Erika to the north of the Lesser Antilles shortly after peak intensity on September 9
Hurricane Erika was the strongest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave on September 3 and moved west-northwestward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, steadily intensifying until it attained hurricane status on September 4, becoming the fifth named storm and third hurricane of the season. Erika passed a short distance to the north of the Lesser Antilles, and later turned to the north in response to an approaching trough. The hurricane quickly strengthened to become the only major hurricane of the season, reaching maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) on September 8; after maintaining its peak strength for 24 hours, Erika began to weaken as it passed over cooler waters. It turned to the east, weakened to a tropical storm, and became extratropical after passing near the Azoresarchipelago.
The hurricane produced light rainfall and winds throughout the northern Lesser Antilles. The passage of Erika carried a cloud of volcanic ash to Antigua from the eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano on Montserrat, a rare occurrence. Strong waves from the hurricane produced beach erosion and coastal flooding in northern Puerto Rico, and caused the death of two surfers. Moderate wind gusts in the northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico left thousands of residents without power, and resulted in $10 million (1997 USD, $12.6 million 2006 USD) in damage in the U.S. Caribbean territories. Erika also produced gusty winds and light rain in the Azores. Erika was the only tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean in the months of August and September, the first occurrence of such event in an Atlantic hurricane season since 1929. (Full article...)
The film entered development in 2014 at 20th Century Studios (then named 20th Century Fox); Kushner began writing the screenplay in 2017. In January 2018, Spielberg was hired and casting began that September. Justin Peck choreographed the dance sequences. Principal photography occurred in New York and New Jersey; filming began in July 2019 and ran for two months. (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...)
In Puerto Rico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced more amateur and professional world champions than any other sport in its history. Puerto Rico ranks 5th worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions in history (only behind USA, Mexico, UK and Japan). Also, in year 2004, became the first country to have had, at least, one world champion in every single one of the 17 current boxing weight divisions throughout the history (Provided that John Ruiz is considered as Puerto Rican and not counting Bridgerweight division). Puerto Rico ranks first in champions per capita with an astonishing 16 in every one million people. February 9, 2008 was the first time that boxers from Puerto Rico had held three of the four major welterweights titles (World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization) when Carlos Quintana defeated Paul Williams to join Miguel Cotto, and Kermit Cintron as champions in the division.
Individually, Puerto Rican world champions have earned numerous achievements. These include, Wilfredo Gómez's record for most defenses in the super bantamweight division (all 17 by KO) and for most knockouts in championship fights for the same organization title with 18. On March 6, 1976, at age 17, Wilfred Benítez became the youngest world champion in the history of the sport. On September 3, 1994, Daniel Jiménez established a world record for the quickest knockout in a championship fight, defeating Harald Geier in 17 seconds (currently the second fastest). Juan Manuel López is sixth in this category, having defeated César Figueroa in 47 seconds during his first defense. Ossie Ocasio was the first World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight champion, winning it on February 13, 1982. This accomplishment was mimicked in other organizations: José de Jesús, José Ruíz Matos, John John Molina and Héctor Camacho did it in their respective divisions in the World Boxing Organization (WBO). On June 7, 2014, Miguel Cotto made history by becoming Puerto Rico's first four-division world champion. In women's boxing, Amanda Serrano was the first IBF super featherweight champion and the first Puerto Rican boxer (male or female) to win major world titles in seven different weight classes (Camacho made it first, but four of his titles were considered minor world titles). Also, in 2023, Serrano was the first Puerto Rican to be Undisputed world champion in a single division (featherweight), having won the four belts on each of the major boxing organizations (WBO, WBC, IBF and later WBA). (Full article...)
The cathedral has a history that dates to 1670. It has been damaged several times by fires and earthquakes. It stands out among Puerto Rico's other four cathedrals for its intricate design. It has a large pipe organ that was played by danza master and composer Juan Morel Campos. Architecturally, it is designed in the neoclassical style. Structurally, it follows a cruciform plan, with a large dome at the crossing. The interior consists of a main nave and two large aisles separated by a series of eight arcades. There are two small chapels in its interior. Two three-story square towers decorate the front facade. (Full article...)
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The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization (YLO), were a far-left political organization that developed from a Chicagostreet gang founded in 1959. With major branches in Chicago and New York City, they were known for their direct action campaigns, including building occupations, sit-ins, and garbage-dumping protests. They also provided community service programs for the neighborhoods they operated in, including childcare and medical services, as well as free breakfasts.
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...)
In Haiti, Hazel destroyed 40 percent of the coffee trees and 50 percent of the cacao crop, which affected the economy for several years. The hurricane made landfall near Calabash, North Carolina, and destroyed most waterfront dwellings. It then traveled north along the Atlantic coast. Hazel affected Virginia; Washington, D.C.; West Virginia; Maryland; Delaware; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; and New York. It brought gusts near 100 mph (160 km/h) and caused $281 million (1954 USD) in damage. When it was over Pennsylvania, Hazel consolidated with a cold front and turned northwest towards Canada. When it hit Ontario as an extratropical storm, rivers and streams in and around Toronto overflowed their banks, which caused severe flooding. As a result, many residential areas in the local floodplains, such as the Raymore Drive area, were subsequently converted to parkland. In Canada alone, over C$135 million (2025: C$1.6 billion) of damage was incurred. (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...)
Rodríguez was awarded the American LeagueMost Valuable Player 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 for the most. 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. Rodríguez recorded 2,844 hits in his career, the most of any catcher in MLB history. (Full article...)
Photo credit: US Department of Agriculture
The Common coquí is considered the unofficial national symbol of Puerto Rico. Although miniature in size (average length of 34 mm), the male's sound calls can sometimes reach 100 dB.
March 10, 1898 - Puerto Rican leaders of the Cuban Revolutionary Party corresponded with the United States hoping they would include Puerto Rico in the intervention planned for Cuba.
... that Juano Hernández was a pioneering Puerto Rican actor of African descent and the first Puerto Rican star in the African-American film industry?
... that Rafael Cancel Miranda was the only Nationalist out of the four who participated on the March 1, 1954 United States Capitol shooting incident to have been jailed in Alcatraz?
... that The Miss Universe Contest of 2003, was the first time in that pageant history that two women of Puerto Rican heritage, Susie Castillo and Carla Tricoli, participated at the same time representing different countries? Castillo represented the United States and Tricoli Puerto Rico.
The following are images from various Puerto Rico-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1The original Lares revolutionary flag. The first "Puerto Rican Flag" used in the unsuccessful Grito de Lares (Lares Uprising). (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 2"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 3Raising the US Flag over San Juan, October 18, 1898. (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 9Los Reyes Magos painted by Hipolito Marte Martinez, "In Puerto Rico, Melchior is always represented with dark skin" (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 10Sugar 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 11The first Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, established in 1900. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 12'La escuelo del Maestro Cordero' by Puerto Rican artist Francisco Oller. (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
Image 13Spanish Planter of Puerto Rico with House Slave, ca. 1808 (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 14Flag flown by Fidel Vélez and his men during the "Intentona de Yauco" revolt. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 17The 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 18Hurricanes Irma and Maria sharply reduced the availability of electricity throughout the island (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 19El Imparcial headline: "Aviation (US) bombs Utuado" during Nationalist revolts. (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 201876 indemnity bond paid as compensation to former Puerto-Rico owners of freed slaves (from History of Puerto Rico)
Image 21US and Puerto Rico flags on a building in Puerto Rico (from Culture of Puerto Rico)
And yet, despite this assault on their will and their historical destiny, the people of Puerto Rico have preserved their culture, their Latin character, their national feelings, which in themselves give proof of the implacable desire for independence lying within the masses on that Latin American island.
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