Revision 21781338 of "Pop culture in Puerto Rico" on enwiki

'''Pop culture in Puerto Rico''', it can be said, has been historically affected both by the political changes [[Puerto Rico|the island]] has gone through, and by the changes in popular culture around the world.

==Timeline of changes in Puerto Rican pop culture==

===[[1950s]]===
*[[Salsa music]]'s popularity grows.
*[[Luis Munoz Marin International Airport]] opened in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] with daily international flights, allowing for the exchange of tourists and cultural ideas between Puerto Rico and other countries.
* The [[San Juan Casino]] becomes the favorite social meeting place and dance hall.

===[[1960s]]===
*The Spanish flamenco singer [[Lola Flores]] causes a sensation.
*[[British Invasion|British music invasion]]: many [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Ricans]] begin to listen to [[Rock music|rock]]. Musical acts popular in Puerto Rico during that era: [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]]
*The [[Vietnam War]] breaks out: many Puerto Ricans join the war, some of which return addicted to popular [[Illegal drugs|illicit drugs]] during the conflict. Others visited [[Cuba]] in the revolution's heyday and music with a social theme hit the airwaves in the late 60's.
*''La Nueva Ola'': Singers such as [[Lucecita Benitez]], [[Ednita Nazario]], [[Chucho Avellanet]], [[Nydia Caro]], [[Charlie Robles]], [[Yolandita Monge]] and others become teen sensations in Puerto Rico.
*Cuban singer [[La Lupe]] brings her show to San Juan.

===[[1970s]]===
*[[Miss Puerto Rico]], [[Marisol Malaret]], wins the [[Miss Universe]] pageant.
*[[Pan American Games|Panamerican Games]] are held in San Juan in the summer of 1979.
*The beginning of the teenager [[Spanish language|Spanish]] rock groups era: [[La Pandilla]] is a very popular group in Puerto Rico, and their manager, [[Edgardo Diaz]], forms [[Menudo]] in [[1976]].
*[[Luis Vigoreaux]] becomes one of the most popular figures of Puerto Rican [[television]]
*[[Tommy Muniz]]'s ''[[Los Garcias]]'' is Puerto Rico's most popular television show.
*[[Telenovelas]] such as ''[[Cristina Bazan]]'' gain popularity in Puerto Rico.
*The [[disco]] era begins: popular musical acts of that time in Puerto Rico: [[The Bee Gees]], [[Donna Summer]], [[K.C. and the Sunshine Band]], [[Diana Ross]], [[The Village People]].
*[[Roberto Clemente]] dies in [[1972]]. He has been considered by many to be one of Puerto Rico's greatest sports legends.
*[[Wilfredo Gomez]] begins his six-year reign as [[Boxing|boxing]]'s [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] world Jr. Featherweight champion. He is also considered by many to be one of Puerto Rico's greatest sports legends.
*At the age of 17, [[Wilfred Benitez]] becomes the youngest world champion in boxing history, defeating [[Antonio Cervantes]] by a 15 round split decision to take the [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] world Jr. Welterweight title.
*[[Iris Chacon]] is the leading [[veddette]] of Puerto Rico.

===[[1980s]]===
*Menudo becomes a world-wide sensation, hitting record sales in many countries around the world. Soon, many other teen bands try to imitate Menudo's success.
*[[Los Chicos]] become Menudo's top competitors. Female groups like [[Las Cheris]] and [[Monedas]] aim to become the "female version" of Menudo.
*Many meeting places like restaurants, bars and entertainment have the "Viernes Social" (Social Friday) which planned activities right after 5pm.
*[[Deborah Carthy-Deu]] becomes the second Miss Puerto Rico to win the Miss Universe crown.
*[[Neon's Discoteque]] in San Juan becomes a popular dance club.
*[[Wilfred Benitez]] becomes [[Boxing|boxing]]'s first three time world champion in four decades, the first [[Hispanic]] to win three world titles, and the youngest one to do so.
*Popular TV showman [[Luis Vigoreaux]] is murdered in [[1983]].
*Actress [[Lydia Echevarria]] is accused and jailed for the murder of Vigoreaux.
*[[Television]] show ''[[A Millon]]'' obtains the biggest ratings in Puerto Rican television history.
*[[Latin America|Latin American]] and Puerto Rican films begin fading away from local theaters. Most theaters in the island show only [[Hollywood]] releases with subtitles. [[Fine Arts Cinema]] opens in [[Santurce]] showing international films and art movies.
*[[Juliana's]] and [[Isadora]] are popular hotel dance clubs.
*TV shows produced in Mexico like ''[[El Chavo del Ocho]]'' and ''[[El Chapulín Colorado]]'' became top rated shows and gained a huge following.
*Mexican and Venezuelan soap operas become popular during daytime TV while Puerto Rican soap operas are shown in primetime with big ratings.
*[[McDonalds]], [[American Airlines]], [[Taco Bell]], [[The Gap]] and other American companies make significant movements in the island, and [[Plaza las Americas]] becomes the biggest mall in the [[Caribbean]]. American Airlines makes [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] one of its major hubs.
*The last Puerto Rican [[telenovela]] to date is produced, in [[1989]].
*The [[Cerro Maravilla]] case becomes the first trial to be televised in Puerto Rican history.
*The festivities of [[San Sebastián]] in the historic city of San Juan become popular.
*The fashion industry makes significant strides towards making Puerto Rico one of its strongest places where to make money worldwide.
*Pop rock gains popularity in the early 80s, [[Heavy metal music]] in the middle 80s and [[Rap]] in[[Image:[[Media: the late 80s. English musical acts popular during the 80s that visited the island included: [[Media:KISS]] [[Duran Duran]], [[Boy George|Boy George and Culture Club]], [[Def Leppard]], [[Judas Priest]]; other acts like [[Ruben DJ]], [[LL Cool J]] and [[Vico C]] were popular.
*Many international singers from other Hispanic countries, such as [[José Luis Rodríguez El Puma|José Luis Rodríguez]], [[Celia Cruz]], [[Juan Gabriel]] and [[Juan Luis Guerra]], among others continued to visit Puerto Rico. Locals [[Jose Nogueras]] and [[Chayanne]] also enjoy success in Puerto Rico. Chayanne becomes an international teen-idol.

===[[1990s]]===
*Politically inspired music groups such as [[Fiel a la Vega]] surface.
*[[Mana]], [[Los Enanitos Verdes]] and [[Grupo Bronco]] are some of the international groups that become famous in Puerto Rico.
*[[Dayanara Torres]] becomes the third Miss Puerto Rico to win the Miss Universe crown.
*[[Merengue]] becomes the most popular music style in the dance halls and in the radio. [[Olga Tañon]], [[Grupomania]] and many others become international exports of this music genre.
*Rappers such as [[Ivy Queen]], [[Don Chezina]] and others also enjoy success.
*[[Félix Trinidad]] reigns as [[Boxing|boxing]]'s world Welterweight champion for 6 years. He is considered by many to be one of Puerto Rico's greatest sports legends.
*In [[1999]], the death of [[Vieques|Viequense]] [[David Sanes]] provockes many Puerto Ricans to protest the U.S. military's presence in that Puerto Rican island-municipality. "Paz para Vieques" ("Peace for Vieques") becomes a popular slogan.
*Such [[television]] shows as ''[[Mira Que Tvo]]'' and [[Sunshine Logrono]]'s ''[[El Club de Sunshine]]'' become viewer favorites.
*Pop acts such as the [[Spice Girls]], [[*NSYNC]], [[Britney Spears]], [[Christina Aguilera]] and [[The Backstreet Boys]] gain popularity in Puerto Rico along with [[Alejandra Guzman]], [[Ricardo Montaner]], [[Yuri]], and [[Shakira]].
*Former [[Menudo]] member [[Ricky Martin]] becomes famous worldwide; his songs "Livin' la Vida Loca," "Maria" and "The Cup of Life," among others, making it to the top of the charts in many countries.
*[[El Reencuentro]], a reunion of former Menudo members [[Rene Farrait]], [[Johnny Lozada]], [[Charlie Masso]], [[Miguel Cancel]], [[Ricky Melendez]] and [[Ray Reyes]], begins with only one concert at [[Roberto Clemente Coliseum]] in San Juan, and expands that single date into a worldwide tour.

===[[2000s]]===
*[[Denise Quiñones]] becomes the fourth Miss Puerto Rico to win the Miss Universe crown.
*Teenage Spanish pop/rock makes a comeback, and singers such as [[Belinda Peregrin]] and [[Melody (singer)|Melody]] enjoy large success in Puerto Rico.
*The U.S. military leaves [[Vieques]].
*Puerto Rican [[John Ruiz]] becomes the first hispanic in history to be [[Boxing|boxing's]] world Heavyweight champion.
*[[Reggaeton]] becomes a popular music genre among young people, with artists such as [[Tego Calderón]] crossing over to U.S. markets.
*Puerto Rico's national basketball team wins 79-66 against [[Canada]] in the pre-olympic tournament, wins bronze and qualifies for the summer [[Olympic Games]] of [[Athens, Greece|Athens]] in [[2004]], where they went on to beat the U.S. Dreamteam 92-73.
*[[Jose Miguel Agrelot]] dies at the age of 77, in [[January]] 2004. His death had been preceded by a few weeks by that of popular [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] mayor [[Rafael Cordero (mayor)|Rafael Cordero]].
Concert comeback from many 70's and 80's performers such as Van Halen, Chicago, Scorpions among others.

==See also==
* [[List of famous Puerto Ricans]]
* [[List of Puerto Rican television programs]]
* [[Culture of the United States]]

[[Category:Puerto Rican culture]]
[[Category:Pop culture|Puerto Rico, Pop culture in]]