Puerto Rico
Brief History The former name of Puerto Rico was Borinquen.
1493 Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) claims Borinquen for Spain.
1898 Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. as a result of the Spanish-American War.
1952 Puerto Rico becomes a Commonwealth to the United States (Estado Libre Asociado) Puerto Ricans are U.S. Citizens They still have a governing body that keeps them independent from the U.S.
La Capital San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico. The capital is divided between Old San Juan and New San Juan.
La Playa de Luquillo
El Castillo de San Felipe del Morro A fortress that was built in 1591 to protect the island.
Museo de Arte in Ponce
El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico More than 100 Billion gallons of rain falls in El Yunque each year.
La Musica Salsa music is very popular in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Celia Cruz is considered the Queen of Salsa.