...Eastern Europe has its vodka; And Puerto Rico has its rum. Puerto Rico is famous for many things but it is probably best known for producing some of the world’s finest rums. Not lightly do they call this small island the rum capital of the world. Over 80 percent of the rum sold in the U.S. comes from Puerto Rico; it's the island's chief export. Puerto Ricans do not take it for granted that they live on an island that produces high-quality product, and they consume it without prejudice. It’s not a stretch to consider it an intrinsic part of the culture - and of the Caribbean’s as a whole - as much as wine is part of the French way of life, or vodka in Eastern Europe. Rum serves as a link to the past, both the mythical and the real; from the decks of pirate ships to the sugarcane fields of the centrals azucareras Rum is a staple in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the biggest producer of rum in the world. The list of rums, from mixers to delicate liquid gold that rivals the world's finest brandies, include familiar names like Bacardi, Palo Viejo, Don Q, Ron Llave, Licor 43, and El Barrilito. Rum is such a part of Puerto Rico that there is a festival called Taste of Rum festival dedicated solely to Rum which is held annually. Since I can’t afford to take everyone to the festival as part of my presentation what I could afford to do was make some Coquito, a popular coconut and rum beverage traditionally served around the holidays throughout Puerto Rico. Everyone that makes Coquito has...
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...writing this journal for you so that you will always know our heritage and where you ancestors came from. We may be United States citizens but our culture and homeland is elsewhere. Somewhere I am hoping you will one day visit. Here is a little bit of history about our dear homeland. The island of Puerto Rico (formerly Porto Rico) is the most easterly of the Greater Antilles group of the West Indies island chain. Located more than a thousand miles southeast of Miami, Puerto Rico is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Virgin Passage (which separates it from the Virgin Islands), on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the Mona Passage (which separates it from the Dominican Republic). Puerto Rico is 35 miles wide (from north to south), 95 miles long (from east to west) and has 311 miles of coastline. Its land mass measures 3,423 square miles, about two-thirds the area of the state of Connecticut. (Green). Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus on Novemeber 19th, 1493. The name Puerto Rico, meaning "rich port," was given to the island by its Spanish conquistadors (or conquerors); according to tradition, the name comes from Ponce de León himself, who upon first seeing the port of San Juan is said to have exclaimed, "¡Ay que puerto rico!" ("What a rich port!"). (Green). Puerto Rico is unique in that it is an autonomous Commonwealth of the United States, and its people think of the island as un estado libre asociado, or a "free...
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...LA INVERSIÓN EXTRANJERA DIRECTA Y LAS DIFERENCIAS CULTURALES Javier J. Hernández BADM 7100 Dr. Ahmad Jumah Programa Doctoral Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico Recinto Metro ABSTRACTO El presente artículo discute la importancia de las diferencias culturales en la decisión de las empresas de invertir en determinados países. Siendo la inversión extranjera directa una alternativa para promover el crecimiento económico, es importante que los países contemplen las variables culturales antes de embarcarse en estrategias para atraer capital extranjero. Sobre todo, será necesario proveer la infraestructura económica, social, legal y política que cumpla con las expectativas de aquellos países con características similares a la cultura nacional. De esta forma, se tendrá mejores oportunidades de éxito que obviando la distancia cultural. Palabras clave: Distancia cultural, inversión extranjera directa, variables culturales, Puerto Rico . Introducción La inversión extranjera directa es uno de los pilares de la globalización. Por años, la investigación académica ha discutido los efectos de esta práctica y sus beneficios sobre los países que la reciben. Los países hacen grandes esfuerzos e invierten recursos en diseñar el panorama óptimo para atraer dicha inversión extranjera como principal estrategia de desarrollo económico. En muchas ocasiones estos esfuerzos están dirigidos al desarrollo de infraestructura y a...
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...A Summary of ‘Silent Dancing’ by Judith Ortiz Cofer An influential writer that contributed to the Latina literature that came out of the 1980s and 90s is Judith Ortiz Cofer. Ortiz Cofer was born in Puerto Rico in 1952. Her parents were young, and the best way her father found to support her family was to join to U.S. Navy. The family moved to Paterson, New Jersey, when Ortiz Cofer was only three, so the family could be closer to where her father was stationed at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. When her father was sent out on missions, her mother took the kids and herself to stay with Ortiz Cofer’s grandmother. This clash of cultures, the Latina homeland and the foreign mainland, spurred Ortiz Cofer’s unique writing style. She acknowledges her grandmother for teaching her “…storytelling is a form of empowerment…passing on power from one generation to another’ (45). Ortiz Cofer has fine-tuned her storytelling to ‘reverberate with symbols and images’ (45) by reflecting on experience. Dabbling in many of the writing styles, she doesn’t favor one in particular, but enjoys combining them. In this selection, “Silent Dancing”, she has done that by writing anecdotes on a home video of a New Year’s Eve party, alternating between paragraphs reflecting on growing up in New Jersey. The home video, made by her maternal uncle at a New Year’s Eve party, is ‘grainy and of short duration’ (46) but Ortiz Cofer was grateful it existed, for the ‘visual aid’ (46) it provided her memory of life at point...
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...knowledge of Puerto Rican history. The four islands were conquered by the Spanish in 1493 and became not only a major military base but also a slave port. The Spanish, African and native Taino’s created a hybrid race which became Puerto Ricans. By the late 1800s Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, was on its way to becoming an independent country, but was side-tract by the Spanish-American War. Through the Treaty of Paris, the islands were given to the U.S. which invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and enforced a military rule until 1900. The government was then ruled by American civilians until the islands officially became a colony in 1917. With the new colony rule, American citizenship was imposed on the islanders along with the draft. The creation of the American colony allowed the U.S. to legally break apart the islands’ economy which it did successfully. By the 1940s the U.S. government implemented Operation Bootstrap, which promoted the illegal sterilization and guinea pig like usage of the Puerto Rican women and the attempt to Americanize the colony. “La Operacion” or the operation also included planned migrations from island to the continental U.S., especially into areas that required factory laborers, restaurant, hotel and other service jobs. In 1952 in order to keep peace within the U.N., the international community and Puerto Rico, the U.S. renamed the relationship from colony to commonwealth or “Estado Libre Asociado” (literally translated to Free Associated State). Puerto Rico...
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...Cruz and Hector Lavoe Their Passion for the Salsa Iliana Urriola 3ndDRAFT All Latin America people are proud of our tradition, culture and of course our music. Celia Cruz and Hector Lavoe two of the most influence artists of the Latin music of the all times. Their early lives in Puerto Rico and Cuba, famous life, tragedies as well the passion for the Salsa. Ursula Hilaria Celia Cruz Alfonso de la Santisima Trinidad (Celia Cruz), one of the most popular salsa artists of the 20th century, was born in Santos Suarez in Havana, Cuba. She was the second child of the marriage Cruz-Alfonso. Celia, like the other teenagers girls of Cuba, was very happy, when her father said that she had to be a teacher. But, one of her teacher offered her a spot in the National conservatory of Havana Cuba. After her studies, Celia stared a new career. She had to participate in many auditions to get in salsa orchestras in her country. Finally, she got the opportunity to get into the famous orchestra, La Sonora Matancera. Even, thought her participation in the orchestra was a success. Celia became a solo singer. Where, Celia was working hard to be popular in Latin America. She was married with Pedro Knight. Like Celia, Pedro always said that Celia was his love. They were a happy couple. But they had a kids. Celia Cruz was called the queen of the salsa as well La Guarachera de Cuba. She won many awards thought her artistic life. One of those was in 1990 when she won a Grammy award. Another...
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...politics; conversely, power is a very critical and indispensable factor in law. . . . Power and authority are always co-present to varying degrees. This notion of the co-presence of authority and power or control is fundamental to legal theory . . . .” * Michael Reisman La separación entre la ley y la política, como se entiende tradicionalmente, es una falsa dicotomía: la ley es un elemento de la política, y por consiguiente, el poder. Estoy de acuerdo en que este es un punto vital que apreciar, en particular en el sistema jurídico internacional. Para evaluar mejor la teoría, se debe analizar la creación del Derecho Internacional y como la relación ley-poder llegó a crear el estado-nación que da lugar a tal institución. Para comenzar, se define el estado nacional como una organización política de población homogénea que comparte cultura, lengua, etc. con un gobierno que sirve a los intereses de esta. En los Siglos XVI y XVII, comienza a surgir un aumento a lo que es denominado un estado nación. A mediados del Siglo XVII se concreta la nación estado, debido a varios acontecimientos: 1) Surge la Reforma Protestante. Ésta respondía a las necesidades del pueblo al cuestionar las interpretaciones bíblicas y la Doctrina Católica que se usaba para subordinar a masas de personas. Decir que los...
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...Hispanic American Diversity Lee Hannah Axia College of University of Phoenix February 21, 2010 ETH/125 Instructor: Jerry Knight When people think about Hispanic groups, they automatically assume they are all alike and share the same traditions. Although, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and South and Central Americans may have some similarities they are very unique in their own way. Mexican Americans Mexico gained its independence in 1821, but the formation of the national culture remained a difficult task because of political instability, foreign invasions, and military uprisings (Ansters, 2011). The primary language for Mexicans is Spanish. The heart of Mexican dishes consists of three main ingredients: beans, corn, and hot peppers. Mexico has numerous occasions that called for special food. The Dia de la Candelaris which is on February 2nd celebrates the purification of Mary and the presence and blessing of Jesus. After the ceremony families join together for tamales. Mexico is a federal republic and its government operates under a centralized government. Government powers are divided between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Mexican’s extended family members are very important to them. They very often seek opportunities to gather with each other. Mexico has a free-market economy that has a mixture of traditional and modern industry and agriculture (Ansters, 2011). Mexican economy has experienced internationalization, privatization, and deregulation...
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...surprised to find many people on the island speak both Spanish and English very fluently. Most of the people along the coast and in the area of San Juan spoke at least fragments of English. I would assume this is because of the large level of tourism in that region. The farther we ventured inland a smaller amount of English was spoken. According to NationMaster (2015), Spanish and English are both official language of Puerto Rico but there are 922 Spanish speakers per 1000 people. Other languages can be found on the island but are not spoken by a representable amount of the population. The people that we encountered on the island were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. In Puerto Rico it is not uncommon for people to touch and embrace you in normal conversation. During conversation you can also expect for native people to get into your personal space because in the Puerto Rican culture it is normal to be very close when speaking to someone (Rivera, 1995). Locals will also have no problem interrupting you and finishing your sentences because in their culture it is normal and a part of their daily lives (Rivera,...
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...presence in the U.S, Puerto Rico, United Arab Emirates, and Guam. In the U.S, Macy’s operates around 870 stores in 45 states under the names of Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and Bluemercury. Macy’s have distribution centers and department stores in the U.S. The state of Alaska, Nebraska, Mississippi, Iowa, and Arkansas does not have a Macy’s department store. Macy’s have approximately 26 distribution and fulfillment centers nationwide. Hawaii State has one distribution center. Moreover, Macy’s ship to more than 100 countries worldwide from the U.S, the U.S is the country in which Macy’s exports their products to other countries. According to CNNMoney, Macy’s will be closing more than 40 stores in the USA during the year of 2016 due to a decrease on sales and earnings for the year of 2015. In previous years, Macy’s Inc. has closed approximately 52 stores and only opened 12 new ones. Mainly, the stores located in malls are the ones in danger of closing because of Macy’s existing online competitors such as Amazon. Macy’s have decided that they will shift...
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...groups. Hispanic Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Columbians all have different cultural and historic back grounds that identify them as separate ethnic groups. Hispanic Americans are Americans of Spanish-speaking descent. Many Hispanic Americans are the descendants of Mexican people who lived in the Southwest when it became part of the United States. Almost all other Hispanic Americans or their ancestors migrated to the United States from Latin America. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. As a group, Hispanic Americans represent a mixture of several ethnic backgrounds, including European, American Indian, and African.( http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/latino-hispanic-american/p1) The Spanish language and the Roman Catholic religion are among the oldest and most important cultural bonds that unite Hispanics. During Spain's colonial period, which lasted from the 1500's to the 1800's, Spanish missionaries and landowners spread their language and religion throughout the areas they controlled. As a result, nearly all Hispanic Americans can speak Spanish, and a large majority are Roman Catholics. (http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/hispanic-american-culture/p2) The Puerto Rican culture is a mix of different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Spaniards, Africans, Americans, French, and German are just a few of the ethnic groups that make up the Puerto Rican culture. The intermingling of these...
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...When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as positive as was thought it would be. During early U.S. rule, Puerto Ricans still were not included in the majority of governmental relations, and as with Spaniards, Americans who were sent to rule in Puerto Rico had never been there before and were ignorant about the history, culture, Spanish language, etc. Basically, Puerto Rico continued being ruled by foreigners who sought to complete their own interests, as opposed to looking to what are the interests of the nation they are invading and ruling. A cogent metaphor in Ferré's novel for the unrequited hopes that Puerto Rico had when United States invaded is Tony Torres, who is supposedly going to dance in Kerenski's adaptation of Swan Lake and Firebird . The people who lived in Machuelo Abajo...
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...LANG 901 / NAS 006 North American Cultural Studies Winter semester 2013/14 Class trip to Puerto Rico This paper proposes a class trip to Puerto Rico from the 10th to the 24th of March 2014. The first period in San Juan includes activities revolving around the indigenous Taino culture, e.g. their cuisine, musical instruments and history. Guided tours extend on the history of Puerto Rico as we visit the majestic fortifications by the Spanish settlers. Other activities during the first period are salsa lessons, shopping at the fruit market and adventure tours in the reef and rainforest. The second period begins with a visit to Cappara site, archaeological evidence of the first settlement, and ends with camping at famous east-coast beaches. The third period includes a guided jungle survival tour in El Yunque, a Guánica history tour, a visit to the Art Musuem, scuba diving and wall diving. Celebrations (i.e. shows, concerts, dancing etc.) on the streets conclude the third period with the national holiday Día de la Emancipación where students are going to join in. Special attention is going to be given to the costs and educational activities of the second period to substantiate the claim that the present proposal for a class trip is appropriate and promising. We leave our luggage at the New Island Hostel and walk 2.5 km to the Tren Urbano Sagrado Urazon, the train station, where we buy a day saver ticket for $5 to get to Caparra site. The Spanish settlers made this their...
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...Identification. Christopher Columbus landed in Puerto Rico in 1493, during his second voyage, naming it San Juan Bautista. The Taínos, the indigenous people, called the island Boriquén Tierra del alto señor ("Land of the Noble Lord"). In 1508, the Spanish granted settlement rights to Juan Ponce de León, who established a settlement at Caparra and became the first governor. In 1519 Caparra had to be relocated to a nearby coastal islet with a healthier environment; it was renamed Puerto Rico ("Rich Port") for its harbor, among the world's best natural bays. The two names were switched over the centuries: the island became Puerto Rico and its capital San Juan. The United States anglicized the name to "Porto Rico" when it occupied the island in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. This spelling was discontinued in 1932. Puerto Ricans are a Caribbean people who regard themselves as citizens of a distinctive island nation in spite of their colonial condition and U.S. citizenship. This sense of uniqueness also shapes their migrant experience and relationship with other ethnoracial groups in the United States. However, this cultural nationalism coexists with a desire for association with the United States as a state or in the current semiautonomous commonwealth status. Location and Geography. Puerto Rico is the easternmost and smallest of the Greater Antilles, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Basin to the south. Puerto Rico is a crucial hemispheric access point...
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...Hispanic-Americans make up a large ethnic group in the United States. Many Americans believe Hispanics are much the same and group them together (panethnicity) but, in fact, the groups are very diverse. Hispanics come from a variety of different cultures and include Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Central Americans. Each of these groups vary in their customs, religious beliefs, political views, family views, and other conventions that make them similar in some ways, and very different in others (Franklin, 2009). This paper will discuss the various cultures of Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Venezuelan-Americans in America. Mexican-Americans As a result of the Mexican-American war, about 80,000 Mexicans resided in the United States due to the accumulation of New Mexico and California. Even though many returned to Mexico, the majority stayed in the United States and gained their citizenship after two years (Englekirk and Martin, 2009). Since then, Mexican immigration to the United States has grown significantly and for various reasons. Today, Mexican-Americans make up about two thirds of the Hispanic population in the United States (Schaefer, 2006). The first indigenous Mexican people were various Indians such as Mixtec, Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, and Teotihuacan who assimilated with Spaniards after Spain invaded Mexico. Mexican families were typically male dominated but close-knit due to respect...
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