Puerto Rico is a melting pot of cultures --
Taíno (Native
Indian), Spanish, African, and North American. They converge in
our food, music, language, architecture, religion, lifestyles,
arts, and crafts.
Social customs
have changed as a result of a major shift in the economy, from
agricultural to industrial. However, even after one century as
part of the U.S., the strong Spanish influence is the common
denominator for our cultural fabric.
Music
You can't help but feel the pulse of the Island – it breathes
salsa, merengue and all kinds of rhythms.
·
Salsa
emerged
from Puerto Rico to become a musical form in New York City,
while merengue is from the Dominican Republic.
Both are embraced and enjoyed in Puerto Rico.
·
Bomba and
plena
are also native sounds and both rely heavily on percussion. The
bomba has a call and response interplay between drummer
and dancer.
·
A
danza is a Classical waltz-like music form that
originated in
Puerto Rico in the 1850s and is still popular today. Local composers, such as
Juan Morell Campos and Manuel Tavares, made the danza the
main music of elegant ballroom dances in the late 19th and early
20th centuries.
·
Famous
Puerto Rican classical musicians include opera singer
Antonio Paoli (1872-1922), Pablo Elvira, and Justino Díaz. Pablo Casals, the
legendary catalan cellist, made Puerto Rico his home for many
years after Franco took power in Spain. His mother was Puerto
Rican. A festival in his name attracts international orchestras
and musicians to the Island every summer.
Musical Instruments
·
Cuatro
– derived from the Spanish guitar, it has 5 double strings.
Mostly available through highly skilled artisans, prices range
from $100 to $1000. Other variations are the tiple,
bordonúa, and requinto, all of which have different
pitch and number of strings.
·
Güiro
or güicharo – hollowed ficus with ridges that is played with a wire fork, adds a
unique percussion sound to many popular music genres.
·
Maracas
– ficus with a handle attached, filled with seeds or beans, are
shaken to make a rhythmic sound.
·
Conga
– drum made of a hollow tree trunk with an animal skin stretched
across one end.
Art
José
Campeche
(1751-1809) painted religious art and is considered one of the
most important artists of the Americas. Francisco Oller
(1833-1917), studied in
Europe and is known as the first Latin American Impressionist. Well-known
contemporary artists include Lorenzo Homar, Rafael
Tufiño, and Jorge Zeno.
In the 1950s the
Puerto Rican government hired graphic artists to create
informational and educational posters and prints, which you can
find in galleries, museums, and stores.
Ceramics
and mural art are also plentiful and popular.
Literature
Puerto Rican poets include Lola Rodríguez de Tió, Julia de
Burgos, Luis Palés Matos, Juan Antonio Corretjer, Luis Lloréns
Torres; writers José Luis González, Manuel Zeno Gandía, Luis
Rafael Sánchez and Rosario Ferré.
Food
Food on
the Island shows influences of various cultures and how they've
used local products -- plantains, seafood, pork, spices, and
sofrito, a blend of onions and spices used in many dishes.
Favorite dishes are mofongo, rice and beans, and chicken
with rice. Rice is the principal starch, along with yuca,
ñame, and batata.
Click here to learn
about dining in Puerto Rico.
Handcrafts
Several
organizations in Puerto Rico contribute to the preservation of
traditional handcrafts: the Crafts Development Area of PRIDCO,
the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the University of PR, and
the Agricultural Extension Service.
Vejigante Masks and Figurines
A vejigante is a costumed character with Indian,
European, and African roots. The tradition is strongest in
coastal towns where African slave descendants originally
settled.
In the carnival
held in the town of Loíza, there are 4 main costumed characters:
el Caballero (the knight), los vejigantes , los
viejos, (the elders), and las locas (the crazy
women). Whereas in Ponce, they make mostly devil and animal
masks out of brightly colored papier maché.
Hatillo's Masks
Festival on December 28th, the Day of the Holy Innocents,
features the most exquisite examples of this craft. Masks and
figurines can be purchased in many shops in Old San Juan and
throughout the
Island.
Santos
Carved wooden saints reached the height of their popularity at
the turn of the 20th century. Usually 12 to 20 inches tall, they
are made throughout the
Island.
The Santos wood
carving practice is thought to be a blend of Catholic and
indigenous traditions, where small statues serve as objects of
veneration and protection against evil. The most popular figures
are the virgins, male saints, and the Three Kings.
Lace
Lace, or mundillo (bobbin lace), making is originally a
European art which came to the Island during the colonization
period. The particular kind of lace popular in
Puerto Rico is found only on the
Island and in Spain.
It is a form of
bobbin, or pillow lace, where threads are wound on bobbins and
the lace itself is anchored to pillows. The craft is practiced
mostly in the western part of the island in the towns of
Aguadilla, Aguada, Moca, and Isabela.
Several government
agencies contribute to the preservation of this craft. Women
used to do it to make a living, and now primarily to keep the
craft alive. The finished product is used to decorate women's
clothing and undergarments, linens, baby garments, nuptial and
baptismal gowns. Mundillo can be found at craft shows and
bazaars.
Basket Weaving
Basket weaving on the
Island has relied on the selection of available materials. Native Indians
had a basket tradition, African slaves added theirs, further
influenced by the Spaniards. Today, all sorts of containers are
weaved, in addition to pavas, the traditional straw hat
of Puerto Rico.
Hammocks
Hammocks have been in use for thousands of years – what a great
way to relax in the Island breeze. The Europeans were evidently
quite surprised by them when they came to the New World.
Originally they
were made from corn fibers, maguey, and cotton. Cotton twine has
since replaced this as standard construction material. In 1996,
Don José González,
a hammock artisan from the town of
San Sebastián,
was awarded a Doctoral Degree in Humanities Honoris Causa
from the Sacred Heart University through a petition from
PRIDCO's Craft Development Program.
Puerto Rico is thought to be the first Latin American country to honor the
hammock.
Miniature Facades
The architecture of Puerto Rico has inspired artisans to create
small replicas of Puerto Rican buildings, especially the
iron-laced, balcony-bedecked buildings of Old San Juan. Artists
have used materials as diverse as clay, wood, glass and metal.
Everything from tiny magnets and pins to framed facades suitable
for wall hanging, display pieces, and curios are readily
available.
|