Puerto Rico is an Island in the Caribbean sea. It has rain forests and beautiful beaches. Most of the people there speak Spanish but many speak English too. That is because Puerto Rico belongs to the United States. It is not a part of the United States fully because it has not been incorporated. It is a self governing commonwealth of the United States. The people of Puerto Rico are United States Citizens.

Puerto Rican people have a mixture of heritage from Spanish, African and the native Taino people. They are very proud of their heritage. Even though many consider themselves Americans, they are also proud of being Puerto Rican. After all, they are Puerto Rican Americans.

Because Puerto Rico is an island of mixed hertitage they have many different traditions than mainland America.

Puerto Rican food is a mix of all the different influences of heritage and use of all the fresh ingredients of the islands. The National Dishes are :

Arroz con gandules y lechón – Yellow rice and pigeon peas with roasted pork ( National Dish)

Asopao – Similar to gumbo, the soup is made with rice, shellfish, chicken, chorizo and other ingredients.

Arroz con dulce – Sweet sticky rice cooked in spices, ginger, milk, coconut milk, raisins, and rum. ( National Christmas Desert)

Coquíto – Coconut milk and rum eggnog. (National Christmas Drink)

Pasteles – Puerto Rican tamales. Dough made from milk, stock, green banana, squash, plantains and starch roots, filled with meat and other ingredients.( National Christmas dish)..

Tembleque – Coconut corn starch pudding ( national dessert.)

Christmas celebrations in Puerto Rico begin in early December and can continue until mid January. Many Puerto Ricans pretend to be "jibaros" and wear a straw hat called a "pava". They form a "parranda" .. a small group of friends who "surprise" other friends by showing up to sing to them ( almost like caroling but the songs are not all about Christmas) usually after 10pm. They are invited in and a sing and dance party ensues. After an hour or so the group ( including those who join from that home) go on to "surprise" another friend. They continue this way until the last house about 3 or 4am where the owner serves chicjen soup and the party begins to wind down, ending about dawn.

For Christmas most Puerto Ricans join together to cook a pig. The celebration feast is tradition for that time of year.