In this face to face or flipped lesson, students will examine some of the culture and traditions associated with Puerto Rico.  Then, they will compare and contrast what they've learned with one of the other countries we have researched (either Costa Rica or Argentina).  They will do this using the questioning prompt, "I Used to Think... But Now I Think...".(ACTFL Standards:  Cultures - 2.1 & Comparisons - 4.2)

El chupacabra is an urban legend sourced from Puerto Rico that has been rumored to roam the island since the 1970s. But upon further inspection of these legends, where does el chupacabra actually come from? When was he first conceived in the Puerto Rican cultural imaginary? This audio short examines the lore of el chupacabra and interprets its symbolism amidst a fraught historical narrative.

Written & edited by May Santiago
Audio recordings & sound design by May Santiago

Opening audio is “Goatsucker” by The Killers, courtesy of Gordy, The Victims Fanclub & Island Records.
Bomba audio in Loíza, Puerto Rico from April 27, 2021 courtesy of Taino Vision LLC.
Archival audio of Madelyne Tolentino’s interview with Carmen Jovet courtesy of Borinken TV.

The Pedro Albizu Campos Digital Resource Collection contains digitized images of all of the archival documents of Pedro Albizu Campos maintained by Harvard University Archives (HUA). The collection focuses on 1912-1923 (the date of Albizu’s official Harvard Law School degree conferral). The digital images are of every single document of Pedro Albizu Campos from the University of Vermont, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School. It includes newspaper clippings in Albizu’s alum file and Laura Meneses del Carpio, wife of Albizu, maintained by Radcliffe College. The collection includes Spanish translations of most digital images and English text for most handwritten letters and notes.

Prosthetic memories are a form of public memory built in public sites. In this audio short, the old abandoned cinemas and their histories & ghosts are explored through the idea of prosthetic memories. What stories have been told in these abandoned buildings? What stories do they tell now?

Written & edited by May Santiago
Audio recordings & sound design by May Santiago

Archival audio of Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894) courtesy of Edision Film Archive via Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Archival audio of Jack’s Joke (1913) courtesy of Edison Film Archive via Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Archival audio of “Aloma” from Aloma of the South Seas (1926) courtesy of Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Archival audio of Universal Newsreel Volume 27, Release 550 (1954) courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Archival audio of Atom for the Americas (1967) courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Archival audio of Universal Newsreel Volume 40, Release 59 (1967) courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Archival audio of La revolución nacionalista (1950) courtesy of Edgardo Huertas.
Archival audio of “Sara” performed by Quinteto Borinquen from August 3, 1916 courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings & Arhoolie Records.

This collection uses primary sources to explore Puerto Rican migration to the US. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Witness the unstoppable joy of dancing bomba, Puerto Rico’s Afro-Puerto Rican dance of resistance. Meet sisters Mar and María Cruz who are dedicated to the dance and its legacy of survival, and trace some of the communities where bomba is at its most vibrant, from the Santurce area of San Juan, to Loíza, the bastion of Afro-Puerto Rican culture across the Rio Grande.

Puerto Rico's San Juan Bay Estuary faces multiple threats, including heavy use by urban populations and impacts of climate change. A workbook from the EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries program helped them catalog, prioritize, and address their climate risks.

Poster promoting Puerto Rico for tourism, showing view of park with palm trees. Date stamped on verso: Jul 19 1940. Posters of the WPA / Christopher DeNoon. Los Angeles : Wheatly Press, c1987, no. 194

Poster promoting Puerto Rico for tourism, showing view of harbor from Morro Castle. Date stamped on verso: Jul 18 1940.