PUERTO RICO Presentation

8/3/2019 PUERTO RICO Presentation

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Puerto Rico is translated to mean ´RichPortµ.

Capital: San Juan (Saint John)

Puerto Rico is the easternmost island of theGreat Antilles.

It is 1600 Km southeast of Florida and about965 Km north of Caracas, Venezuela.

The U.S. Virgin Islands lie about 65 Km to theeast of Puerto Rico.



Puerto Rico is believed to have been settledin the 1st Century AD by the Tainos.

By 1508, the Island was being settled by theSpanish. This quickly led to the depletion ofthe native population.

After exploiting the native population, Spainstarted to import enslaved Africans to workon plantations in Puerto Rico. This also led toa diversified ethnic strata in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico remained a Spanish colony for

almost four centuries.

After many years of oppressive rule by theSpaniards, the United States invaded PuertoRico in 1898.



Puerto Rico was ceded to the U.S. followingthe Spanish-American War (1898) by means

of the Treaty of Paris. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S.

citizenship.



Created 1895 by the Puerto Rican section ofthe Cuban Revolutionary Party.

The design is the same as the Cuban flag, but

with the colors inverted.



The blood that

nourishes thebranches ofgovernment

The RepublicanGovernment

The Commonwealthof Puerto Rico

Individualliberty and

rights



The major symbolism of the Coat of Armsrelates to the dominance of Spain, the strongCatholic influence in the region, and the

integrity of Puerto Rico as a colony of Spain. The first Coat of Arms was granted in 1511,

but it was re-adopted in 1976.



The green background represents the island's vegetation.The Lamb of God and cross flag on the shield are symbolstraditionally associated with St. John the Baptist, patron

of the island. The book with the seven seals on which thelamb sits represents symbolism from the Book of Revelation, generally attributed to St. John the Apostle.

The border is made up of 16 different elements: castlesand lions to represent the Kingdom of Castile and theKingdom of León, a flag with the arms of the Crown ofCastile and León, and The Cross of Jerusalem to stand for

the Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose succession rights passedto the Kingdom of Sicily, and henceforth to the SpanishCrown.

The gold-crowned F and the arrows (Spanish: flechas)represent Ferdinand II of Aragon, while the Y and the yokerepresent Ysabel, ie., Isabella I of Castile who were the

Catholic monarchs when Puerto Rico was discovered. The Latin motto, "JOANNES EST NOMEN EJUS" (a quotation

from the Vulgate of Luke 1:63), means "John is his name",referring to St. John the Baptist or San Juan Bautista, theoriginal name of the island.



The Economy of Puerto Rico is one of the most, if not the most diver se of all thecountr ies in the Car ibbean region. Until the late 1940s Plantation sugar production was the mainstay of Puerto R ico's economy, mostly for export to the Amer ican market,followed by coffee and to bacco. Sugar production however soon declined due tounfavoura ble pr ices as well as several other factor s affecting the agr icultural industry at

the time. Soon the Puerto R ican economy began to feel the blunt of a decliningagr icultural sector and attention was directed to dairy production and then tomanufactur ing, which now constitutes a whopping 60% of the country¶s GDP. Today,agr iculture accounts for only 3% of la bor force and less than 1% of GDP, concentrating

pr imar ily to crops which can be sold in the United States. Coffee is the most valua blecrop, followed by vegeta bles, sugar cane, fruits (pineapples, plantains, bananas), milk,eggs, and livestock (cattle, chickens, pork ).

Manufactur ing became the main industry in the country as it was seen at the time as theonly means by which the country¶s economy could flour ish. There was also the notion

that countr ies that depended on agr iculture were underdeveloped and those thatdepended on industry considered developed. As a result the government initiated andinvested heavily in an industr ialization program referred to as ³Operation Bootstrap.´Under this program the island was to become industr ialized by providing la bor locally,inviting investment of external capital, importing the raw mater ials, and exporting thef inished products to the U.S. market. To entice partici pation, tax exemptions anddifferential rental rates for industr ial buildings were offered. As a result, Puerto R ico's economy shifted la bour from agr iculture to manufactur ing and tour ism. Overtimehowever there has been a move from la bour intensive industr ies such as the

manufactur ing of food, to bacco and leather to more capital intensive industr ies such as machinery, chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, textiles and electronics. Other importantindustr ies include petrochemicals, processed foods and clothing. The latter beingconcentrated mainly in the capital, San Juan andMayagüez. Other important industr ies include tour ism, which generates a considera ble amount of income for the islander s,with an estimated arr ival of approximately 4.2 million tour ists per year and 7% of theisland¶s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Major ity of the tour ists that visit the countryare from the United States of Amer ica



The Government of Puerto Rico is a republicanform of government subject to U.S. jurisdictionand sovereignty. Its current powers are alldelegated by the United States Congress andlack full protection under the United StatesConstitution. Puerto Rico's head of state is thePresident of the United States.

The Government is composed of three branches:the executive, the legislative, and the judicialbranches. The executive branch is headed by the

Governor, currently Mr. Luis Fortuño. Thelegislative branch consists of a bicameralLegislative Assembly made up of a Senate upperchamber and a House of Representatives lowerchamber.



The Roman Catholic Church has historically been thedominant religion in Puerto Rico, with about 85percent of Puerto Ricans claiming to be Catholic.

There is about 8% claiming to be Protestants, non

religious (2.3%), and others (3%).Churches of many denominations can be foundthroughout the island.Some islanders ascribe to spiritualism (espiritismo),and others practice Santeria, an Afro-Caribbeanbelief system brought to Puerto Rico from Cuba.There is also a small Jewish community.

There is also a small Jewish community.

There are over 5,000 Muslims in Puerto Rico,representing about 0.10% of the population.



Dress Traditional dress in Puerto Rico is similar to other

Caribbean islanders. Men wear baggy pantalons (trousers)and a loose cotton shirt known as a guayaberra. Forcertain celebrations, women wear colorful dresses ortrajes that have African influence.

Language Spanish is the language of the people of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Ricans speak proper Castillian Spanish, which isderived from ancient Latin. The main difference between

the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken inPuerto Rico is pronunciation.

English is taught as a secondary language in Puerto Rico'spublic school system.



Puerto Rican cuisine is tasty and nutritious

and consists mainly of seafood and tropicalisland vegetables, fruits, and meats.Although herbs and spices are used in greatabundance, Puerto Rican cuisine is not spicyin the sense of peppery Mexican cuisine.Native dishes are often inexpensive, thoughthey require some skill in preparation.

Although Puerto Rican cooking is somewhatsimilar to both Spanish, Cuban and Mexicancuisine, it is a unique tasty blend of Spanish,African, Taíno, and American influences,using such indigenous seasonings andingredients as coriander, papaya, cacao,nispero, apio, plantains, and yampee. Localscall their cuisine "cocina criolla.



Puerto Rican music is polyrhythmic, blending intricate and complexAfrican percussion with melodic Spanish beats. The traditional PuertoRican group is a trio, made up of a q auttro (an eight-stringed nativePuerto Rican instrument similar to a mandolin); a guitarra, or guitar; anda basso, or bass. Larger bands have trumpets and strings as well asextensive percussion sections in which maracas, guiros, and bongos areprimary instruments.

Although Puerto Rico has a rich folk music tradition, fast-tempoed salsamusic is the most widely known indigenous Puerto Rican music.Themerengue, another popular native Puerto Rican dance, is a fast step inwhich the dancers' hips are in close contact.

Santos, an especially beloved form of folk art, evolved from the Spanishchurch's use of sculptures to convert indigenous Puerto Ricans toChristianity. Meaning "saintsµ in Spanish, santos depict figures of saintsand other religious icons. The artisan created santos from native wood,clay, and stone. After shaping simple effigies, they often finish bypainting them in vivid colors. Traditionally, santos were seen asmessengers between the earth and Heaven. As such, they occupied aspecial place on household altars, where people prayed to them, askedfor help, or tried to summon their protection.

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