Pina Colada without Alcohol

Pina Colada is so delicious. I remember my first time going to Puerto Rico and I was able to try it in a place near a beach in San Juan. It was the best thing ever. It is my grandmother's favorite drink and now it is mine. It is so good for the summer, and since summer is around the corner, you should try it if you haven't already.

First, you need a can of crema de coco. You can use a blender to mix everything up. Then you add pineapple juice that doesn't have any sugar because the coconut cream already has enough sweetness added to it. Mix it up and put in the fridge , so that you can drink it really cold. It taste better when it's super cold. Children are able to drink it because this recipe doesn't contain any alcohol.

 Many Puerto Ricans add alcohol to it to make it as the drink of the night.

It is such a great drink and I recommend it to anyone that wants a taste of the Caribbean.

Vieques

Vieques is an island-municipality in Puerto Rico. It's off Puerto Rico's eastern coast. It's known for its boat tours. It also offers secluded beaches and snorkeling. There are many wild horses that run in the countryside. Many of these wild creatures are reserved in the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. Reported in 2011, the population in Vieques was about 9, 350. Vieques is home to the Mosquito Bay. Vieques is one of the few islands in Puerto Rico with dozens of undeveloped beach coves where tourists can experience the true meaning of tropical bliss. Vieques is one of the last destinations that remains like the old Carribean: quiet, uncrowded, and unmatched natural beauty. In Vieques, there are no traffic lights. There are many horses roaming around. There are very colorful and charming towns filled with the landscape of beaches.
Vieques is known for the nature lovers as they can go snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, horseback riding, and surfing.

Vieques has become a destination where many couples have gone for their honeymoon or wedding destination. Families are also able to create memories together as there is much to do in Vieques.

Baseball in Puerto Rico

Baseball has become very famous in Puerto Rico over the last year. Puerto Rico won the second national best in the world baseball classic. They were beating almost every single team, and the trend of everyone dying their hair blonde started. It is something that Puerto Ricans feel proud about. Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has the fourth-most active players in Major league Baseball. The first baseball player that was born in Puerto Rico and that played in Major league Baseball was Hiram Bithorn. He was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in 1942. The introduction of African American baseball players allowed chances for players born in the islands.

Hurricane Season Again?

NBC News reported that Puerto Rico is not ready for hurricane season. puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria and they are nervous about how fast another hurricane season has come. Hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th.
Hurricane Maria was regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Puerto Rico. It destroyed many places and human needs. It hit Puerto Rico on the 20th of September, 2017. Many artists provided Puerto Rico with thousands of dollars to provide for the people's needs. People needed to go out of their ways to find supplies. Many were left without electricity for months. It has been hard to recover from this Hurricane, but slowly and surely, Puerto Ricans have been rising back to where they were. Many Puerto Ricans needed to evacuate to the U.S. Over 70,000 evacuated from Puerto Rico because of the dam failures. The death toll rose. Many Puerto Ricans that were living in the U.S while the hurricane was going on were nervous. Many couldn't get in contact with their loved ones until almost a month or more after the hurricane.

El Coqui

If you see a Coqui lying around your yard, he's very likely to be Puerto Rican. A Coqui is very different from other frogs because it doesn't have webbed toes. They also have a little ball on their toes that distinguishes them from the other frogs. It is a very small tree frog. The padded disc at the end of their toes helps them climb trees. It measures about one inch long. They could be green, yellow, or brown. They make a high-pitched sound. Puerto Ricans say that they sing because they sound like this: "Co-qui, Co-qui, Co-qui." They sing all night long like a serene sound to make the people fall asleep. All of them don't sing, only the male does. The male Coqui watches over the egg which hatches in 28 days. After an extra five days, they continue watching the young one until they leave the nest.
Puerto Ricans love Coquis. Thye have written songs, poems, draw a picture of them, etc.
Coquis are distinguished with the Tainos that originated in Puerto Rico. They are significant in Taino myths, potteries, and paintings.

Coquis are found all over Latin America, but the ones that sing are known to be Puerto Rican. There are about 16 different Coqui species in Puerto Rico. Coquis are mainly in isolated areas and come out in the dark.
They are amphibians that can live in land or in water. The Coqui Dorado bears live young and it is the only species in the world that is able to.
#PROTECT COQUIS
Many Coquis are in danger of extinction because of deforestation. Humans have destroyed their homes, food, and etc.

A Little Desert by a Puerto Rican Grandmother (1)

Cream Cheese Flan

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of sugar.
1 Package of cream cheese
3 eggs
1 can of condensed milk
1 cup of evaporated milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

First, you are going to take a small pan and put it on the stove on medium temperature. Add all of the sugar and start mixing in the same direction. Keep mixing until the sugar becomes a caramel consistency. Pour the caramel into a small dish that you are able to put in the oven. In your blender, put the eggs, cream cheese, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla. Blend until it is smooth. Now you are able to pour the ingredients on top of the caramel on the dish. Now there's a special thing that we do. It is called "Bano de Maria" This where we have a larger dish (that can be placed in the oven) and we fill it with about an inch water. We then, place the dish with ingredients inside of it. This will help the flan cook better. Place it in the oven at 350 for around 25 minutes. To check if it's ready, put a clean knife through it. If the knife comes out wet, it is not done. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Que Bonita Bandera!

The Puerto Rican flag was designed by Francisco Gonzalo Marin in 1894 and he used the Cuban flag as a model.
 The Puerto Rican flag is made of 3 colors: red, white, and blue. The flag has 5 stripes alternating with the red and white. There is a big white star on a blue triangle on the left. It is very similar to the Cuban flag, but the colors are reversed. The star represents the commonwealth. The three equal sides of the triangle represent the three branches of the republican government. The three red stripes represent the blood that feeds the three areas of government. The two white stripes mean the rights and freedom of the people.

The flag was firstly seen/used on December 22, 1895. Some Puerto Rican activists led by Julio J. Henna expressed independence for Cuba and Puerto Rico through the streets of NYC. The flag also became a symbol of resistance towards US invasion. The flag was adopted as a national flag when Puerto Rico became a commonwealth (July 25, 1952).

An interesting fact about the flag is that instead of the triangle being a dark blue, it was originally made to be a sky blue. The U.S wanted it to be similar to their flag and that's why it is now a dark blue color. Another side of the story says that they changed the color to dark blue because of its relationship with the revolutionary independence movement.