Imagine all the nations in the world belonging to one big family. The United States would be the father, China the mother, Japan the daughter, France the son, and so on. In this family of nations, Puerto Rico would only be a family relative. Proud to be American citizens and part of the United States, its culture and social mores are defiantly Spanish. Puerto Rico is a gorgeous, sunny island of many different colors. It has green trees, fields and forests, brown hills, and white, sandy beaches. Puerto Rico is famous for its beautiful beaches, warmhearted people, and delicious foods. In fact, Puerto Rico is also known to be the oldest community under the American Flag.
             Christopher Columbus discovered the lovely island on November 19, 1493 during his second voyage to the new world. Columbus decided to call the island San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) in honor of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Their son was named Juan and Columbus wanted to show gratitude because the king and queen gave him the money to buy the ships he used to sail the new world. Before Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, it was called Boriquen but a lieutenant to Columbus named Juan Ponce de Leon decided to call the island Puerto Rico ("rich port").
             Puerto Rico known as Boriquen wasn't exactly empty when Christopher Columbus found it. The first Puerto Ricans to occupy the tropical paradise was an Indian tribe called the Taino Indians. The Tainos lived in small villages and were led by a Cacique, or chief. The Taino Indians were branded to be very kind, peace- loving and generous people. But the Spaniards didn't appreciate the Tiano Indians. They took over
             the island, and turned the Taino Indians into slaves. Today the word Taino is still used to describe the people of Puerto Rico.
             What is a Puerto Rican? I've heard the questions plenty of times. Of course, Puerto Rican are people who live in, or come f...