Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

Puerto Rico’s nickname is “the Isle of Enchantment.” With its sandy beaches and tropical climate, it’s a popular tourist destination. But it’s also home to more than 3.5 million people. Here are five “enchanting facts” to start you on your journey. 1. It’s a small frog, but the coquí makes a big noise! This beloved frog serenades islanders from dusk until dawn with its high-pitched “coquí, coquí” call. 2. Will Puerto Rico become the 51st state of the United States? The island is a territory of the United States and Puerto Ricans are considered U.S. citizens, but many residents want to see that status changed to state. 3. El Yunque National Forest covers 29,000 acres and is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. forest system. It is home to…

It may be a small island, only 100 miles long by 35 miles wide, much smaller than any of its neighbors, but Puerto Rico has a big presence. Its culture blends United States, Spanish, and African-Caribbean elements, and Puerto Ricans (called puertorriqueños) have a rich heritage of music, food, dance, folklore, and art from all the influences brought to the island by Spanish conquerors, the native Taino people, and the United States. Puerto Rico is an island, but it is actually the top of an ancient sunken mountain range. It is part of the Greater Antilles chain of islands, which also includes Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica, and lies about a thousand miles southeast of Florida. It sits in the northeast Caribbean Sea, but its north shore faces the Atlantic. It…

Government: Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States with commonwealth status. Residents are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote in presidential elections. Location: Caribbean island located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic Area: 13,791 square kilometers Climate: tropical marine, mild; temperature does not vary greatly throughout the year. Capital: San Juan Population: 3,578,056 (July 2016 estimate) Languages: Spanish, English Religions: Roman Catholic, 85 percent; Protestant and other, 15 percent Currency: U.S. dollar DUDE! Remember, when you point at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you!…

The overwhelming majority of Puerto Ricans who voted on a controversial referendum in June, 2017 voted in favor of statehood. But that vote alone won’t change the island’s status. Puerto Rico will vote again in October, and ultimately it is up to the U.S. congress to pass a statute that would make Puerto Rico the 51st state. The island has a long history of making its voice heard. Two armed Puerto Rican nationalists—supporters of Puerto Rico’s independence movement—attempted to assassinate President Harry Truman in 1950. Four years later, nationalists shot and wounded five members of the United States Congress at the House of Representatives. The events that triggered these acts of violence began in the 1930s, when members of the independence movement began to call for the United States to…

Imagine floating in a magical bay that glows in the dark. Known as the brightest bioluminescent (by-oh-LOO-muh-NES-sent) bay in the world, Puerto Rico’s Mosquito Bay contains many single-celled marine organisms called dinoflagellates (die-no-FLA-juh-luhts) that create light. When stirred up, these tiny organisms react by emitting a blue-green light for about a decimal of a second, making the water surface sparkle and twinkle at night. What is Bioluminescence? Bioluminescence is the ability of an organism to create light. Creatures that can produce and give off light are found throughout the ocean, from the surface to the deep sea floor. How Does It Happen? If you have seen fireflies glow on a summer night, you have seen bioluminescence. A chemical reaction in the insect’s glowing abdomen produces light energy. In bioluminescent organisms,…

If you ever spend an evening in the forests of Puerto Rico, you will hear an impressively loud chorus of “Coquí, coquí,” compliments of a tiny frog about one to two inches long. Named for the sound it makes, the coquí (el coquí in Spanish) is the beloved native tree frog of Puerto Rico. It serenades islanders from dusk until dawn. The coquí is a small brown, green, or yellow tree frog. The male coquí is known for its high-pitched mating call that can be heard from great distances during the wet season (April through October). The tree frog lives in forests, mountains, gardens, and greenhouses, and under rocks and logs. It climbs to the tops of trees in search of insects at night. Then at dawn, it stops singing…

There’s no denying that Puerto Rico has a wealth of culture, a captivating past, and an abundance of scenic wonders. So it comes as no surprise that the island’s food is also rich in fun and flavor. Traditional Boriquén fare has influences from around the world. Rooted in native tastes, it blended with African cooking styles, was refined with Spanish flavors, and then was later zested by the Dutch, Irish, Italians, and even the Chinese. No wonder the cuisine is nicknamed “la cocina criolla” or “the creole kitchen!” Puerto Rico’s vivid culinary culture began with the earliest inhabitants, the Tainos. While the men hunted game such as ducks, guinea pigs, iguanas, turtles, and fish, the women gathered taro, yam, corn, and cassava (a starchy root that looks like a brown…

The Spanish settled Puerto Rico’s capital city of San Juan in 1519. The Spaniards quickly recognized the value of this small coastal inlet, and it became an important port, outpost, and gateway for exploration of the New World. Spain’s enemies, primarily the British and the Dutch, coveted its strategic military location and excellent harbor—one of the largest and best in the Caribbean. To protect San Juan from foreign enemies and indigenous Carib Indians, Spain’s king ordered the construction of La Fortazela, San Juan’s first fortification building. Construction began in 1533, but the fort proved inadequate to guard San Juan’s harbor entrance. It was captured twice (by the British and Dutch) and was eventually converted to its current use as the governor’s residence. Construction on another fort, Castillo de San Felipe…

GOLD NUGGETS The native people of Puerto Rico, the Taino, decorated their clothing with gold they found in streams and rivers. When Juan Ponce de Leon arrived from Spain, he saw the gold worn by the Tainos. Gold mining began in 1508, the year he was granted permission by the queen of Spain to explore the islands. Ponce de Leon found enough gold in the northern region to warrant his staying on to seek more gold to send back to Spain. Spain mined gold from Puerto Rico for decades. Gold was also found in the streams to the south, but by 1536, the king of Spain received the last of the Puerto Rican gold. The gold had mostly been mined. Using new technology, mining began again in 1828. Mining currently…