Puerto Rico

Even though Puerto Rico is technically a U.S. territory, its culture is completely distinct from that of the mainland United States. It is the only U.S. territory which has Spanish as an official language. As a territory, immigration to the US is much more accessible for Puerto Ricans than other Latin Americans. Additionally, devastating natural disasters as well as government debt have driven many Puerto Ricans to move to Florida or other parts of the US. Puerto Rico is a majority Catholic, with a Protestant population following close behind. Puerto Ricans are mostly made up of people with Taino, European, and African heritage with more than 60% having an indigenous maternal ancestor. The capital of Puerto Rico is San Juan, where the intricacies of Puerto Rican culture are on full display. In Old San Juan, the country’s colorful post-colonial architecture is on full display, and many restaurants are found serving mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish made up of plantains and meat. Among the youth, fast food has grown a lot in popularity. Puerto Rico plays a prominent role in music worldwide. Bad Bunny, the most famous Latin artist in the world, hails from Puerto Rico. The salsa is a popular dance form in Puerto Rico too, showing an overlap with Cuban culture in that respect. Similarly, Latin jazz is a popular art form, as well as merengue. Baseball is the predominant sport in Puerto Rico, with Roberto Clemente, one of the greatest players of all time, coming from the island. Puerto Rico’s economy is driven by the production of pharmaceuticals and other chemical products and their daily schedule is much more akin to that of the US than their Latin American brethren. A big cultural celebration in Puerto Rico is Three Kings Day, which is given more importance than Christmas and is the day in which children are given gifts, often during parades and marches throughout the cities. The vast majority of Puerto Ricans live in urban areas and the education system is pretty robust, taking after the US in many aspects. Still, the dropout rate is relatively high regardless of high government spending on education. The healthcare system has improved dramatically in the last half-century by bringing better resources to rural communities and upgrading various amenities. The first loyalty of Puerto Ricans is respecting their elders, so seeking their parents’ admiration is Puerto Rican children’s solemn duty. The suburbs have grown extensively in Puerto Rico, but life still revolves around the cities, especially for leisure. Accordingly, American-style shopping malls have grown and almost two-thirds of Puerto Ricans own a home. Puerto Rican Spanish, also known as "Boricua," has many distinct characteristics given that Puerto Rico is an isolated island nation in the Caribbean. The dialect has roots in Taíno and Sevillian languages. In terms of pronunciation, the letter "r" is often dropped at the end of a syllable, and sometimes omitted entirely. Instead of this, an "l" sound can be distinguished. Also, the letter "j" is pronounced like an English "h". Additionally, the letter "s" in words like "estar" can be aspirated. Consequently, "estoy" makes the sound of "'toy." In addition, "n" at the end of words is typically velarized. Between syllables, "d" and "r" sounds can often be dropped too. A common greeting in Puerto Rico is "wepa", while the phrase "¡Ay Bendito!" is used similarly to "Oh my God!" in English. "mamey" is used to indicate the facility of something, and "bichote" means "big shot." In grammar, the subject pronoun can come before the verb in some questions. Another key tendency is the use of "ahorita," meaning "right now". As a whole, Puerto Rican Spanish has many English influences, given the nation is still a territory of the US.