Where Were They From: Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island 100 miles long and 35 miles wide situated about 1,000 miles southeast of Florida.
When: The first Puerto Rican immigrants to come to the United States in the 19th century were for the most part political exiles seeking a base in New York.
What region of the US did they settle: By far the largest Puerto Rican community o the mainland is that of New York City and its environs. Puerto Ricans first came to Brooklyn and settled in the area around the Brooklyn Navy Yard during and after World War I. By 1930 East Harlem had become a large Puerto Rican community and acquired the name El Barrio (the neighborhood); it is still the area of the city most commonly associated with Puerto Ricans in New York. The Puerto Rican population soon spread to other sections of the city, particularly the South Bronx, the Lower East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
What occupations did they take part in: Initially Puerto Ricans worked in the agricultural sector. In Connecticut, for example, they worked in tobacco fields. Puerto Rican laborers
have filled labor shortages in many important mainland industries—the textile and garment industries of New York, the electronics industries in Illinois, the foundries in Wisconsin, the steel mills in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania and farms in the East and Midwest.
What are the family patterns, Rituals: Puerto Rican families are mostly large with an average of 4 people compared with 3.1 for families in New York City as a whole.
Are they a group that appreciates schooling: Puerto Ricans have a much lower educational level than the average American. One important effort to solve these difficulties has been the introduction of bilingual programs which teach the English language but provide instruction in the other regular subjects of the curriculum in Spanish. Some of the credit for these advances can go to Antonia Pantoja, the founder of Aspira, who also established the Universidad Boricua (Puerto Rican University), in New York City http://www.boricuacollege.edu/_Faculty/Faculty.html
in an effort to provide advanced training for promising Puerto Rican students while involving them in significant research related to Puerto Rico.
What are the basic demographics today?
Population 3, 966, 213 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure 0-14 years: 19.8% (male 402,473/female 384,655)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,260,191/female 1,361,359)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 239,957/female 317,578) (2009 est.)
Median age: total: 36.2 years
male: 34.5 years
female: 37.9 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate
0.298% (2009 est.)
male: 93.9%
female: 94.4% (2002 est.)
Fun Facts: Criollo (creole) is a word used today by Puerto Ricans to describe things native to the island, such as: music, cuisine, language, arts, people, religion, and other aspects of the island culture.
The term "Nuyorican" is used to identify New Yorkers born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent who live in or near New York City. The word Nuyorican derives from a combination of the words "New York" and "Puerto Rican".
Puerto Rico has won the Miss Universe pageant a record five times: Marisol Malaret (1970), Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993), Denisse Quiñones (2001), and Zuleyka Rivera (2006). It has more titles than Brazil, Argentina and Mexico combined. The only country to have won it more than Puerto Rico is the United States (1954,1956,1960,1967,1980,1995,1997)
Puerto Rico has competed in the Winter Olympic Games 6 times (Sarajevo-1984, Calgary-1988, Albertville-1992, Lillehammer-1994, Nagano-1998, and Salt Lake City-2000).