Puerto_Rico

Puerto Rico is a very distinct state. There are over 3,944,259 people living in Puerto Rico now (Paraphrased from People, 2010.) The capital of Puerto Rico is San Juan. Puerto Rico is well known for their environment, festivities, and culture. Puerto Rico’s sandy beaches, towering mountains, and “Off-Island” Islands are all tourist attractions. These are all things that people have grown to love about Puerto Rico. People also love the activities the state has. In this essay, you will learn about Puerto Rico’s well known features. No one can deny that “Three Kings Day” is a very festive activity. In Puerto Rico, children place boxes filled with grass or hay under their beds on Jan. 5. During the night, the Three Kings take the hay, meant for their camels, and replace it with presents. The Three Kings are familiar to Christians as the wise men who visited the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. The kings are said to have offered Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Lloyd, 2010). On the other hand, Three Kings Day is not just for Hispanics. The holiday also is celebrated as far away as the Philippines and France. The French bake a cake with a surprise inside, a tradition also maintained by Mexicans and Spaniards. In the Philippines, people display star lanterns on their windows (Padilla, 2010). Puerto Rico is well known for their beaches. It is hard to pick the best, considering that they are all good. Cana Gorda is a beach where you can explore cays and snorkel in the clear beautiful waters. Rincon Bay is one of the more popular Puerto Rican beaches. Surfers have been attracted to this beach for a very long time. It also hosted the World Surfing Championships. Flamenco is one of Puerto Rico’s most famous beaches. The beach is considered as a paradise to others and is upon the best beaches of the world. Boats and jet skis are not used in the waters, making it the perfect place for swimming. Other than beaches, Puerto Rico has forests. El Yunque rainforest is the only rainforest in the U.S., which means that there is only one in Puerto Rico. The El Yunque rainforest is a cool, mountainous, subtropical rainforest. People say that the El Yunque rainforest is said to be the best rainforest you can go to, considering that it is a nice gentle rainforest with no poisonous snakes. Some animals you may find in the Rainforest are Birds and Coquis. (Paraphrased from El Yunque Rain Forest in Puerto Rico, 2010) Puerto Rican culture is kind of hard to explain. Culture is the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc. Puerto Rico has many distinct characteristics that separate them from other cultures. In the early 18th century, In order to populate, Spaniards took Taino-Indian women as brides. Later on in time when work was need, Spaniards began to retrieve slaves from Africa, soon after Chinese immigrants were imported. Afterwards, Italian, French, German, and even Lebanese people began to come. When Spain lost control of Puerto Rico, people began to flee from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Many of these people were Cubans. This all made current Puerto Rico basically racial problem free. (Paraphrased from Culture of Puerto Rico, 2010) In conclusion, you have learned about some of Puerto Rico’s well known features. Also, you have learned about the facts involved with the features. I hope you take away all of Puerto Rico’s beautiful landscape and its importance. I also hope you find Puerto Rico’s features interesting. After all this time, Puerto Rico is still an island with lots of excitement and beauty. Works Cited "Culture of Puerto Rico | By Puerto Rico Channel." Puerto Rico Vacations and Travel Guide | By Puerto Rico Channel. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . "El Yunque Rain Forest in Puerto Rico/animals/plants/Puerto Rican Parrot Picture." Puerto Rico El Yunque Rainforest and Beaches Travel Guide with Hotels and Rain Forest Lodging. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . Gaura, By Maria. "Home for the Holidays: Celebrating Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. 05 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . Lloyd, Jennifer R. "Three Kings Celebration Observes Birth of Christ." San Antonio News, Weather, Sports : MySA.com | Express-News. 3 Jan. 2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. . Padilla, Maria. "Three Kings Day, Treasured Tradition." PUERTO RICO HERALD: The Voice of Puerto Rico Self-Determination, Volume 9, Numbers 33, 34, Ed. 400. 2 Jan. 2000. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . "Puerto Rican Culture.” Http://welcome.topuertorico.org/. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . "People." Http://welcome.topuertorico.org/. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. . Puerto Rico By: Armani-Marie Mendez I.S.392 Class: 703 October 2, 2010 By Armani-Marie Mendez