What race make up Puerto Rico?

Most of the total population in Puerto Rico identified as 'White and Some Other Race' (38.5%) followed by 'Some Other Race alone' (25.5%) in 2020.


What ethnicity makes up Puerto Rico?

Nationality: Noun Puerto Rican(s). Adjective Puerto Rican. Ethnic composition: white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%.

What is Puerto Rico mixed with?

DNA evidence shows that most Puerto Ricans are a blending of Taino (Indian), Spanish and African according to studies by Dr. Juan Martinez-Cruzado.


Is Puerto Rican Mexican or Spanish?

Both Mexicans, as well as Puerto Ricans, are called Latinos, and they are Spanish speaking people. However, these are two quite different ethnicities. Puerto Rico was originally inhabited by Taino people while Mexico was inhabited by the Mayan and Aztec people.

Is Puerto Rican an ethnicity?

Puerto Rican – Includes all persons of Puerto Rican descent. A member of any ethnicity, other than Hispanic.


What Race are People from the Hispanic Caribbean (Genetics of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic)



What DNA makes a Puerto Rican?

The average Puerto Rican is made up of 12% Native American, 65% West Eurasian (Mediterranean, Northern European and/or Middle Eastern) and 20% Sub-Saharan African DNA, so don't be surprised if your family tells you that their ancestors came from somewhere utterly different to your expectations.

Where did Puerto Rican originate from?

A Brief History of Puerto Rico

From the interweaving of the Taíno, African, and Spanish traditions emerged the Puerto Rican, a new identity composed of traits from all three groups.

What was Puerto Rico's original name?

In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the first European settlement, Caparra, near a bay on the island's northern coast; Caparra was renamed Puerto Rico (or “rich port”) in 1521. Over time, people began referring to the entire island by that name, while the port city itself became San Juan.


Is Puerto Rico Hispanic or Latin?

OMB defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

Are all Puerto Rican Tainos?

Many Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans have Taíno mitochondrial DNA, showing that they are descendants through the direct female line. While some communities claim an unbroken cultural heritage to the old Taíno peoples, others are revivalist communities who seek to incorporate Taíno culture into their lives.

What 3 races make up Puerto Ricans?

Puerto Ricans are a beautiful mix of indigenous Taínos, Africans, and Spanish ancestry; and they come in all shades and skin tones.


What are Puerto Rican people called?

Boricua. The people of Puerto Rico refer to themselves as Boricuas, a term derived from the indigenous Taino name for the island, Boriken or Borinquen. Puerto Ricans use the term Boricua as an expression of cultural and ancestral pride in their island.

Is Taíno still spoken?

Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean.

Why is Puerto Rican Spanish different?

Puerto Rico has developed a unique version of Spanish. The language was greatly influenced by Puerto Rico's history. Puerto Ricans integrated thousands of Taíno words, adopted some pronunciation habits from African dialects, and incorporated English words or phrases (known as "Spanglish") into the language.


What are Tainos mixed with?

Modern Taino Heritage

Recent research notes a high percentage of mixed or tri-racial ancestry among people in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, with those claiming Taíno ancestry also having Spanish and African ancestry.

Where are Puerto Rican ancestors from?

Due to this history, most Puerto Ricans are likely to discover that their ancestors came from mainland Spain, with the most popular regions of immigration in the 19th century being Catalonia and Valencia (31.3%), Cantabria and Asturias (15.8%), and Central (14.8%).

What are Puerto Rican people called?

Boricua. The people of Puerto Rico refer to themselves as Boricuas, a term derived from the indigenous Taino name for the island, Boriken or Borinquen. Puerto Ricans use the term Boricua as an expression of cultural and ancestral pride in their island.


Who lived in Puerto Rico before the Spanish?

Puerto Rico's first inhabitants were the Taínos, a group of indigenous people who lived on the island for hundreds of years before the Spanish arrival. Organized in small clans and villages led by caciques (chiefs), they survived by fishing, hunting, and basic agriculture.

Are Puerto Ricans part Chinese?

Many members of Puerto Rico's Chinese minority have integrated both Puerto Rican and Chinese cultures into their daily lives. Some Chinese have intermarried with Puerto Ricans and many of today's Chinese-Puerto Ricans have Hispanic surnames and are of mixed Chinese and Puerto Rican descent, e.g., Wu-Trujillo.

What race was the Tainos?

The ancestors of the Taino are thought to have been Arawakan speakers who entered the Caribbean from South America, starting as early as 2,500 y cal BP (2).


What skin color were the Tainos?

The Arawaks or the Tainos, as some of them were called, were not tall people; they were of medium height or short and generally slim. Christopher Columbus in his journals described them as neither black nor white. It is believed that they had an olive complexion. They also had long, straight, coarse black hair.

What color were Tainos?

The Tainos were known by this distinct bronze coloration of the skin. This was a way of telling who tainos were during the early settling days of Christopher Columbus. this woman is depicted with a branch of a plantain tree, which is a very abundant crop in Puerto Rico.

What are Puerto Ricans made of?

Puerto Ricans' heritage is a mix of Taíno Indian, African, and European (mostly Spanish)—and the island's food reflects this.


How did the Tainos look?

In appearance the Taino were short and muscular and had a brown olive complexion and straight hair. They wore little clothes but decorated their bodies with dyes. Religion was a very important aspect of their lives and they were mainly an agricultural people although they did have some technological innovations.

Do the Taíno still exist?

The Taíno were declared extinct shortly after 1565 when a census shows just 200 Indians living on Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The census records and historical accounts are very clear: There were no Indians left in the Caribbean after 1802.