article. After all, the Wikipedia community encourages all readers and users to be bold in updating pages. If you're unsure on where to start, you can choose any of the open tasks listed below. The Puerto Rico WikiProject thanks you!

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Sources

  1. ^ Journal of American Ethnic History[dead link]
  2. ^ Roosevelt travels to Panama
  3. ^ "Hispanic-Americans & The U.S. Coast Guard". U.S. Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2010
  4. ^ (Spanish) Ley Orgánica Foraker del 12 de Abril de 1900. LexJuris
  5. ^ Race, Racism and the Law
  6. ^ Law Library Microform Consortium[dead link]
  7. ^ La Gobernación de Jesús T. Piñero y la Guerra Fría
  8. ^ https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6444&context=faculty_scholarship
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Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ayala and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.