The People

Most of the people are descended from the early Spanish, and the remainder are mulattoes and blacks descended from African slaves. There are few racial traces of the original Indians, who had died off by the 16th century.

Language and Religion

Spanish and English are the official languages. About 80 per cent of the people are Roman Catholics; 19 per cent are members of various Protestant denominations. There is also a small Jewish community.

Education and Culture

Education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 16. The illiteracy rate is about 10 per cent.

The University of Puerto Rico, founded in 1903, has its main campus at Rio Piedras, a community in San Juan. It also has a campus at Mayagüez; university colleges at Arecibo, Bayamn, Cayey, Ponce, and Humacao; a medical center in San Juan; and several twoyear regional colleges. The Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory, with a huge radio telescope, is operated by Cornell University for the National Science Foundation.

San Juan is the main cultural center. The University of Puerto Rico Museum has archeological, historical, and art exhibits. The government-sponsored Institute of Puerto Rican Culture encourages the development of local art, handicrafts, music, and drama. San Juan is also the home of the San Juan Museum of Art and History, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Conservatory of Music, the Fine Arts Center, and a ballet company. The Tapia Theater is a showcase for plays, ballet, and zarzuela (light opera) troupes. An outstanding cultural event is the Casals Music Festival, held annually in honor of the cellist Pablo Casals.

Annual events in Puerto Rico
One of Puerto Rico's leading events is the Casals Festival, held in San Juan in February. International musicians take part in orchestra and chamber music performances to honor the famed Spanish cellist Pablo Casals, whose mother was born in Puerto Rico.
January-March
Birthday of Puerto Rican educator and essayist Eugenio Maria de Hostos (January 11); Carnival in Ponce (February); Coffee Harvest Festival in Maricao (February); Orange Festival in Las Marias (February); Dulce Sueno Paso Fino Horse Show in Guayama (late February to early March); Heineken Regatta, first leg of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (March); Emancipation Day, marking abolition of slavery in 1873 (March 22).
April-June
Birthday of Jose de Diego, a Puerto Rican patriot (April 16); Heineken Jazz Festival in San Juan (June); Bomba y Plena Festival, an Afro-Caribbean music and dance festival in Ponce (June); Aibonito Flower Festival (June); Eve of San Juan Bautista Day (June 23).
July-September
Barranquitas Artisans Fair (mid-July); Commonwealth Day (July 25); Loiza Festival, a folk and religious festival honoring St. James the apostle (late July); International Billfish Tournament in San Juan (August-September); Inter-American Festival of the Arts in San Juan (September-October).
October-December
Columbus Day (October 12); Jayuya Indian Festival (November); Discovery Day, honoring Columbus's 1493 sighting of Puerto Rico (November 19); Hatillo Festival of the Masks (late December).