Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a country in the east Caribbean Sea, associated with the United States of America. It represents the island of Puerto Rico and for a few more islands and islets, among which stand out from Vieques, Culebra and Mona. Its capital is San Juan.

Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquen, derive from Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name. The terms boricua and borincano and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also popularly known as "La Isla del Encanto", which translated means "The Island of Enchantment".

It was a spanish colony. When Christopher Columbus arrived in Puerto Rico during his second voyage on November 19, 1493, the island was inhabited by a group of Arawak Indians known as Taínos. They called the island "Borikén" or, in Spanish, "Borinquen". Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist. Later the island took the name of Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port") while the capital was named San Juan. In 1508, Juan Ponce de León became the island's first governor to take office.On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guánica. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris. From that point it became an U.S. colony.

Puerto Rican culture is a mix of four cultures, African (from the slaves), Taíno (Amerindians), Spanish, and more recently, North American. From Africans, the Puerto Ricans have obtained the "bomba y plena", a type of music and dance including percussions and maracas. From the Amerindians (Taínos), they kept many names for their municipalities, foods, musical instruments like the güiro and maracas. Many words and other objects have originated from their localized language. From the Spanish they received the Spanish language, the Catholic religion and the vast majority of their cultural and moral values and traditions. From the United States they received the English language, the university system and a variety of hybrid cultural forms that developed between the U.S. mainland and the island of Puerto Rico. The University of Puerto Rico was founded in 1903, five years after the island became part of the U.S.

Much of the Puerto Rican culture centers on the influence of music. Like the country as a whole, Puerto Rican music has been developed by mixing other cultures with its own unique flavor.
Early in the history of Puerto Rican music, the influences of African and Spanish traditions were most noticeable. However, the cultural movements across the Caribbean and North America have played a vital role in the more recent musical influences that have reached Puerto Rico.

Thailand

This picture shows one of several martial arts I practiced before. The Muay Thai which is also known as Thai Boxing, it is the national sport of Thailand. Consist of a martial art created there more than thousand years, it is thought one of the mightiest struggles of world, for the explosion of blow and of agility. Also it is known like " The Art of Eight Members ", since it is characterized for the use of the elbows, knees and violent blows with the shin and feet, besides the fists, in counterpoint of arts that use to punish the four members, only the feet and the hands.
Thailand is a country located southeast of Asia, being limitrophe with Laos and Cambodja, at east; Myanmar at west Malasia, at south. The country's official name was Siam (Royal Thai General System of Transcription: Sayam). The word Thai is not, as commonly believed, derived from the word Tai meaning "free" in the Thai language; it is, however, the name of an ethnic group from the central plains (the Thai people).
However that may be, the locals seem to have also accepted the alternative meaning and will verbally state that it means "Land of the free" when generally people refer about this country and habitants (thai culture, thai language, Thai habitants, etc).
The northern region of the country presents mountain relief, the highest point is mount Doi Inthanon, with 2576m. Northwest there is an elevated area known as Khorat Plateau which is, at east, rounded by Mekong river, one of the biggest in the world, draining an huge area of the asian continent. However, due it's variations in flux and having waterfalls, that river is not sailable. Other important river is Chao Phraya, with 370 km extension, that cuts the country north to south, crossing the capital Bangkok. In the south region of the country the relief is lower, without many elevations.
Thailand is located in the climatic Tropical zone, so the climate is quite hot and characterized by monsoons. The vegetation is characterized practically by tropical forests. There are hundred years behind, the forests were serving also of home for thousands of elephants that, unfortunately, due to the devastation and the hunting, today the population of elephants is of approximately 5,000. In 1989 the government began to build natural parks to protect the elephants and animals that were in the same situation.
The population of the Thailand is relatively homogenious: 85 % of the population shares the same culture and language, thai, what is the language taught in the schools and used in the government. English is the most well-known second language. The most following religion is the Buddhism.
Thai culture is one of the richest of the world, known by the special art of his kitchen, very appreciated. You can see a good example here. It is a stir-fried with baby sweetcorn and mushrooms. In the ingredients you can see: red pepper and mushrooms on the left and Chinese celery, baby sweetcorn, garlic cloves and carrots on the right. This mixture of flavour is appreciated well, leaving any one wishing to taste.
Well, I have to to say goodbye, we will see ourselves again soon!

Italy

Hi! Welcome! Let's hope I can surprise you one more time... Take a peek to this image. This natural wonder has attracted large crowds of curious tourists for almost two hundred years now, but its significance as a cultural and perhaps religious site dates back to before recorded history of life on the beautifull island of Capri. To get to the cave, you must catch a speed boat from the Marina Grande which then transfers you to small canoe-like crafts that will fit into the grotto's narrow opening.
And you are already asking yourself what is the name of this cave? The answer is Grotta Azzurra, meaning blue cave.
Depending on the time of day, the cavern inside glows a brilliant or subdued dark blue color. Some tourists wonder if they had rigged the cave to appear blue, but in fact the color is a natural phenomenon of light that is refracted from the bluish water outside the small underwater portals leading into the grotto. Because of the attraction's popularity, the wait outside the cave's entrance can be very long but inside there it is all worthy.

Then anyone can wonder where it can be found... And it is on Italy! Something about: Italy was a land of sociability of many known influent european civilizations, as greek and roman. It's capital Rome has been a global city historically important, overall focusing on ancient Rome and catholic church.
Italy it's not all about Rome, actually all in that country is a good reason for art. Every city is a source of inspiration, some examples are Florence, Venice, Turin and Milan. Culture and art has given influence to europe in most and also some part of the world. In Italy it has born different intelectual and artistic movements that spread around europe and rest of the world, such as Renaissance and Baroque style. The italian contribution to art and culture came from art works made by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and others.
Besides painture, sculpture and architecture, the contributions of science, literature and music are unquestionable. In science to stand out Gaileu Galilei, da Vinci.
In the area of music the classic becomes an expression of sounds. Instruments were invented in Italy such the piano and violin which made able to perform artistic forms or music such as syphony, concert and sonata. It has born the opera by Claudio Monteverdi in the Renaissance. Also there are other composers like Vivaldi in the Baroque age, classic for Rossini and romantic for Verdi, among others...
Now it's time to say good-bye. I hope you have fun, till my next post! =)

Venezuela

Hi! I'm glad to see you again! This time you caught me up in time. Let me show you something... Let me introduce you Hacha falls. Anyone can be mesmerized by a beautifull sight like this! Hacha Falls spills into Venezuela’s Canaima Lagoon as towering mesas called tepuis rise in the background. This area in southern Venezuela is home to Angel Falls, the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall. Did you know the origin of the name Venezuela? Venezuela, in northern South America, was named for Italy's Venice by 15th-century European explorers who found native houses on stilts above Lake Maracaibo. Those constructions were similar to the houses in city of Veneza, then that region was called Venezuela (Small Veneza).
The contemporaneous culture evolution is derived of pre-hispanics, hispanics and africaans roots, consonant to the colonial period. The specific culture was made with an intense process of transculture. The richness in celebrations and traditions is product of fusion of native crowd, europeans and africaans which arrived over 500 years, and afterwards formed actual venezuelan society.
About the food... I like this part! Tasting venezuelan food is like submerging in a world of aromas and flavours wich describe a gastronomy of strong tastes and wonderfull colors. Venezuelan cookery uses ingredients like corn, manioc, banana, indian pepper, grains, tubercules, sugar cane and several meats. The most representative dishes are Pabellón Criollo, Arepa, Hallaca, and Cachapa.
Now the music. Their music is a mixture of rithms between salsa, merengue, calypso and also other south american. Joropo is a typical dance of Venezuela. The instruments most used are cuatro, harpa llanera and maracas.
The favourite sports are baseball, football, basquetball and boxe, by this order.
Well I got to rush to another country, I hope to see you soon. Goodbye =)

Intro

Hello! Right now I'm packing my personal luggage. Tomorrow it will be a big day! I´m going to make a small visit to several countries at random.
Well... You can't persuade me to tell where I am going or what to do, so you will have wait and see my next posts. But you can leave allways comments as you like. The only thing I can tell you at the moment is that I have the objectives to describe you some cultural and important information about each country and the basis of my selection is what I think it is interesting and also what gives a good perspective about it can be found there.
By the way... This is all fictitional because I can't travel, at least not so soon.
I hope to talk to you soon, see you later.