TOMATO SALSA DEPT.
Two of the most remarkable classical pieces in music history have been converted into salsa by the genius of Sverre Indris Joner... Wait! These are the Symphonies like you never heard them before. Pay attention to the syncopation and the relationship between two or more melodies that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent. WoW!

Air in G -  Air Bach

Beto's Fifth (not Don Q Gold)

We call each other Boricuas but others don't call us that... they call us Puertorrique~os. I believe the Taino blood has been so diluted thru the centuries that it is hard to tell by inherent (not adopted) behavior.

A study funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation years back, shows (averages) that 61 percent of all Puerto Ricans have Amerindian mitochondrial DNA, 27 percent have African and 12 percent Caucasian. (Nuclear DNA, or the genetic material present in a gene's nucleus, is inherited in equal parts from one's father and mother. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from one's mother and does not change or blend with other materials over time.)

So we have Taino blood but we don't go around dancing around the fire; We drive SUVs. In our minds we call ourselves Tainos and Boricuas because the HONOR it carries. Borinquen is a POETIC name, not Political. What happened to our Tainos was a tragedy, a cruel and not uncommon tragedy.

Let's live, therefore to lift up the reputation of our culture through GOOD works... The culture that others sadly continue to defile. It's up to US to thrive and bring back the honor. Think about it. HONOR.

Watch this Puerto Rico Historical video
Only if you have an extra 90 min to spare

The Ponce Massacre of 1937
was a police slaughtering over a peaceful civilian march, taking place in 21 March 1937 at 3:15 pm, in Palm Sunday, Ponce, Puerto Rico, that killed 19 people and wounded over 200 others. It is the largest massacre in Puerto Rican history. The march had been organized by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish National Assembly in 1873. The march was also protesting the U.S. government's imprisonment of the party's leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, on alleged sedition charges.



An investigation by the Hays Commission put the blame squarely on the U.S.-appointed Governor of Puerto Rico, Blanton Winship. Further criticism by members of the U.S. Congress led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to remove Winship in 1939 as governor. Governor Winship was never prosecuted for the massacre. No one under his chain of command - including the police who took part in the event, and admitted to the mass shooting - was ever prosecuted or reprimanded. READ MORE

Puerto Rico National Guard begins cleanup work on Vieques
(JAN 23) FINALLY... A group of 30 experienced Puerto Rico National Guard engineers has launched a cleanup effort focused on areas of ecological and tourist interest on the island of Vieques, which the U.S. Navy used as a bombing range for more than 40 years.

Lt. Col. Ruth Diaz Calderon, spokeswoman for that military force, a component of the U.S. National Guard, told Efe that the group of experts began working Tuesday on the project and that their goal is to establish an eco-tourism project in a 393-hectare (970-acre) area of the island-municipality.

"Our goal is to improve quality of life and help with this project. We want the residents of that island to know that we want to restore its splendor" as a tourist attraction, Diaz said of the small island, located just east of the mainland of the U.S. commonwealth. Brig. Gen. Juan Medina Lamela hailed the cleanup effort, saying that Vieques' residents "deserve the best quality of life" and that the National Guard's support would help restore an area with great eco-tourism potential.

The U.S. Navy used much of Vieques and the nearby island of Culebra as a bombing range for nearly 40 years until May 2003, and it also leased those areas to other countries for their own military live-fire training exercises. The four decades of military maneuvers left munitions debris in waters off the island, an area of great ecological value.

Local groups say the high incidence of diseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and respiratory ailments on Vieques relative to mainland Puerto Rico is attributable to the U.S. military activity. The U.S. Navy, however, says there is a lack of objective studies to link the health problems to the military exercises. EFE

The Arecibo Observatory to Reopen
San Juan, Jan 19 (EFE).- The Arecibo Observatory, located on Puerto Rico's north coast and the site of one of the world's largest radio telescopes, will reopen this week after a review undertaken as a result of the earthquake that hit the northern part of the Caribbean island last week, officials said Sunday.

"What we're inspecting is a cable that suffered some kind of damage. The cable is one of the ones that supports the telescope ... which is very heavy," Carlos Padin, chancellor of the island's Metropolitan University, told Efe.

The radio telescope's facilities were closed last Thursday after inspectors from New York's Ammann & Whitney Bridge Construction, who have been tasked with inspecting the Arecibo observatory site since 1972, took a close look at the facility.

The magnitude-6.4 earthquake occurred at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 13 and its epicenter was located under the ocean 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Arecibo and 98 kilometers (61 miles) northwest San Juan.

The observatory is administered by the Metropolitan University, which forms part of the Ana G. Mendez University System, or SUAGM, in conjunction with SRI International and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

"The inspectors found that the cable did not suffer in any significant way, but as a preventive and safety measure the test will be performed. Tomorrow they will do a test to determine if the the damage is superficial and on Wednesday the observatory will reopen," Padin said, adding that this type of inspection is also conducted after hurricanes hit the island.

With a single curved dish with a diameter of 305 meters (about 1,000 feet), the radio telescope is visited annually by thousands of tourists and its facilities are used by hundreds of scientists, especially on projects connected with planetary astronomy and atmospheric studies.

The radio waves collected by the gigantic dish are captured by 12 antennae that are attached to a 900-ton platform suspended by heavy steel cables some 150 meters (about 500 feet) above the dish.

 Who in The World Was Juan Tizol?
Juan Tizol, The Puerto Rican Trombonist
that Made up Duke Ellington's Band

Duke Ellington - piano, composer - Fred Guy - banjo - Wellman Braud - double bass - Sonny Greer - drums - Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, Freddy Jenkins - trumpets - Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton - trombone, Juan Tizol - valve trombone (behind the bass) - Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Barney Bigard - reeds - Freddie Washington - dancer READ Juan Tizol Story

Is It Possible to be Positive in Anytime?
eeling good and being positive isn’t about saying your affirmations or looking at cute animal pics on the internet for 10 minutes—especially when your intent is to shift your dominant vibration (although that’s certainly a good start). It’s really about what you’re thinking and feeling, how you’re responding to your Now experience in the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of your day. READ MORE

   USE at YOUR OWN DISCRETION

LECHON ASAO a la vara ►SEE RECIPE HERE◄

The Importance of Jesus Christ
by Don Jíbaro
Is Jesus Christ really part of our lives
or is He just an Icon at Easter and Christmas?

We "talk the talk" and more often than not, we "walk the walk."  It's consequently and imperative that we get to know that part of our culture that our ancestors staked the essence of their existence on... their faith in The Lord Jesus!

Yes, Jesus Christ is Lord to at least 2.35 BILLION humans throughout the world, even respected by those who don't even know Him. There's no doubt, we distinguish The Lord Jesus from other "deities". Your grandma knew that!

So, why do you think that most people do not have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have? Simply it is separation from God. Admit it. your own WICKEDNESS has separated you from God; so much that he won't hear you. The Cross, however, is the one symbol that talks to you. Jesus Christ really died on the Cross and rose from the grave JUST like the Bible says. That might be a mystery to you but the Scriptures are true... READ MORE

The Empty Bed
or The Fallacy of Friendship
few years ago I was playing my guitar at home. I came upon this old tango my Dad used to quote... La Cama Vacía" (The Empty Bed). I remembered the lyrics and went on to sing it as I played. Half way through the song I began to weep. I didn't stop playing, and my singing became a cry of sadness.

With tears in my eyes, I stopped! The words were too sad, so sad that I had the image flashing in my head while my heart was pounding in my chest. I was "living" the story... the empty bed... I was so brokenhearted that I had to translate this tango into English and share it in my website. The sadness lies in "the fallacy of friendship" and the fact that the words of the song are so true... so moving that you can't avoid "living" the story. ►Read More

"It's better dry bread in peace, than a
feast in a house full of fighting." Prov.17:1