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Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was a leading Puerto Rican abolitionist and spokesman for the right to self-determination of Puerto Rico. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament, where he promoted abolition of slavery. In 1887, Baldorioty de Castro was the founder of the Partido Autonomista (Autonomist Party), also known as "Partido Autonomista Puro" (Pure Autonomous Party), "Partido Histórico" (Historic Party), and "Partido Ortodoxo" (Orthodox Party). (Full article...)
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"A Puro Dolor" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican band Son by Four. It was written by Omar Alfanno and released as the first single of the second studio album of the band in 2000. Two versions of the track were produced by Oscar Llord for the album; one as a salsa and the other as a ballad. The ballad version was arranged by Alejandro Jaén.
The song reached number-one on Billboard Top Latin Songs chart, and became the longest running chart topper of its history, spending 20 weeks at the top; this record was broken five years later by Colombian singer Shakira with "La Tortura" which spent 25 weeks at number-one. "A Puro Dolor" also reached the Billboard 100; this led to the recording of an English-language version of the track "Purest of Pain", which was also charted in the United States. (Full article...)
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Diva is the third studio album by Puerto Ricanreggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen. It was released on August 23, 2003 and independently distributed by Real Music Group after being dropped from Sony Discos. The recording followed her two previous studio albums which were commercially unsuccessful and a hiatus from her musical career beginning in 1999. It featured collaborations with Latin hip hop artists including Mexicano 777, Bimbo and K-7 while the album's production was handled by a variety of musical producers; Luny Tunes, DJ Nelson, Noriega, and Iván Joy were enlisted, while DJ Adam produced a majority of the tracks. Lyrically, the album explored female empowerment, infidelity, heartbreak and love with "a veritable compendium of her artistic passion, femininity, and culture". The musical styles of the recording alternate between reggaetón and hip-hop while Queen experiments with R&B, dancehall, and pop balladry.
Diva spawned a total of seven singles: "Quiero Bailar", "Quiero Saber", "Papi Te Quiero", "Guillaera", "Tuya Soy", "Tu No Puedes", and "Súbelo", which were released over the course of three years. "Quiero Bailar" became a commercial success and her first big hit in the United States and Puerto Rico. (Full article...)
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"Contra la Corriente" (transl. "Against the Current") is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album of the same name (1997). It was released in 1998 by RMM and served as the album's fifth single. The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with co-production handled by Ángel "Cucco" Peña and Anthony. "Contra la Corriente" is a salsa song, that lyrically recalls a "good love from the past."
Rodríguez was awarded the ALMVP award in 1999. He won the 2003 World Series with the Florida Marlins and played in the 2006 World Series while with the Tigers. In 2009, he set an MLB record by catching his 2,227th game, passing Carlton Fisk. He had the best career caught-stealing percentage of any major league catcher, at 45.68% (versus a league average of 31%), and he had nine seasons with a caught-stealing rate of 50% or higher. Only one major league catcher (Yadier Molina) has more putouts. (Full article...)
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The currencies of Puerto Rico closely follow the historic development of the territory. As a Province of Spain (Autonomous Community) and a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico was granted the use of both foreign and provincial currencies. Following the Spanish colonization in 1508, Puerto Rico became an important port, with its own supply of gold. However, as the mineral reserves ran empty within the century, the archipelago's economy suffered. The Spanish Crown issued the Situado Mexicano, which meant that a semi-regular shipment of gold from the Viceroyalty of New Spain would be sent to the island, as a way to provide economic support. Between 1636 and 1637, Philip IV of Spain imposed a tax which had to be paid using a revenue stamp. Inspired by this, Puerto Rico began producing banknotes in 1766, becoming the first Overseas Province to print 8-real banknotes in the Spanish Empire and which in the Spanish government's approval of subsequent issues.
The situado was discontinued during the 19th century, creating an economic crisis, as a result of Mexico gaining its independence from Spain. Salvador Meléndez Bruna, the colonial governor in office, ordered the issue of provincial banknotes, creating the Puerto Rican peso. However, printing of these banknotes ceased after 1815. During the following decades, foreign coins became the widespread currency. In the 1860s and 1870s, banknotes reemerged. On February 1, 1890, the Banco Español de Puerto Rico was inaugurated and began issuing banknotes. The bank designed four series and placed three in circulation under Spanish rule. In 1895, a Royal Decree ordered the production of provincial peso coins. (Full article...)
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Contra la Corriente (Against the Current) is the third studio album released by American singer Marc Anthony on October 21, 1997, by RMM Records. The album was produced by Puerto Rican musician Angel "Cucco" Peña, with most of the songs written by Panamanian composer Omar Alfanno. The album was well received by critics who praised the vocals of Anthony as well as the songs. The album produced six singles, four of which peaked on the top ten on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Promoted by a sold-out concert in Madison Square Garden, Contra la Corriente became the first salsa album to reach number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and to chart on the Billboard 200.
Contra la Corriente received a Grammy Award and a Latin Billboard Award, and was named the eighth best album of 1997 by Time magazine. It has sold over 400,000 copies as of 2000. The album received a gold certification for shipping of 500,000 copies in the United States. This was the last album that Marc Anthony recorded under RMM Records before switching over to Columbia Records to record his first self-titled English album. (Full article...)
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Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles (29 January 1909 – 4 November 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo and moved to Ponce early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in sprinting and baseball. Coimbre played thirteen seasons in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR), with the Leones de Ponce. During this period the team won five league championships. He finished his career with an average of .337, and had an average of 2.2 strikeouts per season, this included four consecutive seasons from 1939 to 1942, without any strikeouts. Coimbre also won two LBPPR batting titles and the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943.
Coimbre traveled to New York City, after completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico, where he joined the Porto Rico Stars baseball team of the Negro leagues.[A] He was contracted by the New York Cubans while playing with the Porto Rico Stars. He joined the NY Cubans and played several seasons for them. Coimbre's batting average remained over the .300 mark, including two seasons in which he batted over .400. While playing in the Negro leagues he was selected to play in the league's East–West All-Star games twice, where he played with several players who in the future would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also played with teams established in Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Following his retirement, Coimbre worked as a coach and manager of teams in both the professional and amateur leagues of Puerto Rico. Coimbre, who was eighty years old, died due to a fire at his home. (Full article...)
Hurricane Greta was an extremely large late-season Atlantic hurricane in the 1956 Atlantic hurricane season. Originating from a tropical depression near Jamaica on October 30, the system initially featured non-tropical characteristics as it tracked northward. By November 2, the system began producing gale-force winds around the low-pressure area; however, winds near the center of circulation were calm. By November 3, the system intensified into a tropical storm and was named Greta. Steadily strengthening, Greta attained hurricane intensity on November 4, eventually reaching a peak intensity with 100 mph (160 km/h) winds. Shortly after, Greta began to gradually weaken as it tracked over cooler waters. The storm eventually became extratropical on November 7 over the central Atlantic. Although Greta did not directly impact land as a tropical storm or hurricane, it generated large swells that impacted numerous areas. One person was killed in Puerto Rico and coastal damages from the waves amounted to roughly $3.6 million (1956 USD). (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...)
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The 1985 Puerto Rico floods produced showers and thunderstorms across the island and the deadliest single landslide on record in North America, that killed at least 130 people in the Mameyes neighborhood of barrio Portugués Urbano in Ponce. The floods were the result of a westward-moving tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. The system moved into the Caribbean Sea on October 5 and produced heavy rains across Puerto Rico, peaking at 31.67 in (804 mm) in Toro Negro State Forest. Two stations broke their 24-hour rainfall records set in 1899. The rains caused severe flooding in the southern half of Puerto Rico, which isolated towns, washed out roads, and caused rivers to exceed their banks. In addition to the deadly landslide in Mameyes, the floods washed out a bridge in Santa Isabel that killed several people. The storm system caused about $125 million in damage and 180 deaths, which prompted a presidential disaster declaration. The tropical wave later spawned Tropical Storm Isabel. (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...)
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"Pero Dile" (transl. "But Tell Them") is a song written and performed by American singer Víctor Manuelle on his sixth studio album, Inconfundible (1999). The song's production was handled by Sergio George, while the arrangement was done by Ramón Sanchez. It was released as the album's lead single in 1999 by Sony Discos. One of the album's salsa songs, it narrate the singer telling his ex to tell other people that he was a bad lover and admits to being at fault.
The 1985 Mameyes landslide in Ponce was one of the worst landslide disasters in North American history. Caused by excessive rains, it destroyed more than 100 homes and killed anywhere from 129 to 300 residents.
Puerto Rico Highway 10 (PR-10) is a major highway in Puerto Rico. The primary state road connects the city of Ponce in the south coast to Arecibo in the north; it is also the shortest route between the two cities.
Construction on the modern PR-10, a new 68.26-kilometer (42.41 mi) highway, began in 1974. The highway is being built parallel to the old PR-10; that road is now signed PR-123. Most of the new PR-10 is now complete, with an approximately 10-kilometer (6.2 mi) stretch still remaining to be finished. In its current state it is a freeway only in the completed portions, which consists of over three-fourths of the highway. (Full article...)
José Ramon Fernández, 1st Marquis of La Esperanza (1808–1883), was the wealthiest sugar baron in Puerto Rico in the 19th century. He was also one of the most powerful men of the entire Spanish Caribbean. He owned an immense plantation of nearly 2300 acres on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, and a sugar mill with an advanced steam engine. His wealth and political connections gave him the power to convince the Spanish Colonial government in the island to split the municipality of Manati in two, and thus found the municipality of Barceloneta.
The Hacienda La Esperanza steam engine has been designated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Today the entire property is owned by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust, which preserves and protects it, including some of the only coastal forest left in the region. (Full article...)
... that Jesús T. Piñero was not the first native Puerto Rican governor of Puerto Rico? That honor belongs to Juan Ponce de León II, who in 1597 became the first native Puerto Rican to assume, temporarily, the governorship of Puerto Rico.
... that Felisa Rincón de Gautier (also known as Doña Fela) was the first woman to be elected as the mayor of a capital city in any of the Americas?
... that Nydia Velázquez was the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress?[1]
... that José María Marxuach Echavarría was the only Puerto Rican to serve as the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico under both Spanish and American rule. He served in 1897 for the Liberal Reformista Party and again from 1900-1901 for the Puerto Rican Republican Party?[2]
... that María Luisa Arcelay was the first woman in Puerto Rico and in all of Latin America to be elected to a government legislative body?[3]
... that Carmen E. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to any state assembly and chair of the New York Hispanic Legislative Caucus?
... that Herman Badillo was the first Puerto Rican to serve in U.S. Congress?
... that María de las Mercedes Barbudo (1773-1849) was a political activist who was the first female "Independentista" meaning that she was the first Puerto Rican woman to become an avid advocate of Puerto Rican Independence,[4] and that she was involved with the Puerto Rican Independence Movement which had ties with the Venezuelan rebels led by Simón Bolívar and who were against Spanish colonial rule in Puerto Rico.?[5]
Image 2The first Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, established in 1900. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 3An 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 12'La escuelo del Maestro Cordero' by Puerto Rican artist Francisco Oller. (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 13The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 14Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (from History 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 17"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)
Image 19Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 20Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 21The 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 22Royal Cédula of Graces, 1815, which granted legal entry of some foreigners to Puerto Rico. (from History of Puerto Rico)
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