Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was then colonized by Spain in 1493 following the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers, but remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. An influx of African slaves and settlers primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the island. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to 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 indigenous, African, and European elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Image 1
"Mi Mayor Venganza" (transl. "My Greatest Revenge") is a song by Puerto Rican singer La India from her fifth studio album, Sobre el Fuego (1997). The song was written by Rodolfo Barreras and produced by Isidro Infante, and released as the album's second single in 1997 by RMM Records. It is a salsa song, in which La India tells the woman to keep the man who cheated on the artist out of revenge.
La India's vocals on "Mi Mayor Venganza" were praised by two music critics while another reviewer noted it has become an anthem with the salsa audience. It was a recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Latin Award in 2000 in the salsa category. Commercially, the song peaked at numbers four and one on the BillboardHot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States, respectively. An accompanying music video features La India performing at an empty theater. (Full article...)
Image 2
"A Puro Dolor" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican band Son by Four. It was written by Omar Alfanno and released as the first single of the second studio album of the band in 2000. Two versions of the track were produced by Oscar Llord for the album; one as a salsa and the other as a ballad. The ballad version was arranged by Alejandro Jaén.
The song reached number-one on Billboard Top Latin Songs chart, and became the longest running chart topper of its history, spending 20 weeks at the top; this record was broken five years later by Colombian singer Shakira with "La Tortura" which spent 25 weeks at number-one. "A Puro Dolor" also reached the Billboard 100; this led to the recording of an English-language version of the track "Purest of Pain", which was also charted in the United States. (Full article...)
Tropical Storm Karen was a weak tropical storm that impacted the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in September 2019. The twelfth tropical cyclone and eleventh named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, it originated from a tropical wave which entered the tropical Atlantic on September 14. The wave quickly organized as it neared the Windward Islands on September 20, becoming a tropical depression just two days later. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Karen later that day, as it moved across the southern Windward Islands. By 18:00 UTC that day, Karen had reached its first peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1,003 millibars (29.6 inHg). Karen weakened back to a tropical depression at 06:00 UTC on September 23. However, just 12 hours later, Karen re-intensified into a tropical storm. It then entered the central Atlantic, early the next day. Karen began to degrade on September 27, when it weakened into a tropical depression, due to strong wind shear. The system subsequently degenerated into a surface trough later that day.
Karen caused significant flooding and widespread power outages in Trinidad and Tobago. Damage on the island of Tobago reached $3.53 million (USD). Flooding and power outages also occurred in Puerto Rico where roughly 29,000 customers lost electricity. Only minimal impacts were reported in Venezuela, the remainder of the Windward Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. (Full article...)
Image 4
The United States Department of Defense has estimated that approximately 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the military during the Korean War, most of them volunteers. A total of 122 Puerto Ricansoldiers were among the 8,200 people listed as missing in action (MIA). According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are 167 who are unaccounted for. This list does not include non-Puerto Ricans who served in the 65th Infantry, nor those who were "POW" (Prisoners of War) or "KIA" (Killed in Action). Nor does the total of this list include people of Puerto Rican descent who were born in the mainland of the United States.
The 1985 Atlantic hurricane season had six United States landfalling hurricanes, tied with 1886 and 2020 for the highest number on record. The season officially began on June 1 and lasted until November 30. It was an average season, with 11 named storms developing. This was partially attributed to a La Niña – a meteorological phenomenon that produces favorable conditions across the Atlantic basin, such as lower wind shear and higher sea surface temperatures. The first storm, Ana, developed on July 15 near Bermuda and caused minor effects in Canada while transitioning into an extratropical cyclone. Three other tropical cyclones – Claudette, Henri, and Isabel – did not significantly affect land. Claudette developed offshore of the Southeastern United States and brushed Bermuda and the Azores. Henri and Isabel were dissipating as they approached land. However, the precursor of the latter caused a severe flood in Puerto Rico that killed 180 people. Additionally, Tropical Storm Fabian and three tropical depressions did not have any known impact on land.
Although several storms caused minimal effects, several tropical cyclones also left extensive impact. Hurricane Gloria, the strongest storm of the season, resulted in 14 fatalities and about $900 million (1985 USD) in damage in North Carolina, Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England. Hurricane Elena threatened the central Gulf Coast of the United States, then abruptly re-curved toward Florida. Unexpectedly, Elena doubled-back and struck Mississippi, resulting in two mass evacuations. The storm caused $1.3 billion in losses, with most of the damage in Louisiana and Mississippi. Similarly, Hurricane Juan caused $1.5 billion in damage due to its erratic track offshore and across Louisiana. Three other tropical cyclones – Hurricanes Bob, Danny, and Kate – caused moderate to extensive damage in Cuba and the United States. Overall, the tropical cyclones of this season collectively caused over $4.52 billion in damage and 60 deaths. (Full article...)
Image 6
Nicky Jam in 2019
Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known by his stage name Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as "X", "Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; the later three are from his 2017 album Fénix. He has frequently collaborated with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. While his early music exemplified traditional fast-paced reggaeton, his newer compositions place more emphasis on sung vocals and romantic lyrics.
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father, his family moved to Puerto Rico when he was ten years old. He began recording music at age fourteen with his first EP ...Distinto a los demás (1995), and eventually caught the attention of Daddy Yankee. The two formed the group Los Cangris, which was active from the late 1990s to 2004. The pair split acrimoniously and Nicky Jam's career quickly took a sharp decline, followed by a period of legal struggles and substance abuse. (Full article...)
Martínez grew up in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Not highly regarded as a prospect, he signed with the Mariners as a free agent in 1982, and was given a small signing bonus. He made his major league debut in 1987, but did not establish himself as a full-time player until 1990, at age 27. In the 1995 American League Division Series, he hit "The Double", which won the series and increased public support for Mariners baseball as they attempted to fund a new stadium. He continued to play until 2004, when injuries forced him to retire. (Full article...)
Image 8
Milagros Benet de Mewton (néeBenet Colón; 22 November 1868 – 26 December 1948) was a Puerto Rican educator, women's rights advocate and suffragist. Born into an intellectual, liberal family, Benet trained as a teacher. Inhabitants of the island gained U.S. citizenship in 1917, two decades after the United States acquired Puerto Rico from Spain in the Spanish–American War. Benet was active in the struggle for women's enfranchisement and joined the first suffragist organization Liga Femínea Puertorriqueña that year. When U.S. women gained the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1919, Benet led the push to extend its coverage to Puerto Rico. In 1924, she filed a lawsuit challenging the right of the electoral board to refuse to register women as they were U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled that states and territories have the right to determine who can vote and denied her claim.
Benet continued pressing through the Liga Social Sufragista for the filing of various bills, which continued to be rejected by the insular legislature. In 1928, she pushed for the U.S. Congress to resolve the discrepancies in voting rights for women in Puerto Rico. Faced with the possibility that the federal legislature might give women the right to vote, the Puerto Rican legislature finally passed a law in 1929 granting suffrage to literate women. Universal suffrage, eliminating the educational restrictions, was gained in 1936. Benet is remembered for her work in education and for expanding women's rights in Puerto Rico. (Full article...)
Rodríguez was awarded the ALMVP award in 1999. He won the 2003 World Series with the Florida Marlins and played in the 2006 World Series while with the Tigers. In 2009, he set an MLB record by catching his 2,227th game, passing Carlton Fisk. He had the best career caught-stealing percentage of any major league catcher, at 45.68% (versus a league average of 31%), and he had nine seasons with a caught-stealing rate of 50% or higher. Only one major league catcher (Yadier Molina) has more putouts. (Full article...)
"Da la Vuelta" (English: "Turn Around") is a song written by Emilio Estefan and Kike Santander and performed by American singer Marc Anthony. Produced by Anthony, Estefan, and Ángel "Cucco" Peña, it is a salsa track which deals with the singer letting go of his former lover. It is one of the three Spanish-language songs to be included on Anthony's 1999 self-titled album and was released as a promotional single in the same year.
Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Ricantenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame in the musical arts. Paoli has been recognized as "one of the most outstanding opera singers of all time," and as one who had "one of the most lyric and powerful voices...superior even to his contemporary rival, Enrico Caruso."
After spending his childhood in his birth city of Ponce, Paoli moved to Spain where, with the assistance of his well-connected sister Amalia, he obtained a royal scholarship to take singing lessons in Italy. After singing to standing ovation crowds in both Spain and Italy, Paoli made his grand debut in Paris, France, where he was encouraged to perform on the highest levels of the world stage. Before the end of the 19th century and while Paoli was still in his twenties, he went on a tour of Europe that earned him both popular acclaim, and imperial honors from princes, kings, and emperors. (Full article...)
Ángel Rivero Méndez (October 2, 1856 – February 23, 1930) was a Puerto Rican soldier, writer, journalist and a businessman. Rivero Méndez was a Captain in the Spanish Army during the Spanish–American War and is credited with ordering the first shot against the United States in Puerto Rico in said conflict. After the war, he became a US Citizen and upon his retirement, he wrote Crónica de la guerra hispano-americana en Puerto Rico, a chronicle of the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico. He is also credited with inventing a carbonated drink called Kola Champagne which is still sold today. (Full article...)
... that Dr. Mario R. García Palmieri, Cardiologist - García Palmieri is the first Hispanic to have the distinction of being designated a "Master" by the American College of Cardiology?[1]
... that Dr. Isaac González Martínez, urologist - was the first Puerto Rican urologist and a pioneer in the fight against cancer in the island?[2]
... that Fernando López Tuero Agricultural scientist and agronomist - discovered the bug (believed at first to be a germ) which was destroying Puerto Rico's sugar canes?[3]
... that Dr. Eduardo Santiago Delpín Surgeon - wrote the first book in Spanish about organ transplant?[4]
... that Dr. Diego R. Solís Physician - made Puerto Rican medical history when he performed the first simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in Puerto Rico?[5]
... that Dr. Ramón M. Suárez Calderón Scientist, cardiologist, educator and hematologist - carried out investigations that led to the identification of the proper and effective treatment of a type of anemia known as Tropical Espru, the application of complex methods, such as electrocardiography and radioisotope, to be used in clinics and the identification and treatment of the disease which causes heart rheumatism?[3]
... that Before Christopher Columbus and the SpanishConquistadors landed on the island of "Borikén" (Puerto Rico), the Taínos who inhabited the island depended on their astronomical observations for the cultivation of their crops?.[6]
... that The School of Tropical Medicine, was an educational institution created in 1926 by an act of the Puerto Rican Legislature, to further the research initiated by the Anemia Commissions and the Institute of Tropical Medicine on anemia and its causes? Did you also know that the institution existed as an independent entity until 1949, when it was integrated into the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico and its building is in the National Register of Historical Places?
... that Dr. Yajaira Sierra Sastre is the only Hispanic, selected to participate in a four-month long, Mars analog mission funded by NASA. Sierra Sastre aspires to become the first Puerto Rican woman to travel to outer space?[7]
Image 2"El desastre es la colonia" (the disaster is the colony), words seen on light meter six months after Hurricane Maria (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 3Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 7An 1899, caricature by Louis Dalrymple (1866–1905), showing Uncle Sam harshly lecturing four black children labelled Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Cuba (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 8El Imparcial headline: "Aviation (US) bombs Utuado" during Nationalist revolts. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 14Sugar cane workers resting at the noon hour, Rio Piedras. Photograph by Jack Delano, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. Ca. 1941. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 15Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 16The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 25The 45-star flag, used by the United States during the invasion of Puerto Rico, was also the official flag of Puerto Rico from 1899 to 1908. (from History of Puerto Rico)
I am concerned that many young people in this Hemisphere seem to envision the United States as a nation intoxicated by power, addicted to warfare, controlled by a military-industrial complex, and determined to preserve the status quo, that we are against rapid economic and social growth...
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!