Puerto Rico: Random Facts and Trivia

Some random facts and trivia for the country of the world Puerto Rico, its agriculture, social structure, the move of gangsters from Cuba to Puerto Rico.

PUERTO RICO

NOTES

Although the soil in Puerto Rico is rich, very little of it is being used to grow food for domestic use. Pinto beans, which are a staple in the diet of rural Puerto Ricans, are imported from Stockton, Calif.

The island's social structure, once the traditional model of a society with a tiny elite and vast peasant class, is changing rapidly under the onslaught of Americanization. Not only has the immense amount of foreign investment affected some living standards, but the 2-way flow of Puerto Ricans between the mainland and the island has exposed thousands, directly or indirectly, to U.S. life-styles and consumerism. Returning Puerto Ricans import the American emphasis on material gain and competitiveness, shaking the traditional Hispanic-Caribbean culture. A proliferation of cars and televisions-bought on credit--are evidence of the new middle class who want what they see abroad or hear of from tourists.

The use of the island of Culebra for U.S. Navy target practice was halted only in 1974 by order of the U.S. Congress. The 800 inhabitants of Culebra complained for years of the danger of duds or misdirected shells, and of the noise and the restrictions they had to suffer.

When Castro took power in Cuba, American gangsters moved their casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and prostitutes to Puerto Rico.

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