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Theculture ofPuerto Rico is the result of a number of internal and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's richhistory and help create an identity that is uniquely Puerto Rican -Taíno (Native American), Spanish, African, and North American.[1][2]
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A subgroup of the Arawakan aboriginals, a group of Native Americans in northeastern South America, inhabited the Greater Antilles, but Puerto Rico was inhabited predominantly byTainos. At the time Juan Ponce de León took possession of the Island, there were about twenty Taino villages, calledyucayeque. It is believed[by whom?][citation needed] that Taíno settlements ranged from single families to groups of 3,000 people.
At their arrival the Spaniards expected the Taíno Indians to acknowledge the sovereignty of the king of Spain by payment of gold tribute, to work and supply provisions of food and to observe Christian ways. The Taínos rebelled, most notably in 1511, when several caciques (Indian leaders) conspired to oust the Spaniards. They were joined in this uprising by their traditional enemies, the Caribs. Their weapons, however, were no match against Spanish horses and firearms and the revolt was soon ended brutally by the Spanish forces of GovernorJuan Ponce de León.
As a result, Taíno culture, language, and traditions were generally decimated, and vanished 20 years afterChristopher Columbus arrived. Since the early 20th century, efforts have been made to revive and rebuild Taíno culture.[3]
The Taínos, far more than the Caribs, contributed to the everyday life and language that evolved during the Spanish occupation. Taíno place names are still used for such towns asUtuado,Mayagüez,Caguas, andHumacao, among others.
Many Taíno implements and techniques were copied directly by the Europeans, including thebohio (straw hut) and the hamaca (hammock), the musical instrument known as the maracas, and the method of making cassava bread. Many Taino words persist in the Puerto Rican vocabulary of today. Names of plants, trees and fruits includes: maní, leren, ají, yuca, mamey, pajuil, pitajaya, cupey, tabonuco and ceiba. Names of fish, animals and birds include:mucaro, guaraguao, iguana, cobo, carey, jicotea, guabina, manati, buruquena and juey. As well as other objects and instruments:güiro, bohío, batey, caney, hamaca, nasa, petate, coy, barbacoa, batea, cabuya, casabe andcanoa. Other words were passed not only into Spanish, but also into English, such as huracan (hurricane) and hamaca (hammock). Also, many Taíno superstitions and legends were adopted and adapted by the Spanish and still influence the Puerto Rican imagination.
The most profound European influence is that of Spain, the island's colonizer.[2] There are also Italian and Sicilian influences, among others.[4][5] Spanish influence is the most notable of all cultural influences in Puerto Rican culture. Spanish heritage has left an indelible mark on the island, and signs of this cultural exchange can be found everywhere, from the Colonial architecture and official language to the island'sliterature andlocal culinary styles. As far back as the 16th century, the Spanish built a series of massive defense structures to protectOld San Juan and its bay from other invaders.[6] Parts ofOld San Juan andLa Fortaleza are nowUNESCO World Heritage Sites.[7]
The culture of European countries has also influenced the development of the performing arts on the island, especially in music. Many of the island's musical genres have their origins in the Spanish culture, which is responsible for such genres of music asdecima,seis,danza, andmambo.[citation needed]
Rooster fighting is a sport that has been part of the Puerto Rican culture for centuries. In 1845,Manuel Alonso, in his bookEl Gíbaro, wrote that maybe abarrio could lack a church, but no barrio of Puerto Rico lacked acockfighting venue. The sport was passed in families, from generation to generation. There are 71 official venues and hundreds of thousands of people attend events each year.[8] InDaddy Yankee's video forBarrio Fino a cockfight can be seen. In December 2019, cockfighting again became illegal in Puerto Rico, but GovernorWanda Vázquez Garced asked for a reprieve stating the industry brings in $9 million each year and people employed in the industry would be left destitute.[9]
With the introduction of slavery to the colony, the island experienced an influx of Africans who brought with them the cultural influences of their own tribes. These influences are evident in the fields of dance and music, such as labomba, laplena, and most recently inreggaeton, which is an Afro-Caribbean based Puerto Rican genre, as well as influences inPuerto Rican Spanish, and Puerto Rican cuisine.
The presence ofAfrican diasporic religions, such asSanteria, is due to African influence. More subtle ties also exist, such as those that connect Puerto Rico's literary history with the rich African tradition of oralstorytelling. Also, all Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino, and African American cultural influences from the United States, neighboring Caribbean islands, and Puerto Rico itself, are largely African in origin.
The shared African heritage of many Caribbean nations is reflected in cultural pursuits like dance, as well as in local culinary styles. Most regional influences are Latino and Afro-Caribbean. The neighboring islands that have been the most influenced by Puerto Rico's dance and music areCuba, theDominican Republic, andJamaica.Panama has shared creating great passionateSpanish Reggae with its origins in Puerto Rico, the Spanish language version of Jamaican Reggae. Eventuallyreggaeton, a Puerto Rican break-off of original Spanish reggae, became very popular throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, the US and Spain.
Puerto Rican artists helped createSalsa music with Cuban artists, and also helped Dominican artists with the development ofMerengue. RecentHaitian and Dominican immigration has been producing many new cultural influences. Significant cultural exchange has been evident between Puerto Rico and theUS Virgin Islands, especially the islands ofSt. Croix,Vieques, andCulebra, such asPuerto Rican style Patois mixed with Spanish.
A number of Latin American countries have also exerted influence on Puerto Rico's cultural identity. In the filmmaking community, co-productions between Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries have created an exchange of ideas and influenced their film conventions. For instance, the Latin sense of humor and fantastical elements are evident in Puerto Rican films.
Culturally, Puerto Rican sentiment for the U.S. tends to vary between emulation and opposition, a result of the complicated socio-political relationship between the two. Since establishment as anunincorporated territory of theUnited States in 1898, traditional economics, social structure, nationalism, and culture in Puerto Rico has been affected by Puerto Rico's relationship with the U.S.[10]
Before the United States captured Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898, the colony was agriculture based. Most worked on sugar cane, tobacco, or coffee plantations.[11] Through the beginning of the 20th century, Puerto Ricans remained agricultural. Operation Bootstrap, an operation of the United States and thePuerto Rico Economic Development Administration, began in 1942 and was put in place to transform Puerto Rico into an industrial colony. Government owned factories were built to shift development to industrial factory work and, eventually, education of the factory work force.[12] One of the effects of the growth of Puerto Rican industry changed the outlook on familial social structure. The United States ideal of small, patriarchal families also impacted the contemporary Puerto Rican family structure in policy. In an attempt to demolish poverty in shantytowns, the Puerto Rico Housing Authority established public housing by example of United States policy.[13] The public housing further disenfranchised the large multi-generation family by dividing nuclear families into public, single-family dwellings. Links to extended family are still an important aspect to the culture of Puerto Rican family structure, however, they have been significantly weakened.[14]
The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico makes national identity complicated. Puerto Ricans maintain United States citizenship while aligning with a uniquely Puerto Rican heritage. Although the island's culture is not heterogeneous, Puerto Rico establishes several binary oppositions to the United States: American identity versus Puerto Rican identity, English language versus Spanish language, Protestant versus Catholic, and British heritage versus Hispanic heritage.[15]
Moreover, with the growing influence of the United States, some Puerto Ricans feel they are gradually losing their culture and identity, fearing a similar scenario to that ofHawaii. There, "the indigenous peoples were pushed aside, their culture was marginalized, except for a selling exoticism. The Americans arrived, just as they did here, with their Protestant religion, their good schools and their hospitals," according to authorMagali García Ramis.[16]
Donald Trump's executive order recognizing English as the official language of the American territory, has called into question the provision of services to non-English speakers in federal offices, such as Social Security, in the United States and in Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the official language, and common to the Associated Territory of the state Puerto Rico.[17]
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