Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he received his primary education and took interest in boxing. After gathering a record of 21–1–1 as an amateur, Escobar debuted as a professional in 1931 defeating Luis "Kid Dominican" Pérez by knockout. Early in his career, he moved to Venezuela due to the lack of opponents in his division. There he received an opportunity for the Venezuelan Bantamweight championship, but lost by points to Enrique Chaffardet. Subsequently, he moved to New York and began boxing in other states, eventually capturing the Montreal Athletic Commission World Bantamweight Title. In 1936, he defeated Tony Marino to unify this championship with the one recognized by the International Boxing Union, in the process becoming the third Latin American undisputed world boxing champion. After retiring, he worked as a spokesperson for beer companies in New York, before returning to Puerto Rico in the 1960s, where he resided until his death. He received several posthumous recognitions and his name was used in several sports venues and buildings. In 2002, Escobar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 3
Location of Puerto Rico's main island (green) Puerto Rico currently has the fourth-most active players in Major League Baseball (MLB) among Latin American jurisdictions, behind the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba. More than three hundred players from the archipelago have played in the major leagues since 1926. This includes players who were born in either one of the archipelago's islands and those of Puerto Rican heritage. Only those players who have worked in the major leagues are listed, not those active in the minor leagues, nor negro independent leagues.
For years, it was considered that the first player from Puerto Rico to play in the major leagues was Hiram Bithorn in 1942. But this changed in December 2020, when seven Negro baseball leagues between 1920 and 1948 were recognized as "major leagues." Thus, the first Puerto Rican to play baseball on the major leagues was Jose "Gacho" Torres, who debuted in 1926. (Full article...)
Image 4
"Classy 101" is a song by the Colombian singer-songwriter Feid and the Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko from Feid's second extended play (EP), Ferxxocalipsis (2023). Feid, Miko, Wain, and Bonaroti wrote the song with its producers, Caleb Calloway, Mauro, and Julia Lewis. Since Miko began her professional career with Calloway as producer, she attracted the attention of several artists who shared the stage and collaborated with her and became viral on TikTok with two songs. She initially composed the song in Los Angeles until she met Feid there by surprise, having no contact with him before and always being his fan. Universal Music Latino released the song as a single on March 31 with the premiere of its music video and later included it in Ferxxocalipsis on December 1.
Music journalists praised "Classy 101" and described it as a reggaeton with a minimalist sound and an edgy perreo fusion that talks about a carnal desire linked to lust for a hugely seductive woman that the narrator cannot ignore. The song was also ranked on lists as one of the best Latin songs of 2023. It reached the top 10 in twelve countries and was certified platinum in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the US. The song was Miko's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Deathofgian directed the music video for the song, which portrays a couple in love riding a motorcycle and shows Miko and Feid singing in different scenarios. It won a Los 40 Music Award, a Lo Nuestro Award, and two Latin American Music Awards. The song was included on the set list of Miko and Feid's headlining concert tours and was performed at the Los 40 Music Awards and at several music festivals. (Full article...)
Image 5
The Church Offensive was a building occupation organized by the New York Young Lords in East Harlem, New York City. During the Church Offensive, the Young Lords occupied the First Spanish United Methodist Church (FSUMC) for 11 days, from December 28, 1969, to January 7, 1970, in protest of the church's refusal to host the Young Lords' free breakfast program. During the occupation, the Young Lords implemented various community service programs, including free breakfasts and health clinics, "liberation school" classes, and dinners for Puerto Rican women. Despite a court order to vacate the church, the Young Lords remained, arguing they had not disrupted services and were challenging the church's inaction. As a result, they were held in contempt of court. The occupation ended when police forcibly entered the church, peacefully arresting 105 Young Lords members and supporters.
The Young Lords continued to pressure the FSUMC to support their breakfast program, but their requests were denied. Despite this, due to media coverage and endorsements from prominent figures, the Church Offensive led to an increase in community support and membership for the Young Lords. Some historians argue that the Church Offensive revitalized the Puerto Rican independence movement in New York and fostered discussions about gender roles within the growing Young Lords organization. Others claim that the Church Offensive represented a challenge to the "social imaginary" by questioning prevailing western concepts of peoplehood and disrupting the perceived link between coloniality and modernity. (Full article...)
Image 6
The history of the Jews in Puerto Rico dates back to the 1400s. Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico began in the 15th century with the arrival of the anusim (variously called conversos, Crypto-Jews, Secret Jews or marranos) who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. An open Jewish community did not flourish in the colony because Judaism was prohibited by the Spanish Inquisition. However, many migrated to mountainous parts of the island, far from the central power of San Juan, and continued to self-identify as Jews and practice Crypto-Judaism.
It would be hundreds of years before an open Jewish community was established on the island. Very few American Jews settled in Puerto Rico after it was ceded by Spain to the United States under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. (Full article...)
The album was well received by critics who complimented George's production and Anthony's youthful voice. Anthony received two awards for "Best New Artists" at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and the Lo Nuestro Awards. The album produced three singles: "Hasta Que Te Conocí", "Palabras del Alma", and "Si Tú No Te Fueras", all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. As of 2002, Otra Nota has sold over 300,000 copies. (Full article...)
Tropical Storm Karen was a weak tropical storm that impacted the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in September 2019. The twelfth tropical cyclone and eleventh named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, it originated from a tropical wave which entered the tropical Atlantic on September 14. The wave quickly organized as it neared the Windward Islands on September 20, becoming a tropical depression just two days later. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Karen later that day, as it moved across the southern Windward Islands. By 18:00 UTC that day, Karen had reached its first peak intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1,003 millibars (29.6 inHg). Karen weakened back to a tropical depression at 06:00 UTC on September 23. However, just 12 hours later, Karen re-intensified into a tropical storm. It then entered the central Atlantic, early the next day. Karen began to degrade on September 27, when it weakened into a tropical depression, due to strong wind shear. The system subsequently degenerated into a surface trough later that day.
Karen caused significant flooding and widespread power outages in Trinidad and Tobago. Damage on the island of Tobago reached $3.54 million (2019 USD). Flooding and power outages also occurred in Puerto Rico where roughly 29,000 customers lost electricity. Only minimal impacts were reported in Venezuela, the remainder of the Windward Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. (Full article...)
POW/MIA flag The United States Department of Defense has estimated that approximately 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the military during the Korean War, most of them volunteers. A total of 122 Puerto Ricansoldiers were among the 8,200 people listed as missing in action (MIA). According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are 167 who are unaccounted for. This list does not include non-Puerto Ricans who served in the 65th Infantry, nor those who were "POW" (Prisoners of War) or "KIA" (Killed in Action). Nor does the total of this list include people of Puerto Rican descent who were born in the mainland of the United States.
"Y Hubo Alguien" (English: "And There Was Someone") is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album, Contra la Corriente (1997). The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with record production being handled by Ángel "Cucco" Peña. It was released as the first promotional single from the album in 1997. A salsa song which combines elements of R&B, it describes a man who has found love again after his former lover left him. The song was inspired by a fight Alfanno had with his partner and pitched the song to RMM, but was turned down. Anthony offered to record the track after Alfanno presented it to him.
"Mi Mayor Venganza" (transl. "My Greatest Revenge") is a song by Puerto Rican singer La India from her fifth studio album, Sobre el Fuego (1997). The song was written by Rodolfo Barreras and produced by Isidro Infante, and released as the album's second single in 1997 by RMM Records. It is a salsa song, in which La India tells the woman to keep the man who cheated on the artist out of revenge.
La India's vocals on "Mi Mayor Venganza" were praised by two music critics while another reviewer noted it has become an anthem with the salsa audience. It was a recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Latin Award in 2000 in the salsa category. Commercially, the song peaked at numbers four and one on the BillboardHot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States, respectively. An accompanying music video features La India performing at an empty theater. (Full article...)
A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Betancourt played youth football for Fraigcomar while attending the Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. He made his senior debut at 15 years old, spending two seasons with High Performance FC followed by a year with Conquistadores de Guaynabo. He left his home island to attend college in the United States, spending two years with the men's soccer program at Valparaiso. After returning to Puerto Rico, Betancourt played the sport for four more years, splitting time between Bayamón and Metropolitan FA. He stepped away from the game in 2017, aged just 23. (Full article...)
Rail transport in Puerto Rico currently consists of a 10.7-mile (17.2 km) passenger metro system in the island's metropolitan area of San Juan. Its history can be traced back to the mid-19th century with the construction of a limited passenger line in Mayagüez. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Puerto Rico's rail transport system expanded significantly, becoming one of the largest rail systems in the Caribbean at the time thanks to an economic boom in agriculture industries, especially the sugar cane industry. The rail system was expanded to include passenger travel with a direct line from the island's northern capital of San Juan to the western and southern cities and towns, greatly improving travel and communication within the island. However, the entire system was soon overshadowed by the arrival of the automobile, and by the 1950s was completely abandoned. Small remnants of this system still exist in some parts of Puerto Rico, some were conserved for tourism purposes. (Full article...)
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Ricansalsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa music because he helped to establish the popularity of this musical genre in the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His personality, style and the qualities of his voice led him to a successful artistic career in the whole field of Latin music and salsa during the 1970s and 1980s. The cleanness and brightness of his voice, coupled with impeccable diction and the ability to sing long and fast phrases with total naturalness, made him one of the favorite singers of the Latin public.
... that after the Spanish–American War and up to 1904, Puerto Ricans were considered as "aliens" in the United States?[1]
... that the public display of the Puerto Rican Flag was once considered a felony (from 1892 to 1954) and that anyone who did so could end up in jail?
... that in 1906, Theodore Roosevelt, the first US President to travel outside the United States, made a stop in Puerto Rico (thus, becoming the first president to visit the island) and that he stayed overnight in Ponce?[2]
... that in 1914, the Revenue Cutter USS Algonquin (1897), which was stationed in the Caribbean, set sail with a crew of fifteen Hispanic-Americans (a fourth of the cutter's complement) to San Juan, Puerto Rico to assist the Puerto Ricans battling fires that threatened to destroy parts of that city? In 1915, the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico, paid tribute to the crew of the cutter Algonquin and presented them with an Official Resolution of Thanks.[3]
... that in 1948, Luis Muñoz Marín presided over the Puerto Rican legislature which was controlled by the PPD and that they approved the infamous "Ley de la Mordaza" known as Puerto Rico's Gag Law and that it became law with the signature of the United States-appointed governor Jesús T. Piñero? Did you also know that the law made it a crime to own or display a Puerto Rican flag, to sing a patriotic tune, to speak or write of independence, or to meet with anyone, or hold any assembly, with regard to the political status of Puerto Rico, violating the First Amendment of the US Constitution?[7]
Image 3The 45-star flag, used by the United States during the invasion of Puerto Rico, was also the official flag of Puerto Rico from 1899 to 1908. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 4An 1899, caricature by Louis Dalrymple (1866–1905), showing Uncle Sam harshly lecturing four black children labelled Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Cuba (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 5Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 12The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 13El Imparcial headline: "Aviation (US) bombs Utuado" during Nationalist revolts. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 14Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 15Sugar cane workers resting at the noon hour, Rio Piedras. Photograph by Jack Delano, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. Ca. 1941. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 16US and Puerto Rico flags on a building in Puerto Rico (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 17Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 18Flag flown by Fidel Vélez and his men during the "Intentona de Yauco" revolt. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 19"El desastre es la colonia" (the disaster is the colony), words seen on light meter six months after Hurricane Maria (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
On Wikipedia, anyone can edit. So if you're interested in Puerto Rico and its related subjects and articles, feel free to add and edit current content or start a new article. After all, the Wikipedia community encourages all readers and users to be bold in updating pages. If you're unsure on where to start, you can choose any of the open tasks listed below. The Puerto Rico WikiProject thanks you!