Last weekend, New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony visited Puerto Rico to unveil two newly remodeled basketball courts located within the Magnolia Gardens public housing complex in the northern city of Bayamon. The newly remodeled basketball courts are used by the island’s top minor league players which have produced players that are part of the island’s Superior League. It is estimated [...]

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 have $5 million to spare you can be the proud new owner of the Castle of Rincon in Puerto Rico. The 9,000+ square foot mansion that sits atop a private mountain in Palatine Hill is playfully referred to as the “JLo Castle” by local residents… and for good reason. The gated fortress boasts its own watch tower, helicopter [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Directed by Juan Agustín Márquez, the Emmy award winning film 100,000 documents a growing problem on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico – stray dogs. These abandoned feral dogs, also known as “satos” in Puerto Rico, are often seen roaming the streets and beaches of Puerto Rico and are growing in number. The 100,000 documentary offers eye opening views of [...]

Happy New Year from CaliRicans.com! In the days approaching New Years Eve I linked to a New Year traditions article that pointed out the tradition of wearing yellow underwear for good luck for the new year in Puerto Rico. While this is a popular tradition in Puerto Rico (and other Spanish speaking countries), it isn’t the only one. Read on [...]

09/30/2012 Updated Links: – New Birth Certificate Information (English) – New Birth Certificate Information (Spanish) In December 2009, Puerto Rico enacted a new law to combat fraud and protect the identity of U.S. Citizens who were born in Puerto Rico. On July 1, 2010, the Puerto Rico Health Department’s Vital Statistics Record Office will begin issuing new birth certificates incorporating [...]