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A Cultural Publication for Puerto Ricans
From the editor . . .
This issue includes both sides of the coin on the issue of
Christopher Columbus, Discoverer of the New World, or
exploiter of native people? Are some groups trying to rewrite
history or just make a few adjustments?
I never gave a second thought to stuffing, until a non-Puerto
Rican friend asked me if I knew how to make Puerto Rican
stuffing. I said no, I don’t. She then proceeded to tell me how it
included different kinds of meats. I said, ‘that’s not how you
make it?’ We had a good laugh. This issue includes our
traditional meat stuffing.
Once you try our roasted mashed potato recipe you will never go
back to plain and ordinary mashed potatoes.
YOUR AD
Siempre Boricua, Ivonne Figueroa
FITS HERE
Index
Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias
Happy Thanksgiving
Page
Credits
2
Beach Weddings
2
Island Trivia/Speaking Puerto Rican
3
Taínos - Calendar - Don Guillo
4
Don Cristóbal Colón by Román Romano
5
Dra. C.S. Ortega/Primos
6
Hints with Vélez and Rodello
7
Cooking and Recipes
8
More recipes
9
Music Review by Alberto González
10
Book Review
10
OVEMBER 2009
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 2
CREDITS
©1995-2009
All articles are the property of EL BORICUA
or the property of its authors.
Staff
Puerto Rico has such a gorgeous backdrop of sand and surf that a beach
wedding here is a no-brainer. And in case you want to skip the beach for the
day, this U.S. territory also offers a nice blend of relaxation and cultural and
historic sights for you and your guests to wander around pre and postwedding.
Javier Figueroa - Dallas , TX
Publisher
Ivonne Figueroa - Dallas, TX
Executive Editor & Gen. Mgr.
Dolores Flores – Dallas, TX
Language Editor
Dra. C. S. Ortega
Primos Editor
What to Know
As with most Caribbean destinations, fickle weather can be an issue.
Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30.
For peace of mind when planning your beach wedding, note that San Juan
and the northern coast tend to be cooler and wetter than Ponce and the
southern coast.
Luquillo Beach is the most popular place on the island. You may have to
duke it out with some sunbathers for your nuptial stretch of sand, but the
sight of the El Yunque rainforest in the background is well worth the fight. If
you want to try out one of the hottest new destinations in the Caribbean, go
to the island of Vieques, just seven miles east of the big island of Puerto
Rico.
Marriage Requirements
Residency requirement: None
Necessary documents: Valid photo ID or passports; proof of divorce or death
certificate of former spouse/s (if applicable); blood tests from a federally
certified laboratory (in the U.S. or Puerto Rico) within 10 days of the
wedding date. A doctor will need to sign and certify marriage certificate
after examination of the bride and groom in Puerto Rico.
Note: Marriage license has to be acquired in advance from the Puerto Rico
Demographic Department up to 10 days before the wedding.
EL BORICUA is a monthly cultural publication,
established in 1995, that is Puerto Rican owned and
operated. We are NOT sponsored by any club or
organization. Our goal is to present and promote our
"treasure" which is our Cultural Identity - “the Puerto
Rican experience.” EL BORICUA is presented in
English and is dedicated to the descendants of Puerto
Ricans wherever they may be.
Anna María Vélez de Blas
Recipe Tester
Manuela Rodello
Hints for a Puerto Rican Household
Guillermo ‘Don Guillo’ Andares,
Gardening Tips for Puerto Ricans
Alberto González
Music Reviews
Support Staff
Fernando Alemán Jr - Web Consultant
José Rubén de Castro -Photo Editor
María Yisel Mateo Ortiz -Development
Special Thanks to . . .
Tayna
Miranda
Zayas
of
Most
back issues
available
MarkNetGroup.com
– in yearly CDRom
George Collazo –
PhotosofPuertoRico.com
There are three Puerto Rico's you need to
learn about; the old, the new and the natural.
Learn about our little terruño. Subscribe to EL
BORICUA, a monthly cultural publication for
Puerto Ricans.
http://www.elboricua.com/subscribenow.html
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 3
People from Cidra are known as cidreños.
Cidra is the home of "La Paloma Sabanera,”
the only bird in Puerto Rico with blue eyes.
It is a protected specie in danger of
extinction.
Speaking Puerto Rican . . .
Chavos is money, but specifically pennies,
No tengo chavos (I don’t have any money),
dame cinco chavos (give me five pennies).
Guava paste and cheese . . . .
Isleños use a queso casero that is not marketed in the states. It is a soft
cheese that is kind of grainy. This is a typical Puerto Rican appetizer or even
dessert.
Rican
The term 'Rican' is a fairly new term used in the states only. It is short for
Puerto Rican. In Spanish Puerto Rican is 'puertorriqueño' and the word
'Riqueño' would be the equivalent of 'Rican.'
Porto Rico, Borinquen, Borikén
Much is being said on the Internet about the names of Puerto Rico. Most of
it is way wrong. No, the Portuguese did not name the island Porto Rico...
No, Porto Rico is not the arcaic name....
The Taínos of Puerto Rico named their island paradise, Borikén. Later the
Spaniards coined the word Borinquen.
Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista and the rich port,
Puerto Rico. Soon after, just before the governorship of Juan Ponce de León
and purely by error, the names were switched and the island became Puerto
Rico.
On January 15, 1899, the military government changed the name of Puerto
Rico to Porto Rico, because they could not pronounce Puerto - and just
misspelled it once and it 'took'. Later on May 17, 1932, at the urging of Luis
Muñoz Marín, Congress finally agreed to correct their error and use the
correct spelling.
Puerto Ricans NEVER used the term Porto Rico except when forced to use it
in legal documents and did so bitterly.
Refrán . . .
Se acuerdan de Santa Barbara sólo cuando
truena.
Trivia
The 1948 Summer Olympics celebrated in
London, was a historical one for Puerto
Rico because it was the first time that the
island would participate as a nation in a
major international sporting event.
Print your copies of EL BORICUA and file
them in a 3-ring binder.
YOUR AD
FITS HERE
BORICUA . . .
is a powerful word.
It is our history,
it is our cultural affirmation,
it is a declaration,
it is a term of endearment,
it is poetic . . .
......
it is us.
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
Taínos were a matrilineal society. That means that
descent was traced through mothers rather than through
fathers. Property often passed from mothers to daughters.
Households were formed around a group of related
females. Grandmother, mother, sisters, and daughters
lived together and cooperated in farming, childrearing,
food preparation, and craft production. Men, by virtue of
their absence from communities during periods of longdistance trade and/or warfare, were peripheral to the
household. The importance of females as the foundation
of society was expressed by tracing descent through the
female line to a mythical female ancestress.
In a matrilineal society, your mother's brother, and not
your father, is the most important male in your life
because he heads your family's lineage. However, if men
are needed by their matrilineage, yet are expected to live
in their wife's village, then social relations will be
unstable. These competing demands can be balanced by
establishing villages in close proximity, thus reducing the
distances that men must travel to participate in their
lineage affairs.
The cacique was succeeded not by his son but by the
eldest son of one of his sisters. There was a large degree
of equality between men and women in Taino society. In
some instances a cacica, or female chief, served as the
head of a village.
PAGE 4
Nov. 1,
1966
Hermán Badillo becomes the first Puerto Rican
elected Bronx Borough President
Nov. 2,
1992
Nydia Velázques is elected first Puerto Rican woman
in U.S. Congress.
Nov. 3,
1970
Hermán Badillo becomes fist stateside Puerto Rican
congressman.
Nov. 6,
1900
b. Oscar García Rivera, first Puerto Rican elected
official in NY.
Nov. 7,
1903
b. Jesús María Sanromá, became one of the century's
most accomplished and important pianists.
Nov. 8,
1942
b. Angel Cordero, champion jockey.
Nov. 12,
1851
b. José Gautier Benítez, poet and writer on Puerto
Rican customs and folklore.
Nov. 19,
1493
Puerto Rico's Discovery Day
Nov. 25,
1897
Spain grants Puerto Rico autonomy under the
leadership of Luis Muñoz Rivera.
Nov. 28,
1843
b. Manuel Tavarez, composer and father of Puerto
Rican danza.
Nov. 28,
1900
b. Washington Llorén Llorén, born in Ponce became
a scientist, writer and journalist, linguist, and scholar.
Nov. 30,
1850
b. Cayetano Coll y Toste, was born in Arecibo,
became a physician, writer and historian. Was the
editor of the Boletín Histórico de Puerto Rico.
Don Guillo, the gardener . . . .
Bring your recao plants indoors during the cold
months. Replant them in a terrarium made using an
inexpensive fish tank. Place it next to a window
where it will get some light. As the light hits the
glass it will keep your plants warm and thriving.
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 5
November 19th Discovery Day
November 19th - Discovery Day
A National Holiday in Puerto Rico
By: Román Romano (Italian-Puerto Rican)
Christopher Columbus did indeed discover Puerto Rico on
November 19th 1943, during his second voyage to the New
World.
How sad and bitterly ironic that the man who forever altered the
course of human events with his bold voyages to a terra incognita
has now become persona non grata among a few who bash him
and try to convert the rest of us to their ideology.
Unlike the exploratory first voyage, the second voyage was a
massive colonization effort, comprising seventeen ships and over
twelve hundred men and boys that included two of Columbus’s
brothers, Bartholomew and Diego, and soldiers, colonists, priests
and “gentlemen of the court.”The second voyage brought
European livestock and cattle many brought to America for the
first time, included horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs,
dogs, cats, chickens, grain, seed, and all the supplies needed for
sailing, fending off attacks, building settlements, and setting up an
administration overseas.
La Niña, la Pinta, and la Santa María are the well
known ships of Columbus historic first journey, however
they were not the flagships of voyage number two.
Columbus departed on his flagship, la Mariagalante, from Cádiz,
Spain on September 25, 1493. Among those who accompanied
Columbus were two of his brothers, Bartolomeo and Diego, and
Juan Ponce de León, who later became our first Governor, as
well as Vincent Yañez.
Little is known about life aboard the ships, but it could not have
been comfortable. There were no crew’s quarters and no mess
halls. Only the captains and pilots had cabins, and they were very
small. At night the crew slept wherever they could find a vacant
spot, tying themselves down to prevent being tossed into the sea.
Prayers, songs, stories, chores, eating, and waiting filled the
sailors’ days. Stargazing under a new, unknown sky filled their
restless nights.
On November 19, 1493, on his second voyage, the mountain El
Yunque, on the northeast coast of the island then known as
Boriken, was seen by Columbus, whose fleet anchored in the port
near Aguadilla.
A monument erected in the fourth century of the discovery marks
the site between Aguada and Aguadilla, where presumably the
admiral took possession of the newly discovered territory in the
name of his sovereign. The island was named San Juan in honor
of St. John the Baptist.
Trivia . . . .
Christopher Columbus is known as Cristóbal
Colón (in Spanish) and Cristoforo Colombo (in
Italian).
Columbus was born in 1451, in the Republic of
Genoa (Italy) to the son of a weaver.
He had three brothers and that at least one of them
worked with him as a map maker.
Columbus actually made four trips to the "New
World.”
His expeditions resulted in the ‘Columbian
Exchange,’ because they set in motion the widespread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases,
and cultures that greatly affected nearly every
society on the planet.
Columbus Day is marked as a national holiday in
the United States, with most banks, some financial
markets, federal agencies such as the US Postal
Service, most state government offices, and many
school districts closed for the day. It is celebrated
throughout the Americas (North America, Central
America and South America) on the same day.
Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain,
on May 20, 1506, at the age of 54, but did not die,
in disgrace, poor and pennyless like some groups
would have us think. He did in glory and his
remains, to this day, are considered a National
Treasure.
“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed
the ocean blue…"
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 6
Our PRIMOS section journeys through Hispanic America celebrating the culture and heritage of our
cousins. Take a tour with us through the rest of beautiful Latino America with Dra. C.S. Ortega.
Bartolomé de las Casas, the Defender and Apostle to the Indians
Bartolomé de las Casas descriptions of the horrible
maltreatment and exploitation conducted by the Spanish
against the Taino in his A Short Account of the Destruction of
the Indies are extremely shocking. Here are some excerpts.
Hispaniola: “It all began with the Europeans taking native
women and children both as servants and to satisfy their own
base appetites … (and later) they started taking … their
food… The (Taínos) began to realize that these men could
not, in truth, be descended from heaven. …They … punched
them, boxed their ears, and flogged them in order to track
down the local leaders, and the whole shameful process came
to a head when one of the European commanders raped the
wife of the paramount chief of the entire island (Guarokuia
or Enriquillo)… The fourth kingdom was known as Xaragu,
and was really the heart and core of the whole island. (This)
kingdom boasted many nobles and great lords.... Chief among
them was the king, Behechio, and his sister, Anacaona…;
after Behechio’s death, Anacaona ruled in his stead. Over
three hundred local dignitaries were summoned to welcome
the then governor of the island when he paid a visit to the
kingdom.... The governor duped the unsuspecting leaders of
this welcoming party into gathering in a building made of
straw and then ordered his men to set fire to it and burn them
alive. All the others were massacred, either run through by
lances or put to the sword. As a mark of respect and out of
deference to her rank, Queen Anacaona was hanged. When
one or two Spaniards tried to save some of the children, either
because they pitied them or perhaps because they wanted
them for themselves, and swung them up behind them on to
their horses, one of their compatriots rod up behind and ran
them through with his lance. Yet another member of the
governor’s party galloped about cutting the legs off all the
children as they lay sprawling on the ground…. After the
fighting was over and all the men had been killed, the
surviving natives -usually, that is, the young boys, the women,
and the children- were shared out between the victors. … The
pretext under which the victims were parceled out in this way
was that their new masters would then be in a position to
teach them the truths of the Christian faith….
Puerto Rico and Jamaica: “… they perpetrated the same
outrages …. as before, devising yet further refinements of
cruelty, murdering the native people, burning and roasting
them alive, throwing them to wild dogs and oppressing,
tormenting and plaguing them with toil down the mines and
elsewhere, and so once again the killing off these poor
innocents to such effect that where the native population of
the two islands was certainly over 600,000 (and I personally
reckon it a more than million). Fewer than two hundred
survive on each of the two islands; all others have perished
without ever learning the truths about the Christian religion
and without the benefit of the Sacraments.”
The Pearl Coast, the Gulf of Paria and Trinidad: “One of
the cruelest and most damnable things … is the way in which
the Spanish use natives to fish for pearls. The life of a pearlfisher … is worse than any other on the face of the earth...
They are in the water from dawn to dusk … at depths of four
or five fathoms. … Once they have filled their nets they
surface... If they spend more than a few seconds at the surface
… (they) will … and push them back under (the water)...
Their only food is fish … plus, perhaps, some cassava
bread.... At night, they are shackled to prevent them from
escaping and they have to sleep on the hard ground. …
(Often) the poor wretches are easy prey to all manner of
sharks... By condemning them to this quite unbearable Hell,
the oppressors have exterminated the entire population of the
Bahamas, not a single soul living there when the Spanish first
discovered this trade having survived.”
The Kingdom of Yucatán (México): “…. The wretched
Spaniards actively pursued the locals… using wild dogs...
One woman… determined that the dogs should not tear her to
pieces …, taking a rope, and tying her one-year-old child to
her leg, hanged herself from a beam. Yet she was not in time
to prevent the dogs from ripping the infant to pieces....
(When) a Spaniard … realized that his dogs were hungry (he)
took a little boy from his mother, cut his arms and legs into
chunks with his knife and distributed it them among his dogs.
Once they had eaten up the steaks, he threw the rest of the
carcass on the ground for them to fight over.”
In History of the Indies (1552), Las Casas wrote “There were 60,000 people living on this island [in 1508…]; so that from 1494
to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?”
Primos is written by Dra. C. S. Ortega
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
Cocina Criolla – Cooking Hints
By: Anna María Vélez de Blas
Just about anyone you talk to in November will tell you how to
cook the best turkey for Thanksgiving. Everyone has a ‘secret,’
their special traditions and methods. To me the best turkey is
one that is very moist and flavorful and has a golden brown skin
color.
My turkey is a Puerto Rican turkey, or pavochón. It has our
distinct criollo flavor. Did you know the turkey is native to the
Americas and the West Indies? Yes, the wild turkey is native to
Puerto Rico and Taínos cooked it and used hot peppers to give it
flavor.
So how do I prepare my holiday turkey? With lots of love and
my very own traditions that developed after I read EL
BORICUA recipes. EL BORICUA was my inspiration. I am so
honored to be allowed to be a part of this publication and this
effort!
I season my turkey inside and out with Adobo (sabor criollo)
and a bit of Cayenne Pepper (in honor of the Taínos).
In the cavity of the bird I put a large peeled onion sliced in half
and a large head of garlic, peeled as much as possible and cut in
half. Your home will smell like a fine restaurant, your neighbors
will knock on your door.
PAGE 7
Hints for a Puerto Rican Household
by: Manuela Rodello
I too make my holiday turkey, a Puerto Rican turkey, con
mucho sabor.
I often cook mine overnight, over very slow heat. I put
my well-seasoned turkey in the oven at 11pm on
Wednesday night, at 400° for one hour then I lower the
temperature to 275° and keep it there, don’t even open the
door anymore until it is time to eat.
I like to have Thanksgiving early so that I can enjoy the
rest of the day and everyone can have leftovers when they
get hungry.
My side dishes include traditional Puerto Rican stuffing
using a variety of meats – and yes I do stuff my turkey and
then bake it.
Sides include garlic mashed potatoes, arroz y habichuelas,
amarillos, and then whatever my guests bring in. I also
prepare a pumpkin flan that is delicious, a Bacardi-Pecan
pie, and Besitos de Coco.
Do I cook too much, yes, I’m sure, but I am making
memories, so I don’t mind it - one time out of the year.
Then I roast ‘el pavo’ breast down. With the breast side down
all the juices that are in the turkey drain down into the breast
making it moist, tender and juicy. No need to baste the turkey
with the breast down.
I tent it with foil until the last 30 minutes or so, then remove the
foil and flip it over so that it can brown evenly. I keep a sharp
eye just in case I need to interfere and cover the wings and legs
with foil so they don’t get too brown.
*Anna is a Recipe Tester for EL BORICUA and is also a
professional Chef, she lives in California with her husband, Joe
and their three children.
Manuela Rodello Blanco, born in Río Piedras, is a Home
Economics Teacher in )orth Carolina.
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 8
Budín de Calabaza
3 cups pumpkin puree, 1 quart water, ¼ c milk, 1½ cups
brown sugar, ¼ tsp salt, 3 tbs melted butter, 6 tbs flour, 1½
vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon, 4 large eggs (slightly beaten).
Preheat oven to 400°
butter an 8 x 8 inch mold
Mix all ingredients together. Pour and bake for 25 min,
reduce temperature to 350° and cook another 25 minutes or
until inserted knife comes clean. Let this cool in mold and
refrigerate.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350°
Drizzle large head of garlic with olive oil, then wrap in
aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
Remove the garlic from the oven, and cut in half. Squeeze the
softened cloves into prepared instant mashed potatoes (about 10
cups). Blend potatoes with an electric mixer until desired
consistency is achieved. Use plenty of butter, season with salt
and pepper to taste.
*Use a toaster oven if you have one.
Traditional Puerto Rican ‘Meat’ Stuffing
(For a turkey weighing between 12 and 14 pounds)
Bacardi Pecan Pie
1 cup dark corn syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbs. Bacardi Rum
6 ounces pecans
1 (9-inch) pie crust
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and rum,
using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie
crust.
Bake on center rack of oven for 60 minutes. Cool for
2 hours on wire rack before serving.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ lbs. ground pork or beef (or a combination), liver, heart &
gizzard of bird, diced
½ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoonful alcaparras
8 stuffed Spanish olives
1 tablespoon salt
1 can (7 oz.) roasted red peppers (chopped) with its juice
Heat oil in a large caldero and add the rest of the ingredients.
Cook on medium high until meat is cooked. Then continue to
cook over medium heat for about 15 more minutes. Cool
completely before stuffing the turkey.
Wash the turkey inside and out and dry. Sew together the neck
area. Stuff from the tail end with the cooked meat mixture. Do
not overstuff. Sew the tail end together. Immediately put in the
refrigerator until ready to cook.
Season the outside of the turkey with Adobo seasoning.
If the crust begins to get too dark cover it with foil.
Use ready to use, roll out pie crust.
Follow roasting instructions in the wrapper
OVEMBER 2009
EL BORICUA
PAGE 9
Flan de Calabaza
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
6 egg yolks
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ can sweetened condensed milk
7 oz pumpkin-pie mix
Pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat until
liquefied. Keep cooking, stirring with a metal spoon, until it is
golden brown (don’t let it burn). Carefully pour the caramel in
the flan pan and swirl it all over the bottom and sides.
Mix together the eggs and egg yolks, half-and-half, vanilla,
canela, condensed milk, pumpkin-pie mix and salt in a large
bowl. Mix until well blended. Carefully pour over the caramel
in the flan pan.
Put the flan pan inside a deep cake pan and then carefully pour
hot water in the cake pan (Baño de María). Bake for about 45
minutes until the custard is set. Let it cool on the counter and
refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. To serve,
carefully run a knife around the edge of the flan to loosen it.
Carefully and quickly, ‘flip’ over the flan unto a nice serving
dish or even a pie plate.
Polvorones
(Delicious cookies)
50 - 1" cookies
2 cups flour, sifted
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tbsps butter, softened
pinch of salt
powdered sugar
Blend sugar slowly into the oil. Add the egg, extracts,
butter and salt, and blend thoroughly. Blend the flour
in, slowly and thoroughly.
Roll the resulting dough into 1-inch balls and place in
an ungreased cookie sheet, flattening each ball
slightly with the palm of your hand.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
for 10 minutes.
Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.
ARROZ JUNTO
Rice and Beans casserole. In a caldero cook ½ pound of
bacon until crispy. Remove the cooked bacon and chop
into small pieces. In the bacon fat stir-fry ½ cup of sofrito
for a couple of minutes or so. Add the cooked bacon. Add 1
can tomato sauce, 1can pinto beans, 1 can measure of raw
rice, and 2 cans beef or chicken broth. Stir well. Add
enough water or broth to cover rice 1½ inches above rice
line. Let it boil on high until water evaporates. Cover and
cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.
EL BORICUA
OVEMBER 2009
Nuestra Música
PAGE 10
With hits (just to mention a few) like "Plástico", which
describes the way a young couple behaves in the eyes of a
wealthy society; "Siembra", about the attitude that Latin
Americans should have in order to make a better future; and
"Pedro Navaja", which narrates the story of a criminal
predator walking on the streets of downtown New York, this
recording was ensured to be a success.
A new style was introduced: Longer than usual songs, being
Pedro Navaja the longest ever recorded and from which other
producers took the idea of running a theatrical play with the
same name. In fact, the song Pedro Navaja has the record in
sales for a single tune in this Latin music genre.
After playing this album once, rest assured that you will find
yourself trying to memorize all its songs (like I did!).
Album: Siembra
Artist: Willie Colón/Rubén Blades
Release Date: 1978
Review by: Alberto González
Puerto Rican star Willie Colón with singer-writer Rubén
Blades, were brilliant again in their second album together,
Siembra (Sow). Considering how talented this artist-pair is,
and how good their first album "Metiendo Mano" was, it was
not hard to expect that they would come up with something
good again. But, this production went beyond just "good". It
has the special attribute of being the number one in sales in
the history of Salsa music. All tunes, but one (Ojos, by
another Puerto Rican, Johnny Ortiz), were written by Blades
with his usual ability of creating short stories about social
issues and converting them into songs. Colón, as always, put
his "High Quality Seal" by playing trombone, arranging,
directing and producing the album. Colón's orchestra with its
strong trombone-flavored sound, excellent piano-bass
harmonic foundation, and top of the line percussion, always
ensures that Latin music fans have their expectations well
satisfied.
*Willie Colón was born in South Bronx, descending from a
Puerto Rican family. He has been one of the most influent
and active promoters of Puerto Rican music and traditions.
He started his own band while being a teenager and recorded
many albums with another Puerto Rican star, from Ponce (the
southern pearl), Héctor LaVoe. Also, he recorded excellent
albums with artists like Celia Cruz, Soledad Bravo, and Mon
Rivera (King of Trabalenguas). In his last album with
LaVoe, "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (1975), he had
Rubén Blades singing one song (written by Blades) "El
Cazangero". Right after that, in 1976, Blades became
Colón's new singer and colleague. In addition to his life-long
musical contribution, Willie has also been a political activist
in New York.
* Alberto González lives in Illinois, works in Spanish & ESL
education and provides services in Spanish-English
translation. Graduated from the Inter American University
of Puerto Rico and also attended the Music Conservatory of
Puerto Rico
The English version of ‘Cocine Conmigo’ by Dora Romano, a well known name in
Puerto Rican cooking.
Rice and Beans and Tasty Things is an essential source of traditional as well as
contemporary recipes. This book includes over 350 recipes and has a comprehensive
glossary and indexes. Cook with Doña Dora. Recipes include Empanadillas de Jueyes,
Pasteles de Yuca, Sopa de Ajos, Fricasé de Pollo, Ropa Vieja, Dulce de Grosellas,
Dulce de Mamey, and many others. The most important traditional recipes are included
and many other new style Puerto Rican recipes as well.
This makes a great gift anytime of the year.