Puerto Rico in London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony

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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 track and field category.

Born in Barrio Playa, Ponce, Javier Culson is known as the “world’s fastest man” in the 400 metre hurdles category and hopes to win Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold. He ranked #2 in the world last year behind David Greene of Great Britain, however he has remained undefeated this year and has beaten David Greene three times this year thus far. But Culson is not thinking about Greene at the moment, instead choosing to focus on his own race. Culson states:

I feel a little bit of pressure because right now I’m the first in the world, I have the best time and my country is watching me. But it’s going to be OK

Congratulations to all of the great athletes who made it to the Olympics! We will be cheering on these fine athletes representing Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympics!

Athletics: Erick Alejandro (400m hurdles), Héctor Cotto (110m hurdles), Javier Culson (400m hurdles), Enrique Llanos (110m hurdles), Miguel López (100m), Jamele Mason Vegas (400m hurdles), Beverly Ramos (3000m steeplechase), Carol Rodriguez (400m), Samuel Vázquez (1500m), Wesley Vázquez (800m)

TeamPuertoRico-Eric-AlejandroTeamPuertoRico-Hector-Cotto-Enrique-LlanosTeamPuertoRico-JavierCulsonTeamPuertoRico-Miguel-LopezTeamPuertoRico-JameleMasonVegasTeamPuertoRico-BeverlyRamosTeamPuertoRico-CarolRodriguezTeamPuertoRico-SamuelVazquezTeamPuertoRico-WesleylVazquez

Boxing: Jantony Ortiz (Light flyweight), Jeyvier Cintrón (Flyweight), Félix Verdejo (Lightweight), Francisco Vargas (Light welterweight), Enrique Collazo (Middleweight)

TeamPuertoRico-EnriqueCollazo-JeyvierCintron-Jantony-Ortiz-FelixVerdejo-FranciscoVargas

Gymnastics: Tommy Ramos (All-around), Lorena Quiñones (All-around)

TeamPuertoRico-TommyRamosTeamPuertoRico-LorenaQuinones

Judo: Melissa Mojica (Women’s +78 kg)

TeamPuertoRico-MelissaMojica

Shooting: José Torres Laboy (Double trap)

TeamPuertoRico-JoseTorresLaboy

Swimming: Vanessa García (50m freestyle), Raúl Martínez Colomer (200m freestyle)

TeamPuertoRico-VanessaGarciaTeamPuertoRico-RaulMartinez

Weightlifting: Lely Burgos (Women’s -48kg)

TeamPuertoRico-LelyBurgos

Wrestling: Franklin Gómez (-60kg), Francisco Soler (-74kg), Jaime Espinal (-84kg)

TeamPuertoRico-FranklinGomezTeamPuertoRico-FranciscoSoler-JaimeEspinal

More pictures of Team Puerto Rico from the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony below:

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Puerto Rican Roasted Pork (Pernil) Recipe

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 would make for a special treat on any holiday or birthday.

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New Upscale Mall, The Mall of San Juan, to be Built in Puerto Rico

taubman-mall-of-san-juan

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 fashion department stores Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. The $405-million shopping center will also include more than 100 specialty stores and restaurants, approximately 60 percent of which are anticipated to be new to the island.

taubman-mall-of-san-juan-inside“We are thrilled to bring Saks Fifth Avenue to Puerto Rico and to The Mall of San Juan,” noted Steve Sadove, chairman and chief executive officer of Saks Incorporated. “We look forward to delivering our distinctive, world-class selection of luxury brands and memorable service experiences to the residents of and visitors to the island.”

“The Mall of San Juan will be a very exciting shopping destination for Puerto Rico and we’re glad we’re a part of it. Our first priority is to serve the local island customer with a Nordstrom store of their own featuring great quality and luxury fashion for everyone in the family. It’s an added bonus to be able to serve visitors to Puerto Rico too,” said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom.

The development is adjacent to the San Jose Lagoon at the south end of the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge and is just two miles away from the international airport. The Mall of San Juan will be designed to reflect the rich culture and heritage of San Juan, but with a fresh and contemporary twist. In addition to The Mall of San Juan, there are also plans to build a hotel and casino.

The projected opening of The Mall of San Juan is late 2014.

Source: Taubman, PR Newswire

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New Era of SuperModels: Joan Smalls

Joan-Smalls-July-W-Magazine

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-smalls-estee-lauder Joan Smalls was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She comes from a multi-ethnic family (a father from St. Thomas and a Puerto Rican mother) and is said to be of African, Spanish, Taino Indian, Irish and Hindu descent. Smalls said she has always known since the age of five that she wanted to become a model, but those dreams weren’t realized until she made the move to New York City. Before the move she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. In 2007 she left the island and moved in with her aunt in Queens, and signed with Elite Model Management immediately thereafter.

Smalls made her high-fashion debut in January 2010 when she was featured as the exclusive model for Ricardo Tischi’s Givenchy Fall/Winter 2010 Couture Show… and she has been working with the best names in fashion ever since.

Joan-Smalls-Vogue-Australia-May-2012With two Vogue covers, an Estée Lauder contract, and campaigns that include Chanel and Gucci and Givenchy, it is easy to see that the sky is the limit for this educated beauty. The amount of work that she has already done gives her the resume of a pro. She has walked for designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stella McCartney, Prada, and Marc Jacobs among others. She appeared in the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and has appeared in numerous campaigns, editorials and magazine covers.

With all of the success and exposure that her career has brought upon her, Joan Smalls understands the importance of representing a group of women that you rarely see in high fashion magazine. Joan Smalls explains in the July issue of W Magazine:

“I just have something to prove. I know I’m representing a group — black, Latin, whatever you want to put me with — and I want to show that they are beautiful the way they are. I think that’s really important for our youth to see. Fashion is part of our culture… and it’s about more than just a pretty dress.”

Don’t forget to pick up the July issue of W Magazine !

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Legendary Actor/Director Jose Ferrer Honored on Forever Stamp

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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,”

“Throughout an acting career that spanned more than half a century, Ferrer played a wide range of roles on both Broadway and on the silver screen. His accomplishments extended to many other genres of entertainment. He acted on radio, performed as an opera singer; co-authored a libretto and was a composer. And, as if all this weren’t enough, Ferrer wrote for theater and television, and directed and produced numerous plays, both on and off Broadway.”
– Marie Therese Dominguez, vice president, Government Relations and Public Policy for the U.S. Postal Service

José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His family moved to New York City when he was six years old. Ferrer was said to be an excellent student and passed the Princeton University entrance exam at 15 years old — but he was too young to attend. As a result of this he spent a year in boarding school in Switzerland and entered Princeton at age 16 and graduated with the class of 1933. He initially intended on becoming a language professor but he discovered his love of acting during his postgraduate work at Columbia University.

And it was a good thing he did – he became the first Puerto Rican (and Hispanic) actor to win an Academy Award. He ultimately donated his Oscar award to the University of Puerto Rico to honor his roots. He also won several Tony Awards and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

To order your own Jose Ferrer Forever stamps visit the official USPS website here: Jose Ferrer (Forever)

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