Population: 3,098,423
Motto: ” Joannes Est Nomen Eius, “John is his name”. Puerto Rico’s motto Latin, a quotation from The Bible, Luke 1:63, which means “Joannes Est Nomen Eius” (“John is his name.”) and refers to St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the island.
Puerto Rico has been a colony since Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493 (the Taíno Indians were already there). To this day, Puerto Rico is the world’s oldest colony, and San Juan is the oldest European city under the American flag.
PR is home to the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world.
Mosquito Bay, on the Island of Vieques, has a special type of algae called dinoflagellates, or “dinos”, which can produce a burst of bright blue light.
John the Baptist is the patron saint of Puerto Rico and the capital city is named in his honor. San Juan Bautista was the name Christopher Columbus gave to the island of Puerto Rico when he arrived in 1493 (the city of San Juan was actually christened “Porto Rico,” or Rich Port). The names were swapped and the capital has since been San Juan.
One of the city’s oldest and most hallowed churches, the Catedral de San Juan, bears his name and the Fiesta de San Juan Bautista, also known as the Festival of St. John the Baptist is one of the island’s most important annual events.
The official national anthem is La Borinquena, The Borinquena ” Borinqueña is a reference to the original inhabitants of the islands , the Taino Inidians and is the Taino word for the island “Boriken” or “Borinquen.”
The land of Borinquen
Listen to the national anthem.
where I was born
is a flowery garden
of magical beauty.
A constantly clear sky
serves as its canopy.
And placid lullabies are sung
by the waves at its feet.
When at her beaches Columbus arrived;
full of awe he exclaimed:
“Oh! Oh! Oh!
This is the lovely land
that I seek.”
Borinquen is the daughter,
the daughter of the sea and the sun.
Of the sea and the sun,
Of the sea and the sun,
Of the sea and the sun,
Of the sea and the sun.
Thank you for this dedication to Puerto Rico!