Puerto Rico

Name of Student

Spanish 1

​
 Flag

Created by reversing the colors of the Cuban flag

The white star represents the commonwealth

The white stripes stand for human rights and freedom

of the individual

The red stripes and points of the triangle stand for the
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the
government
Maps
 Facts at a Glance

●​ Population: 3.26 million

●​ Caribbean island that is an unincorporated

territory of the United States

●​ Capital: San Juan

●​ Religion: Catholic

●​ Primary resources: copper, nickel, oil, sugarcane,

coffee, bananas, and pineapples

●​ Government: a self-governing commonwealth and

territory of the United States

●​ Currency: US dollar

●​ National animal: coqui (a small tree frog)

●​ Leader: Joe Biden

 ​
Introduction

I will be writing about Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a beautiful

island in the Caribbean. It is also the only place in Central

America that is part of the United States and shares our

government and president. There are many reasons to be

interested in Puerto Rico. I am looking forward to learning about

the culture, food, and beliefs of the Puerto Rican people. I hope

that someday I will be able to visit there also.

 Landscapes/Tourist Attractions

Puerto Rico is 60% mountains, with 4 mountain ranges

formed from volcanic activity. There are beautiful white sandy

beaches surrounding the island. There is one big island, but there

are also some small islands surrounding Puerto Rico. One side of

Puerto Rico touches the Atlantic Ocean, and the other side

touches the Caribbean. Old San Juan is the most popular tourist

attraction with historic buildings, cobblestone streets, and many

restaurants and shops. El Yunque Rainforest is the only tropical

rainforest that is part of the US National Parks system. It has

many waterfalls, unique birds, and over 240 types of trees.

 Music

Bad Bunny is one of Puerto Rico's favorite artists/singers. He

is the first non-English language act to be Spotify's most

streamed artist of the year. He had over 18.5 billion streams in

2022. Bad Bunny has won 3 Grammys and his album, Un Verano

Sin Ti, is the first Spanish-language album to earn a Grammy

nomination for Album of the Year. Bad Bunny got his name from a

childhood nickname that he thought would make people

remember him. In addition to music, he is also involved in acting

and professional wrestling. He is one of the most famous Puerto

Rican celebrities right now.

 ​
Sports ​
​

The people of Puerto Rico are big fans of sports. Puerto

Rico's main sport is baseball. It has deep historical and cultural

roots to the island. Baseball arrived on the island in the late 1800s

through Cuban immigrants. The first game was played in San

Juan’s Santurce neighborhood, and the two teams were called

the Almendares and the Borinquen. U.S. Army soldiers, who were

stationed on the island, also started their own baseball team

during the early 1900s and played against the native Puerto Rican

teams. Baseball has become a symbol of national pride and many

famous MLB players are from Puerto Rico, the first being Roberto

Clemente.
 Food​

In Puerto Rico, there is a wide variety of food. One of the

most popular foods in PR is the empanada. The empanada is a

small pocket of dough filled with ground beef and potatoes. It is

folded over into a half moon shape and pressed together. Then

they are fried or baked. It’s basically the original Hot Pocket.

Empanadas have 2 important ingredients. The first is called

sofrito which is onions, garlic, peppers, and coriander sauteed in

olive oil. The second important ingredient is achiote which is a

sweet, earth spice. Empanadas can also have shrimp or lobster

inside. They are very popular and found in bakeries or restaurants

all over the island.

 Recipe
​

Mini Empanadillas (Puerto Rican Beef Turnovers)​

This is an authentic recipe of Puerto Rican Beef Turnovers. They are
full of flavor with a flaky outside.

Ingredients:​
​
​ ​ ​ Dough

●​ 2 cups all-purpose white flour

●​ 1 teaspoon salt
●​ 1 stick of butter (cold)
●​ 1 egg
●​ 3/4 or a cup of cold water​
​
​ ​ Beef Filling​

●​ 2 lbs of ground beef

●​ Adobo (or salt & pepper)- found in the Latino products
aisle
●​ 1/4 cup of Sofrito- same as above
●​ 1 small envelope of Sazon- same as above
●​ 2 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)
●​ 1/2 of an onion diced
●​ 1/2 green pepper diced
●​ 1/2 red pepper diced
●​ 1 small potato diced
●​ 1 cup of tomato sauce
Instructions:

Dough -

1.​Mix flour, salt, butter (slice up the stick of butter first) and
egg with a food processor or mixer. Start adding water
slowly until you get a nice stretchy dough consistency.
2.​The dough shouldn't be sticky, if it is, add more flour to the
mix. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
This step is not absolutely necessary, but it does make the
dough easier to work with.​

Beef Filling -

1.​Season ground beef with Adobo to desired taste, add chopped

garlic cloves and brown the meat in a skillet. You may also use
salt and pepper instead of Adobo if you prefer.
2.​Once meat is cooked add Sofrito, Sazon, tomato sauce, onions,
green peppers, red peppers and potatoes. Let it simmer until
potatoes are tender.
3.​Take your dough and roll it out with a rolling pin. Make sure to
sprinkle flour on the surface, your rolling pin and hands to
prevent the dough from sticking. Once your roll the dough out,
use a cup or a round cookie cutter to cut circular shapes.
4.​Place a spoonful of beef filling on the dough and fold it shut.
5.​My favorite method for sealing empanadillas is to use a fork.
Simply press on the edge with a fork on both sides and you're
done.
6.​Fry each side of the empanadilla in hot oil. Simply remove when
the empanadilla gets a light golden color.
 ​

Holidays

In Puerto Rico, holidays are celebrated a little differently than

in the United States. Christmas is called La Navidad in Puerto

Rico. Christmas in Puerto Rico starts around Thanksgiving and

ends January 6th. Puerto Rico is known for having the longest

holiday seasons in the world. Christmas Eve is the night families

gather for a traditional dinner, exchange gifts, and drive around

town to see the Christmas decor. They put up their tree right after

Thanksgiving and take it down around mid January. This makes

the island feel more magical during the holiday season.

 ​
Animals and Wildlife

Puerto Rico is home to many exotic species, however Puerto

Rico does not have very many mammals. It has over 200 different

birds and is more populated by aquatic animals, amphibians, and

reptiles. This is because Puerto Rico is an island and was also

formed from an underground volcano which limits the amount of

native mammals it can have. The coquí or tree frog is Puerto

Rico’s national animal. The name comes from the sound it makes

at night when it searching for insects. Bats are the only native

mammals left in Puerto Rico today.

 Current Event

On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, there was a drive-by

shooting at a streetside bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Five people

were killed and 4 others were in critical condition. Law

enforcement believe the shooting was connected to drug

trafficking. A 35 year old suspected drug dealer was killed in the

shooting, and authorities think he was the target. No one has

been arrested for the crime yet. At least 74 killings have occurred

in Puerto Rico this year.

 Crime

In 2023 Puerto Rico had an estimated 17.2 homicides per

100,000 people. This was a decrease from the previous year. The

peak was 20.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. According to

the FBI there are 370.3 violent crimes per 100,000 people in

Puerto Rico. This is about 40% lower than the national average in

the United States. Poverty is one of the factors contributing to the

crime rates, with nearly half the population living below the

poverty line.

​
 How God is Working in Puerto Rico​

In 1910 100% of the Puerto Rican population claimed to be

Catholic. Now, just over 100 years later, that number has gone

down 56%. Many of the non-Catholic Christians are Pentecostals.

There has been a huge rise in “word of faith” and “prosperity

gospel” kinds of churches and ministries, and some people

believe that false teaching is a danger to the Puerto Rican church.

Even though the Catholic church has decreased in popularity

there, Christianity is still very strong and abundant in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico’s spiritual identity has evolved a lot and is still

growing and changing. God is working because those that have

believed a false or weak gospel have moved on and left room for

the people who are wanting to know the real truth about Jesus

Christ.
 ​
Conclusion​
​

​ I was attracted to Puerto Rico because even though it’s a

part of the United States, I have never been there and the

pictures make it seem beautiful and exciting. The main thing that

stood out to me was the culture of Puerto Rico, which is more

diverse than most cultures I’ve been around in the United States.

But something that stood out to me is that Puerto Rico was

formed from a volcano, which is why there are not very many

mammals there. I think Puerto Ricans live a very different lifestyle

and seem more content with the bare minimum that they have,

which has opened my eyes to be more grateful. I would like to

visit there someday to enjoy the beautiful beaches, see the

amazing birds, and learn about the people there.

 ​
Works cited

Facts and Stats:​

[Link]
d=2ahUKEwiUzMuAsdiBAxWdlIkEHRrYA-cQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=puerto+ri
co+cartoon+map&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIGCAAQCBAeOggIABCABBCxAz
oFCAAQgAQ6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOgYIABAFEB46BAgAEB5Q8AJY2yZ
g_yhoBHAAeACAAYQCiAG9HJIBBjAuMjMuMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aX
otaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=LkAbZZT9E52pptQPmrCPuA4&bih=726&bi
w=1440&hl=en#imgrc=5aul-f6wsY0ObM

[Link]
o+rico&aqs=chrome.0.0i355i512j46i512j0i512l2j69i64j0i512l3.3019j0j7&so
urceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Landscape/Tourist Attractions:

[Link]
-rico/#:~:text=Puerto%20Rico%20has%20three%20main,Luquillo%2C%20
and%20Sierra%20de%20Bermeja.

[Link]
~~random~1
​

Food:
[Link]
e-try-ever-right-now/

[Link]
o-try-at-least-once/
[Link]

Holidays:

[Link]
text=Puerto%20Rico%20takes%20pride%20in,also%20known%20as%20la
%20SanSe.

Sports:

[Link]

[Link]

[Link]
erto-rico

Art/Music/Theater

[Link]
rt%C3%ADnez%20Ocasio%20(born,list%20from%202020%20to%202022.

Animals

[Link]

[Link]
ext=When%20you%20think%20of%20a,t%20have%20many%20endemic
%20mammals.
​
Current event

[Link]
d5caf5b7891c49181892ccf8a0

Crime ​

[Link]
t=In%202023%2C%20Puerto%20Rico%20recorded,every%20year%20in%
20Puerto%20Rico.

[Link]

How God is Working

[Link]

[Link]
o-and-latin-america/