UPDATE 3/8/08: The NY Times reports on a recent case involving animal cruelty in Puerto Rico. I didn’t realize this at the time of my visit, but animal rights activists have been discouraging tourism to the island because of the government’s inhumane treatment of unwanted and stray animals. It seems that this recent case, which involved rounding up and killing pets in several housing projects, has spurred Puerto Rico to consider improving policy on animal welfare.

Here is a picture from the awesome, unique island of Puerto Rico, which I visited last month with my mom. This picture was taken on the beach in Isla Verde, part of the sprawling suburbs of the capital city San Juan.

I thought Puerto Rico was an interesting mix of tropical beauty and American capitalism. On the tropical side, there is the amazing El Yunque National Forest, with waterfalls to swim under and lots of hiking trails. There I heard the adorable one-inch coqui frog’s unique call.

The part about commercialism is evident in Puerto Rico’s abundant strip malls and industrial factories. Many American pharmaceutical companies and clothing manufacturers have moved their plants to Puerto Rico to enjoy tax breaks. Evidently, these factory jobs don’t seem to pay great wages, since according to the 2000 US Census, nearly 50% of the population lives under the poverty level. Learn more about the Puerto Rican economy here.

But please don’t get me wrong, I love shopping as much as the next girl. I went a little loco upon finding a cutesy kitsch store featuring very cheap plastic accessories and paper goods with adorable Korean anime characters on them. All my girl friends back home love my $2 Pink Hana calendar/planner, yet I can’t find anything here with her image on it, and an internet search for her company “DreamWorld” yields scant results. Any input?

Puerto Rico has other music besides Menudo and reggaeton. I saw graffiti for an experimental hip-hop group from Santurce called Mad Steelo. Their songs are worth a listen; they have a smooth flowing style, with a mix of traditional and electronic sampling, using mostly Spanish lyrics.

My mom and I had wanted to visit Vieques, the island which the US Navy used as a bomb testing site for sixty years, but is now marketed as a tourist destination for its beaches. However, mother nature had other plans for us, as Hurricane Dean swept through the Caribbean towards the end of our vacation. Oh well, we had more time to explore San Juan by bus, and visit the sketchy market in Rio Piedras where I finally got to eat the unique mamey sapote, a tropical fruit I’ve been wanting to taste for several years.

If you are looking for a personal perspective on Puerto Rican history, or just a good read, I recommend “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmerelda Santiago. This brilliant memoir explores growing up in rural and urban areas of Puerto Rico during the 1950’s and 60’s, including exposure to clueless American policy makers during “Operation Bootstrap.”