Dance in Puerto Rico
Not a lot of people know the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. Because of this, the people do not understand why Puerto Ricans are US citizens when Puerto Rico is not even a state of the USA. Well, this is an issue that has to do with the history of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was discovered in 1492 by Spanish conquerors. This put Puerto Rico under Spanish domination. That is why we speak Spanish in the first place. Puerto Rico was rich in gold, but the Spanish took it away. They also brought slaves to the island. In 1873, slavery was abolished. This is the reason for the Puerto Rican’s high degree of color integration. Puerto Ricans have roots in Spain, Africa, and the Tainos Indians, the Natives of Puerto Rico, who had a medium dark skin. By 1899, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States. An Act was passed in 1900 that made the island a US territory because of the language we speak. Puerto Rico’s location was of a benefit to the United States. Puerto Rico also produces good coffee and tobacco. In addition, Puerto Rico had good and cheap field workers. On March 2nd, 1917 an Act was passed in Washington, granting US citizenship to Puerto Ricans. This was the beginning of a Free and Associate State of USA. The island is not a state, but is associated with the United States or is part of the United States. Now, dance is something that Puerto Ricans enjoy a lot. It has been with Puerto Ricans for centuries. First the Tainos used to do it to call their gods. Then the Africans, when fighting for their freedom. Now Puerto Ricans do it just for fun. In the island dance is divided into approximately five categories. Salsa - which comes from Colombia, Merngue -which comes from the Dominican Republic, Bolero, and finally Plena and Bomba. These last two are exclusively from Puerto Rico. They are very old and are not used anymore. Salsa is believed to be the hardest one to learn. There is a combination of steps and it is necessary for the two people to have harmony of rhythm. That is to say that both have to have the same rhythm in order to do it correctly. Merengue and Bolero are very easy. There are no mayor steps. Everybody has a different way of dancing. Some have rhythm and some do not. The photo illustrated with this project is just an unanimated way of showing the most popular Salsa dance instruments. |