Day 3 - Salsa

A very interesting day to say the least! First, it was a rainy morning and afternoon with 2-3 heavy downpours, but the clouds eventually rolled away for a nice evening. We started the day with a Spanish class where we talked a lot about the family structure. It is interesting that family is very important and usually very large here in Puerto Rico, but the divorce rate is high and most homes are single-parent. This is also surprising given the strong religious background of the people (approximately 60% Catholic and 40% Protestant). This is a sense seems like a contradiction of sorts, but that is the culture and the norm. Teen pregnancy is very predominant among Puerto Rican girls, here and in the States, and mostly evident in the lower class. Larger families are also more common in the lower class with upper class families having on average 2-3 children. It is a cycle, in which when a girl has a child in her teens, that child continues the cycle by having a child in her teens. (However, this is not always the case, nor am I making a stereotype, I am just stating an observation from our class discussion and we see the same thing in the states.) Another thing about the Puerto Rican culture is that the people don't see themselves of different color or of different races, but as being "Puerto Rican." On the last census when asked to check ethnicity, most people checked "Other" and wrote in "Puerto Rican." There is no distinction or separation here based upon the color of skin.

After class the excitement began: we learned how to Salsa! Well, I should say, I attempted to learn how to Salsa! :) Our instructor taught us six main steps (I can confidently do maybe 3), which we did to music and with a partner. I never realized how important or how large a role Salsa plays in the Puerto Rican culture. When a Puerto Rican hears good music, they just start dancing! Here is a short clip of my attempt to Salsa dance:



When our feet could take no more, we headed to the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (The Museum of Art of Puerto Rico). The museum had a beautiful sculpture garden with very colorful fish and the back wall of the building was painted glass. There wasn't a large collection of art in comparison to museums in Europe, but it had one of the most interesting and somewhat disturbing collection of modern art. The entire fourth floor left me wishing I had never gone up there. My interpretation of art is very different from what I saw with some of the pieces of "art." The museum did have an entire floor dedicated to investigation for children. We were even able to see paintings, tile mosaics, and sculptures of children ranging from 8-12 years old. There were incredible works of art for such young children! It was wonderful to see a strong emphasis on the arts and the availability for children to create.

After exploring the museum, several of us went to a nearby restaurant that was described to us as "Argentinean Italian." It was wonderful! There was fresh fruit (finally) and the food was delicious! Fresh bread, homemade pasta, ah! After our fill or fresh not fried food, we went to a local establishment to experience real Salsa dancing!