Green iguanas have taken over Puerto Rico and local residents are calling the problem the “green plague“. The iguanas, which aren’t native to Puerto Rico, have few natural predators on the island and are reproducing rapidly. Their population is now estimated at approximately 4 million which surpasses Puerto Rico’s human population that is holding steady at 3.7 million. The iguana [...]

Photo credit: Living on the frontlines Did you know that there is a rare genetic disease that is most prevalent in people of Puerto Rican descent? That rare genetic disease is Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, and it is said that 1 in every 1,800 Puerto Rico natives carries the HPS gene. Little is known about Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) but its most common [...]

If you like your food hot and spicy then you need some Pique in your life! There are two types of Puerto Rican pique: pique verde (Puerto Rican green hot sauce) and pique criollo. Pique verde is usually made with green Caballero hot peppers, green Cubanelle peppers, culantro, cilantro, onion, garlic, olive oil, and lime juice. On the other hand, [...]

Starting in August of 2012, the Puerto Rican public school system will be introducing a comprehensive Bilingual Generation program. The goal, according to Governor Luis Fortuño, will be “to ensure that in a period of 10 years each and every child who graduates from high school in Puerto Rico is perfectly bilingual, with full command of both Spanish and English.” [...]

It’s about that time again! The 2012 Summer Olympics is in full swing in London and the world is watching. The Opening Ceremony was held on Friday, July 27th and Puerto Rico‘s 25 representatives were representing our beautiful island as they made their way around the Olympic stadium. The flag bearer was Javier Culson who is an athlete in the [...]

Ready for the holidays? Why not make it special with a bit of pernil, which is a roasted pork (usually pork shoulder) seasoned in adobo mojado. Adobo mojado usually consists of crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, black pepper, dry/fresh orégano brujo, citrus juice or vinegar (or both citrus and vinegar). Pork is central to traditional Puerto Rican holiday cookings, and [...]

Taubman announced in recent months their plans to begin construction on a 640,000 square foot mall in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The state-of-the-art, two level enclosed mall will be known as The Mall of San Juan. The Mall of San Juan will be the first upscale mall on the island and is already set to include the very popular high [...]

In an age where true supermodels were a thing of the past, a fresh face appears. Chances are you’ve seen Joan Smalls on the cover of your favorite magazine already. She is currently on the cover of the July 2012 issue of W Magazine and has been dubbed the “new face of fashion”. So who is this Joan Smalls? Joan [...]

In April the United States Postal Service announced the induction of Jose Ferrer to the U.S. Postal Service’s Distinguished Americans Stamp Series. “… the Postal Service is pleased and proud to bestow upon Jose Ferrer — a groundbreaking Latino movie, theater and television performer and the first Puerto Rican actor to succeed in Hollywood – a new commemorative Forever stamp,” [...]

If you missed my Twitter tweet or post on our Facebook page, the 17th annual Dia De San Juan Festival by Fiestalegre is moving BACK to Long Beach from San Dimas! The festival will be held on Sunday June 17th at the Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach so mark your calendars! Here are more details on the festival… [...]