Puerto Rico

Thursday Enrique came to discuss Puerto Rico with us. Many questions that I had were answered. The question I wanted to ask him most was why in regeton music, which I am a big fan of do they can puerto ricans boriquas. I learned that this name originated from the indigenous people that lived on the island before the name was changed after spanish influence. The name of the island was once called Boriquan. I thought this was very interested. Another subject that was clarified for me was the political connections between Puerto Rico and the United States. I knew that Puerto Rico was a territory of the United States, but I didn't know what exactly that meant. Enrique explained that there is a governor of the country that represents Puerto Rico in US relations that is voted on. However, they do not have representatives that are voted on in the senate or congress. Because of their unofficial ties to the United States, Puerto Ricans are not required to pay federal taxes. But there are local taxes that they have to pay. There are many different opinions on the political state of the country. Some people feel that Puerto Rico should seek independence from the United States , but many people are concerned because other independent countries in the area are very poor and struggle economically. Also, they feel it's a good economic opportunity to be connected to the United States. Some people feel that Puerto Rico should try to became an official state of the United States so they can have equal representation in the senate and congress. However, now people don't have to pay federal taxes and that's good. Overall I learned a lot of new things about Puerto Rico and had many things I already knew clarified. We had an awesome discussion.