Unit 5: De compras

Question 1

What is the capital and largest city of Puerto Rico?

Answer 1

San Juan

Question 2

Besides San Juan, what are other important cities in Puerto Rico?

Answer 2

Bayamón, Carolina, and Ponce

Question 3

Where is Puerto Rico located? What is its climate like?

Answer 3

Puerto Rico is a tropical island in the Caribbean.

Question 4

What is Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States? What languages do they speak?

Answer 4

Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, but it is considered a U.S. territory, rather than an official state. This makes all Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens. However, even though they are U.S. citizens, they do not vote in the U.S. presidential election. In Puerto Rico, people speak both Spanish and English, although people from many different countries have influenced the culture of the islands.

Question 5

What is Puerto Rico made up of (geographically)?

Answer 5

Puerto Rico is made up of several islands. There is a main island, which is called Puerto Rico, and several smaller islands, such as Vieques, Culebra, and Mona, which are all part of Puerto Rico.

Question 6

How does shopping differ in Old San Juan and the newer, more urban parts of San Juan?

Answer 6

Old San Juan is more traditional, consisting of cobblestone streets and old Spanish colonial buildings from the sixteenth century. There, you can find local boutiques and craft markets, which produce handmade goods, ceramics, paintings, and jewelry. However, in the newer, more urban parts of San Juan, you can experience the modern conveniences of a shopping mall, just as you would in a U.S. city.

Question 7

What is a “careta,” which can be seen in the craft shops of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico?

Answer 7

A papier-mâché mask

Question 8

In Puerto Rico, what is mundillo?

Answer 8

Puerto Rico is known for mundillo, which is a handmade lace. This can be seen in Puerto Rican wedding dresses, napkins, and table linens.

Question 9

What is “El Carnaval Ponceño” in English?

Answer 9

The Carnival in Ponce

Question 10

When does El Carnaval Ponceño, or the Carnival in Ponce, take place? How long has it been celebrated?

Answer 10

The Carnaval in Ponce dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and takes place right before the Catholic Lent season, one week before Ash Wednesday.

Question 11

How is El Carnaval Ponceño similar to and different from Mardi Gras in New Orleans?

Answer 11

El Carnaval Ponceño is very similar to the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans and other Carnaval celebrations around the world. In fact, it takes place during the same week. It is also complete with parades, music, traditional costumes, and masks. At both Mardi Gras and Carnaval, you’ll see a variety of costumes, but the color palette for Mardi Gras is often limited to the symbolic colors of purple, green, and gold. At Carnaval, the full spectrum of bright colors are on display.

Question 12

In El Carnaval Ponceño, what is the significance of the vejigantes?

Answer 12

One of the main attractions of Carnaval Ponceño is characters from Puerto Rican folklore called the vejigantes. The appearance of the devilish vejigantes starts the week-long celebration. They walk through the parade dressed in colorful costumes and papier-mâché masks with horns.

Question 13

During El Carnaval Ponceño, what happens throughout the week? How does El Carnaval Ponceño come to an end? When does this occur? What is this called in New Orleans?

Answer 13

Throughout the week, there are different parades and processions, as well as the crowning of the Carnaval Queen. Carnaval week comes to an end with the Burial of the Sardine on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This Tuesday is also known in New Orleans as Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

Question 14

What is the Burial of the Sardine, practiced within El Carnaval Ponceño? How has it changed?

Answer 14

In the Burial of the Sardine, a parade that mimics a funeral comes through the streets. They actually do not bury a sardine, but rather they burn an effigy, or a dummy, that symbolizes rebirth right before the Lenten season. In early Spain, the burial of the sardine did involve a fish or a symbol of a fish that was buried to symbolize the past.

Question 15

What is the Plaza Las Américas in Puerto Rico?

Answer 15

The Plaza las Américas shopping center is located in Puerto Rico, and it is the biggest mall in the entire Caribbean, consisting of almost 2 million square feet. The mall has many of the stores and restaurants seen in the United States, including retail clothing, jewelers, automotive shops, technology and videogame stores, and services such as opticians, mobile phone providers, and post offices.

Question 16

What is High Fashion Week in Puerto Rico? Why is it important?

Answer 16

High Fashion Week is held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During High Fashion Week, the work of different local and international designers is presented, and it is considered one of the most important fashion events in the industry. High Fashion Week is not only great exposure for the talented designers whose work is showcased at the shows; it also brings a lot of business to Puerto Rico. Think of all the people needed to put on such a large show—from designers and models to builders and artists.

Question 17

True or False: San Juan is an important sea port.

Answer 17

True

Question 18

Where is San Juan located in Puerto Rico?

Answer 18

It is located on the northeastern coast of the main island of Puerto Rico.

Question 19

Why was the San Felipe de Morro fort built in Puerto Rico?

Answer 19

When the Spanish came to settle Puerto Rico, they built the San Felipe del Morro fort to protect the island from attacks. You see, San Juan was a stopover for ships sailing between the New World and Spain. Many times these ships carried precious cargo, such as gold and riches from the New World.

Question 20

Where is Old San Juan located? What is its significance? How does it differ from more modern areas in San Juan?

Answer 20

Old San Juan is located at the edge of the bay at the entrance to the harbor. It is the historic part of town, which was the area first settled by the Spanish in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There, the streets are made of cobblestones, and the buildings are made of brick and stone. On the other hand, modern San Juan is comparable to many big cities. It’s an urban center that has shops, museums, theaters, restaurants, and an active nightlife.

Question 21

What is the Museo de las Américas in San Juan?

Answer 21

The Museo de las Américas is perhaps San Juan’s most well-known museum. There, one can see a lot of art and history related to the Americas, as well as to Puerto Rican cultural and anthropological history.

Question 22

What are some universities in San Juan?

Answer 22

There are also several universities in San Juan. These include the University of Puerto Rico, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, and the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico.

Question 23

Who is José Francisco Salgado? What does his work prove? What is he best known for?

Answer 23

José Francisco Salgado is a scientist and an artist from Puerto Rico. Some people believe that science and art are mutually exclusive, as if someone could not be both scientific and artistic. As an astronomer, photographer, and visual artist, Salgado serves as proof against such claims. He is best known for using his art as a means of expressing scientific truths.

Question 24

What are José Francisco Salgado’s “Science and Symphony” film series?

Answer 24

Illustrating further the connection between science and art, Salgado has made films that combine science and music in his “Science and Symphony” film series. In these films, he presents photos, illustrations, and animations from images in space to be presented while a live symphony performs. His work has been performed by symphonies from around the world, and his films have been well received by critics, the public, and the scientific community.

Question 25

What is José Francisco Salgado’s current project called? What is its purpose?

Answer 25

His current project is called the Bailey Salgado Project. He has teamed up with musician Tom Bailey to produce works of photography and music that capitalize on his background in astronomy by setting visual images and film of the night’s sky to music.

Question 26

In what areas has José Francisco Salgado received honors and grants in?

Answer 26

José Francisco Salgado has received many honors and grants based on his engaging work in the visual and multimedia arts, as well as in astronomy.

Question 27

What is the best way to describe José Francisco Salgado’s work and influence?

Answer 27

José Francisco Salgado’s work is both beautiful and inspiring. Together with the music, it gives the viewer a whole new way of experiencing and considering the physical world and the vast galaxy of which we are a part.

Question 28

What is the political history of Puerto Rico, from Spanish settlement to U.S control?

Answer 28

The Spanish settled the islands after they arrived to the New World, and it remained under Spanish rule until 1898, when the United States took control of it after the Spanish-American War. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were all designated as U.S. citizens, which allowed them to migrate freely between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico.

Question 29

After being designated as U.S. citizens in 1917, where did the majority of Puerto Ricans migrate to in the latter half of the twentieth century? What has the Puerto Rican population in this area been referred to?

Answer 29

During the latter half of the twentieth century, many Puerto Ricans migrated to the U.S. mainland, the majority to New York. In fact, New York City has one of the largest populations of Puerto Rican residents in the United States. This group of New York-based Puerto Ricans has been referred to as Nuyoricans, which is a mix of New York and Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans who were born on the island often use the term “nuyorican” in a broader sense, to refer to someone of Puerto Rican descent who was actually born outside Puerto Rico.

Question 30

What is Puerto Rico’s relationship to the U.S.? What are the three viewpoints on the political status of Puerto Rico, in relation to the U.S.?

Answer 30

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, and it is considered a U.S. territory, controlled by the government of the United States. There has been an ongoing discussion as to what Puerto Rico’s status should be. Some people believe that Puerto Rico should maintain its current commonwealth status. This would mean that Puerto Ricans would still send a commissioner to Congress, they would retain U.S. citizenship, and they would continue not to pay federal taxes or vote in the presidential elections. Others believe that Puerto Rico should be incorporated into the United States as the fifty-first state. This would give Puerto Rico state representation in the House and Senate, as well as the right to vote in presidential elections. In the case of statehood, Puerto Ricans would also pay federal taxes. A third group believes that Puerto Rico should be an independent country with strong political ties to the United States.

Question 31

Why is Spanish more significant than English in Puerto Rico?

Answer 31

The majority of people in Puerto Rico continue to use Spanish far more than they speak English. In Puerto Rico, Spanish has become a symbol of culture and identity, and many choose to maintain speaking Spanish as an expression of being Puerto Rican.

Question 32

What is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic?

Answer 32

Santo Domingo

Question 33

Where is the Dominican Republic located? What is the climate of the Dominican Republic, and how does it compare to those of Puerto Rico and Cuba?

Answer 33

The Dominican Republic is located between Cuba and Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean. It occupies the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, and the country of Haiti occupies the western part. The climate of the Dominican Republic is tropical, as it is in both Puerto Rico and Cuba, but it does not get as humid there as it does in some other areas of the Caribbean.

Question 34

What is the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic? Where is it located (which river)? Who founded it? When? What is Santo Domingo’s significance in the New World? What is Sanyo Domingo’s significance to the Dominican Republic today?

Answer 34

Santo Domingo is the capital city of the Dominican Republic. It is located alongside the Ozama River and was founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus’s brother, Bartholemew. Santo Domingo is the oldest city in the New World, which means it is full of history. For example, it is also where the New World’s first university and cathedral were built. As the largest city in the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo is the Dominican Republic’s main seaport to the Caribbean Sea, as well as its main urban center and home to nearly four million people.

Question 35

What are the major ethnicities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic?

Answer 35

There is plenty of ethnic diversity in Santo Domingo, just as there is throughout the Caribbean. The two most prominent groups are Dominicans of African descent and Dominicans of European descent. Not surprisingly, there is also a substantial Haitian community in the Dominican Republic.

Question 35

How does shopping in Santo Domingo compare to shopping in other parts of the Caribbean?

Answer 35

The shopping in Santo Domingo offers a great variety of items through both modern and more traditional local shops. As in many other Caribbean cities, the streets are filled with boutiques and market vendors.

Question 36

What is Plaza Central in Santo Domingo?

Answer 36

Plaza Central is one of the main shopping malls in Santo Domingo. It has the typical mall fare that you would find in a U.S. shopping center, including retailers, restaurants, and a movie theater.

Question 37

What is the most common way to shop in Santo Domingo? What is the Mercado Modelo?

Answer 37

The most common way to shop in Santo Domingo is at one of the many street markets. At these places, you can find wonderful crafts made by local artisans. The Mercado Modelo is a street market in Santo Domingo where vendors sell souvenirs and crafts. In these street markets, prices are typically higher than expected, and it is common for shoppers to regatear, or bargain with the vendors to negotiate lower prices.

Question 38

True or False: Baseball holds a special significance in the Dominican Republic.

Answer 38

True

Question 39

What is Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic?

Answer 39

Los Haitises National Park is located on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. It is a protected forest reserve that only allows limited access to visitors. It requires extra care to ensure that the natural environments being visited aren’t harmed by the tourists, meaning only a limited number of ecotourists are permitted to explore the park with a guide. There are many interesting things to see in the park, from rivers and cave paintings left by indigenous peoples of the region, to mangrove forests and small islands. In the park, many different animal species can be seen, including a spectacular variety of birds that can only be found in the park.

Question 40

What type of clothing should be brought to a trip to Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic?

Answer 40

Boots, hiking shoes, T-shirts, a cap, waterproof clothing, and, most importantly, bringing along extra socks.