HIspanic+heritage+essay+HF15


 * works cited:**

// Bio.com //. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. .
 * this is a valid source because people are being interviewed

"Puerto Rican Population Declines on Island, Grows on U.S. Mainland."Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project RSS. N.p., 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <[]>.
 * this is a valid resource because it was reccomended by teachers

"Puerto Rico." : Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <[]>.
 * we know that this is a valid source because it is used by many school and is the only source that is used frequently

Membership. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <[]>.
 * this is a valid source because it is used and reccommended by teachers and is used world wide

You might be asking how I keep the Spanish heritage alive. well first I will tell you about how we keep it alive with food, culture, the flag, arts and crafts, music and last but not least traditions first I will tell you about their food traditions Although Puerto Rican cooking is somewhat similar to both Spanish, Cuban and Mexican cuisine, it is a unique tasty blend of Spanish, African, Taíno, and American influences, using such seasonings and ingredients as coriander, papaya, cacao,, apio, plantains, and yampee. Locals call their cuisine "cocina criolla"Another tradition is arroz con pollo.Besides food they have a amazing drink called pina collada this is a mixture of coconut and other variations this drink is made in a blender and is topped off with a slice of pineapple on the side of the cup.

one tradition When children lose their baby teeth in Puerto Rico, it is a tradition to ask the child to put that night the fallen piece under his pillow, because while he is asleep, a little mouse will come to exchange the tooth for a dollar bill or any amount of money During that night, one of the parents shall do the little mouse job, keeping the fallen tooth in safekeeping forever. Now this is just a tradition for the children some adult traditions are to cut open a coconut and put it in a freezer and eat it the next day which is usually their birthday. Some children do this usually the teens or kids that are around the age of 16 or 15.

The Puerto Rican flag consists of 5 alternate red and white stripes. On the left of the flag is a single white five-pointed star resting in a blue triangle. The symbolism is explained thus. The white star stands for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico while the three sides of the equilateral triangle together represent the three branches of the Republican government (executive, legislative and judicial branches). The three red strips symbolize the blood that feeds those parts of the government. The two white stripes symbolizing the rights of man and the freedom of the individual are a perpetual reminder of the need for vigilance of a democratic government is to be preserved.

So you might think that Puerto Rico doesn’t have a lot of culture in art but the first major Puerto Rican artist of note was José Campeche, an 18th-century "Sanjuanero" who lived his entire life in and drew inspiration from the city of his birth. The son of a freed slave and an immigrant from the Canary Islands; Campeche was greatly influenced by a Spanish court painter who was banished to San Juan. Since Campeche was fascinated by religious paintings, many of his 400 works were for churches. He was also a distinguished portrait painter, whose subjects ranged from governors of the colony to local personalities to members of well-to-do families. Some of his paintings are Birth of Christ, Vision of St. Francis of Assissi, Virgin of Mercy, Don Miguel Antonio de Upstairs, and many versions of the Virgin and Child. Many of Campeche's paintings are found in churches and in the Cathedral in old San Juan.

While some respected Cuban music historians have popularized the myth that salsa originated in Cuba the earliest evidence of it was in the Puerto Rico with Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera. Salsa started having as background the rich heritage of the Plena, the Afrocaribean form of music that that evolved in Puerto Rico and the influence of more rhythms brought in and developed by mainline Puerto Rican musicians that lived in the United States during the 20's, 30's and 40's and began returning to Puerto Rico after the second world war. These arrivals not only gave the newer Puerto Rican musicians a rich treasure of sounds from all over Latin America, including the Cuban Son and the Guaracha, but also placed on them the responsibility of being creative before those that knew the difference between talent and gimmickry. So the emerging Puerto Rican musician generation began to experiment in new combinations and ways to improve the established styles such as plena.

So through out what I said about food and traditions and etc. You should pick up a message from this not just to have a Spanish background and keep it alive but to also love your culture and spread it through the world you cannot be Spanish and still keep it alive you just have to believe in it and that you will not stop till the Spanish culture is worldwide. You never know what you have in your until you try something and give it a second try until you get it or something better comes into mind