Paradise of the Atlantic (1936)

Page 1

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SUMMER 1936

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Paradise of the Atlantic Magazine SUMMER, 1936

VOL. I

No. I

Jack Vandermeyer, Editor: Mrs. Henry W. Docley, Art Director: Rafael Palacios, Assistant Art Director: Muña Lee De Muí5oz Marín, Education: Mrs. Hermán L. Cochran, Antiques:

Alice Brown, The Home:

José A. Balseiro, Music: Herbert W. Brown, Advertisinc Manager in Puerto Rico: Photoengraving Art Co., Engravers, San Juan: Fred McCord, Advertising Representative, 35 East 22nd St., New York. Thomson & Co., Printers, 9 Murray St., New York. Copyright 1936, By Jack Vandermeyer, Editor and Publisher, San Juan, Puerto Rico

CONTENTS ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL COMMENT

SREETING—Governor Blanton Winship

7

PUERTO RICO: OUR LINK WITH LATIN AMERICA— Col. Theodore Rooseveit THE PUERTO RICAN DANZA—José A. Balseiro LEHER TO THE EDITOR—

9 13

Charles Dressen, Manager, Cincinna+i "Reds"

16

THE STORY OF SUGAR CAÑE—Hon. R. Menendez Ramos LA CAPILLITA DEL SANTO CRISTO DE LA SALUD—

18

Bishop Edwin V. Byrne

20

A PUERTO RICAN POET: LUIS PALES MATOS—

Tomás Blanco THE UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO: AN ISLAND BEACON—Muña Lee de Muñoz Marín

22

THE COVER The cover of this issue is the

24

famous flamboyant, most beauti-

TREASURE IN GLASS

26

ful tree of the tropics. ¡ts ap-

CARAVELS TO THE WEST. HORSE-RACING

30 32

pearance at this time is especially appropriate, as the season of its

THE SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE

luUias is summertime—June and

Constance M. Locke

34

COCKTAILS DID YOU KNOW BOOKS ART WORK AND PHOTOGRAPHS

37 4S

subsequent issues tce nificent jlouering trees of Puerto

shall present others of the mag-

COVER FLAMBOYANT—Mrs. Henry W. Dooley

"11

SAILS AT NAGUABO TROPICAL FANTASY—César Bulbena

3 4

CITY WALLS—Juan Vlquié

6

PUERTO RICO LOCATED

Rico.

8

DOWN TO LA PERLA—Paléelos ..'.' ""''.,''"'.'^^''..,.7 SUGAR MILL AT NIGHT—Gretchen K. Wood TROPICAL FLAME PLANT—Mrs. F. W. Home

12 17 21

r^Kinn RICO-Juan Viguié CANDELABRUM SUITE—Colorado

23 27

ESPANA-José Guindulam SUNSET—Gretchen K. Wood FINISH AT OUINTANA-Casenave A DESERTED PORTAL—Juan Viguié

artist of this painting, is famous

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TROPICAL s-anTASY FANTASY

28 29 33 39

YOUNS PALMS-Vi^alf Dehner'

for this publication by ,/,e distinguished Spanish artist cLr BaBena. Be copied '™"' ° „í Be

40

CHAPEL OF PORTA COELI

42

PICTORIAL PUERTO RICO—Mrs. Henry W. Dooley

44

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CANCION CRIOLLA—José E. Pedreira

acknowledgments -T-i

Thir+y-Five Cents Quarterly

p^Yy^c^ol

it-'t-'ATOG rrin PFRMISSION TO REPRIí^^T IN THIS I>Sl E THE

«hich apfeaked .n the.k ...ulication janu-

rs r-. ^ One TTwenty-Five Per Year^

THEartille AMERICAN MERCURY I'ERMIS.SImN Ín^thisn.rissieTn the by Tomás Bla.nco for which api'earedTOi.\REPRINT theib

Applicaiion for eniry as second-class ma+ter is pending.

PL'BI.IC.ATION SeiiEMBER, lt30.

2

Paradise of the Atlantic


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César Bulbena


THE PARADISE OF THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE was conceived as an Instrument to place before the English-speaking worid +he various

aspects of the island of Puerto Rico, which ¡naÜenably place ¡t at the top of the list ot places-to-visít-next. It is our ¡mpression, after a careful survey of availabíe ¡nterest material, that thls is the first publication of its kind in the tropical Atlantic. People have for too long been under the misimpression that South Seas implies a southern Pacific lócale. One of our purposes shall be to

completely disprove this fallacy. We are convinced that scenically and climatically the lands of the Atlantic tropics are unsurpassed anywhere in the worid. The islands of the southern Pacific have a charming native

life, beautiful half-primítive music; they are natural flower gardens. So are the islands of the southern Atlantic—and in addition, they have a wealth of oíd Spanish tradition manifest today in countless beautiful

edificas buiit hundreds of years ago. They are rich in story that links the Oíd Worid forever with the New. Moreover, being very easily accessible,

one may find ¡n an island like Puerto Rico every comfort of Twentieth

Century life that he has at home—plus the very considerable added comfort perfect weather affords.

In these pages, and through the contents of subsequent issues, we believe we shall be offering material that is new and that is most worthy of your attention. It is our wish that through the interest so aroused you will decide to visit the lands we show you and tel! you ot in these magazines.

Any special information our readers may wish to secure, the staff of

the magazine will consider a particular pleasure to suppiy. Your communications and suggestions will be most cordially received. JACK VANDERMEYER, Editor.


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GovernoT Winship

GREETING By General Blanton Winship, Governor of Puerto Rico

THE series of arficles in fhls new magazine dedica+ed +o Puerto Rico will bring to you In plcfure form fhe ou+s+andIng historie monuments and other places of interest on the Island which was discovered by Columbus in 1493 and has the

industries, to move to an even higher place than it now occu-

pies. It is very evident that Puerto Rico is about to enter a more promising and prosperous economic era. The aid received from the Federal government during the past two years,

distinctlon of having been the home and scene of activities

no doubt. has diverted from our fair Island the worst of the

of Ronce de León and his brave companions for many years.

international depression. The cooperatlon and assistance that has been promised us for the near future, ¡f it is given our whole-hearted support locally, should rehabilitate our agricultural industries and consequently put Puerto Rico as such in

It will aiso show the growth of agriculture in Puerto Rico and

the development of the other Industries In which our people are engaged. Puerto Rico abounds In tradltions and legends that will

excite the imagination of both the youth and the aged. It is a place to which the rlslng generatlons on continental América might well be brought to study the history and conditions of the past, and it ¡s a spiendid meeting place for North and South América because of the fact that it has developed a bi-lfngual culture which has great possibilities for the social, cultural, and business relations of the countries that lie around it in the Caribbean and to the north and south on the conti-

nents. Our University offers courses that are especially suited for this sort of tralning. I believe it is littie known in the continental United States that Puerto Rico is the seventh largest customer of the United States and bids fair, with the development of the plans that are now being projected for the development of agriculture and Summer, 1936

an enviable position in the eyes of the world. Puerto Rico has been richly endowed by nature and un-

doubtedly will become eventually a favorlte resort for tourists when its charms have been properly brought to the attention of the American traveling public. United States Senator Reynolds, when he visited San Juan, said, "You have the climate,

the scenery, the hospitality of the inhabitants, the historie interest and all the elements for the attractíon of tourists. There is no doubt but that Puerto Rico can be made the Mecca of American tourists."

It is my express pleasure, in the Inaugura! number of this new magazine, to extend to prospective travelers everywhere a most sincere and heartfeit invitation to come to Puerto Rico

and enjoy with us the most attractive combination of condi tions and circumstances thal" can be found In the whole world.


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Puerto Rico: Our Link With Latín América By Col. Tlicoclore Roosevelt

THE various nations of the wes+ern hemlsphere have much

nafurally fhe Soufh Americans, who are sensiflve and proud,

JL in common as regards reqards fhe the manner of fhelr +he¡r blrth, bír+h. and all

resenfed this.

It is easy fo believe wrong of someone whom you do nof like. Suspicion of every kind was generated. Accusafions of every sorf were heaped on fhe Unifed Sfafes. Our nafion as a whole was judged by fhe ad-

hold as fhelr ideal a democratic form of governmenf. If would seem on this account thaf fhere always should have existed befween them a general sympafhy and undersfanding. Undoubtedly this was so in fhe eariy decades of fhe lasf cenfury, jusf affer fhe Unifed Sfafes had fermi-

. .

venfurers and driffers who found fheir way soufh.

''

Unfil fhe Spanish-American War this frend conflnued fo develop and

nafed her sfruggle for independence

and when Soufh América was baf-

^

fling for fhe same end. Many Norfh Americans foughf in fhe armies

confacfs befween fhe fwo Americas

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were slighf and unsafisfacfory. Indeed, México was fhe oniy Lafln

Soufh

American

af fhaf

time.

Miranda's first expedifion

I

was in large parf composed of cifizens of fhe Unifed Sfafes. The

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American counfry wifh which we had consfanf relafions, and fhose

^

relafionships more offen fhan nof were hosfile. We were somewhat in fouch wifh fhe Indies. As for

greaf liberafor, Bolivar, fried fo

""'•r.

build a sfafe in central and norfhern

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Soufh América fo correspond fo our nafion.

^

Soufh América ifself, if was remota

bofh from our fhoughfs and our economic relafionships. 1 remember when I was a small boy belng puzzled and slighfly shocked on hear-

Seorge Washington

was venerated as a hero fhere as

well as here. Shorfly afferwards Presidenf Monroe, wifh fhe backing of Canning, promulgafed fhe Mon-

m W

roe Doctrine, which had as ¡fs basic

creed América for Americans.

Much mighf have been expecfed from such a beginning, buf insfead

'"^9 C)ne of my European friends

allude fo a Soufh American as an American.

I feit fhaf fhe ferm be-

longed enfirely fo cifizens of fhe "VcV-

Unifed Sfafes.,

of growing fogefher fhe fwo greaf

|

divisions began fo pulí aparf. Vari-

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ous causes were responsible. Norfh

Americans obfained business con-

¿p. , Fortaleza Sundial Sundud on « Fortaleza

fhings. Perhaps even more damaging fhan fhe foregoing was fhe assumpfion on fhe parf of fhe people of fhe Unifed Sfafes fhaf fhey were fundamenfally superior fo fhe soufherners. I personally belleve fhaf if is a good fhing for a nafion fo have a firm convicfion of ifs worfh; buf if should have fTie

decency and manners fo keep fhaf convicfion fo ifself. We

did nof. We showed if consfanfly, and I am sorry fo say af times we sfill do. We "high-haffed" Soufh América. Very NOTE: Col, Roosevelt, one of the best-liked American governors Puerto Rico has had, is peculiarly well qualified to estímate the potentialitles of this Isiand as a Pan-American cross-roads. In this article, reprinted bv special permission of the author and by courtesy of Foreign Affalrs, a nice summary ¡5 made of the progress Puerto Rico has made toward becoming an Important mid-way stop between the Americas. With Pan-Americanism looming in ever ¡ncreasing ¡mportance, too much consideration cannot be given the strategic position Puerto Rico occupies, geographicaÜv and ethnoiogicaliy. It is with a sincere Interest in furtherlng Pan-Amerí understanding, and with especial respect for this particular paper th,=í+^^2 present it as the feature of our inaugural issue.—Editor.

The Spanish-American War furnished fhe opporfunify for a new

cessions in fhe soufhern counfries and rufhlessly exploifed fhem Meanwhile, fhe Soufh American counfries confribufed fhelr parf fo fhe ensuing misundersfandings fhrough fhe acfivifies of corrupf officials or oppresslve acflon. We furfher made ourselves unpopular fhrough boundary arbifrafions and ofher

Summo.r, 1936

i '' •

j

era.

If broughf us info infimafe

confacf wifh fhe Indies.

We fook

over fhe adminisfrafion of Cuba for a shorf time and acquired Puerto Rico. Even that, however, did nof immediafely draw us info confacf wifh fhe soufhern parf of fhe hemlsphere. Nof fill fhe increasing demands of frade broughf improved communicafions was fhere opporfunify for fhe cifizens of fhe Unifed Sfafes and fhe Lafin American counfries fo sfarf knowlng each ofher firsf hand.

Today, fo my way of thinklng, fhe most Imporfanf foreign relafionships of the Unifed Sfafes are fhose wifh fhe counfries fo fhe soufh of fhe Rio Grande. Broadly speaklng, the loglc of fhis is evidenf. The Unifed Sfafes can be said fo be In

large measure a manufacfuring counfry and it will become increasingly so as fhe years pass. The Spanish-American re-

publics, on fhe confrary, are in fhe main agriculfural. Their populafion is sparse. They have greaf fracfs of virgin foresfs. Their exports will fherefore be certaln agricultura! producfs ¡n which fhey excel and raw mataríais, such as lumber and a

variefy of minarais. Our foresfs have confracfad fo a poinf where fhey cannof furnish our demand for foresf producfs and musf nof be furfher reduced.

Canadian foresfs aiso have

been exploifed fo a poinf cióse fo fhe danger mark.

Thus


munity of small farmers in these groups of homesteads. All possible efforts have been bent towards the encouragement of

Soulh América will wish our manufacturad ar+Icles and we

shall need many of their agricultural producís and raw ma taríais. We are therefore supplementary and compiementary

the cultivation of vegetables, prlmarily for home consumption.

to one another rather than competitive.

In addition, possible crops of every sort have been studied

It wouid seem simple, where Interests are so clearly Identical, to establish relatlonships on a satisfactory basis. Unfortunateíy this is not true. There Is still a wide mlsunderstanding and antagonism between the two cultures. Nelther North ñor South Americans are linguists. The people who speak English south of the Río Grande are as small a group numerlcally as those who speak Spanish to the north. The oíd hatred and misunderstandings bred during the last hundred years rankie stlIl. We must overeóme them. I belleve Puerto Rico can be a most Important factor in dolng so.

with a view to discovering new sources for agrlcultural development. . . .

Puerto Rico very evidently has too heavy a populatlon to be sustained by agrlculture alone. What is more, the poP"

ulation is increasing rapídly. The Island must either have an emigration outlet or turn to manufacturlng. Emigratlon even

under more normal circumstances than now prevalí is most difficult, for the average Puerto Rican hates to leave his country. Surprislngly llttle manufacturlng is done. The big industry is needlework; whlch ranges from garment work to

1 belleve that the Unlted States should look at the Island

embroidery and is carrled on both in faetones and In the

and its problems with this In view. . . . Puerto Rico is basically agricultura!. Originally the crops were more or less diversified, but In later years many changes have come. Coffee used to be an Important artlcle of export and was largely cultivated in the hllly dlstricts. At no time, however, was Puerto Rico able to compete in production costs with the great coffee-growing countries of South América. Her coffee therefore had to be of such grade and flavor as to command a much higher prlce. Since the collapse of the

homes. The employees are naturally almost entirely women. There Is some hat making. During latter years a determined attempt has been made on the part of the government to

world coffee market the cuitlvation of this crop has been greatly diminlshed. Another crop on whlch the Island depends is tobáceo. This aiso has suffered for a varlety of reasons. To begin with, the general economic crisis has destroyed the prlce. In addition. Puerto Rlcan tobáceo was

used for clgars; but the world at large,

interest manufacturers in the possibllities of the Island. . • • So much for the gloomy side of the picture. It is only half. The brlghter side rests in the fact that the Puerto Ricans

are of Spanish culture and largely of Spanish blood. They are, so to speak, members of the family of the Unlted States by marrlage, but blood relations of all Spanish América. They are in an ideal conditlon to serve as a connecting llnk between the two great divislons. In them and their island the cultures of the north and the south can meet and blend; there the

peoples can be explained to one another. It Is the "house of the interpretar" in this hemisphere.

and particuíarly the Unlted States, has

been turning from clgars to cigarettes. The coastal plain, which contains by far the richest land, is largely in sugar. From time immemorial plantations there have been in the hands of

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comparatively few Individuáis. The advent of the big sugar companies has tended to accentuate this.

The

average Puerto Rican Is therefore a

PSfST'T-'

landiess man, either worklng as a la-

borer on a plantation, farming on

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shares, or living in one of the clties.

Of late years there has been a determined attempt to put him back on the soil. This has been carrled on

by means of a government homestead

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commission which bought up tracts of

land where it placed landless but experíenced farmers. These farmers are now amortízing their debt to the government ovar a period of years. The government, meanwhile, retains agents whoss duties do not conslst merely In coilecting rents, but who are rather In the nature of Instructors to the com-

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Bultlemeni of El Morro

Paradise oj the Atlantic


If we deal righ+ly wlth íhe Island it can be of great valué not mereiy +o the United Sta+es bu-í- +o the entine hemlsphene. But if we are to develop it as a point of contact with South América we must adopt a different set of policies than those we have so often followed. We must recognize the cultural significance of Puerto Rico in particular and of all the Spanish-

is so smali, it has wlthin íts borders practícally every type of soil and climatic conditions found in the tropics. It therefore forms a perfect laboratory. Puerto Rico's work In medicine is exemplified by the School

of Tropical Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico under the auspices of Columbla University, New York. The work

Amerlcan countries in general. It Is not the same as ours, but

takes two forms. The first of these is experlmentation. Con-

non-identity does not imply inferlority.

tinuous investigatlons are under way on every phase of disease.

We must not try to elimínate the customs and culture of Puerto Rico by substituting therefor our own customs and

ranging from fevers to the intestinal parasites that are the bañe of tropical countries. The second phase is tralning young

culture. 1 do not belleve that we could do so if we tried; and if we could, Puerto Rico would lose its valué. Puerto Rico

men to go out and carry on the battie against disease. In other words. the School of Tropical Medicine Is a laboratory

should not abandon Spanish as the language in which the people express thelr intímate thoughts. It should mereiy add to Its background of Spanish culture and the Spanish language

where scientists from all over the worid can go to conduct

northern culture and English. We should strlve to have the

specia! experiments and a school where the students from various countries, particularly those of South América, may receive an education and go back to their homes better

Island a place where Shakespeare and Cervantes are eguaily

equipped to serve.

understood.

In both directions the School has made notable contribu-

We have been known in the south as sordid materlalists.

tions. There is a long llst of Puerto Ricans, both past and

Oollar diplomacy has become a synonym for our actlons. If

present, who have attalned fame In this work. In Puerto Rico

we are to inspire confidence In South Amerlcans we must

the original plans for the battie against hookworm were formu-

show them we are anxlous to help them as well as to trade

the other is disease. Neither of them have been studied in

lated. Among the Puerto Rican medical men whose ñames are engrossed on the roll of honor are Colonel Bailey K. Ashford, for hls work on hookworm, sprue, anemia, and nutrltional deficlencies In the tropics: Dr. González Martínez, dis-

the tropics to anything like the extent that they have been

coverer of schistomiasis of the intestinal canal: Dr. Gutiérrez

scientifically Investigated in the températe zones. Now Puerto

Igaravidez, for his work in tropical tuberculosis: Dr. Morales

Rico has had men of cultivation who have contributed to the

Otero, for his work in Malta fever; Dr. Camión, for his work on skin diseases: Dr. Pernos Isern, for his work on the application of scientific nutritlon to children in the tropics. Dlstinguished scientists have aiso come to the School of Tropical Medicine from other countries, either to lecture or to pursue thelr own individual Investigations.

with them. We can do this effectively through Puerto Rico. One of the greatest problems of the tropics Is agriculture,

liberal arts. But In addition the people of the Island have shown a marked ability in the investigation of the problems connected with tropical agricultura and tropical medicine. The Island is ideally situated for these two endeavors. Though it

MButthe scientific ends served by

the School of Tropical Medicine represent oniy a part of the work that

■ ''

Puerto Rico can do and has done in

the fieid of tropical health. Knowledge Is only valuable to the world if It is applied. The problem is not mereiy to discover diseases and their reme-

^

dies, but to devise machinery for carrying the new information to the people. In this dlrectlon Puerto

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The Health Department of course

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A Sara Juan from Isla de Cabras

Summer, 1936

Ricans have made great strides.

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has its experimental stations on bacteriology, hospitalizatlon, etc., but its departure of most fundamental importance conslsts of the system of health units which are being estabÜshed In the island. Por this purpose the Island has been zoned, and as far as funds permitted a unit has been placed in each zona. Each unlt conslsts of a

full-time doctor, clinic, nurses, and {Continued ora Page 41^


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The Puerto Rican Danza By José A. Balseiro

16

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I ^ HERE are two main +he-

new harmonio breath, deeper melodic varlety, and pathetic

orles concerning the orÍ-

feeling into the Puerto Rican danza, developing ¡t to a point

mJS

which, while it has since been surpassed as regards finding

Puerto Rlcan

new modalities, has not been outdistanced ín beauty.

danza. One of them, fath-

erad by Tomás Mlllan, estab-

Tavárez s art is the more aristocratic.

Campos—agaín

resembling Beethoven—seeks, and finds, in an idiom democratic but instinct with dignity, the heart of the crowd. The danzas of the latter. tormented, more vigorous, seem to gather Ínto

lishes cióse relatlon between

our own and the cabailerezca,

from Extremadura—a reglón of western Spaln. The con-

themselves and utter forth, with their own voice, that of a

people which has never known happiness. To his Interior trag-

struction of both dances, accordlng to Milián, ís similar

edy—that of an unattainabile love—he unites that of his

■'■o the oíd type of Moorish Murcia. The other contention states that, In 1821 . after the

fatherland.

Independence of Venezuela, hundreds of familias emigrated from Bolivar's fatherland. Some among them. highiy cultured and dilettantes of music, carne to Puerto Rico, bringing with fhem a dance, poor in rhythm and colorless in melody. which

phenomenon, being, as we are, sons of the Híspanle culture, w h e n w e remember

in ¡ts form of tango was common to many Spanish American countries. That tune, callad the danzón as in Cuba, bagan to

of the popular dance?

Choreographically, the danza is poor. that Spain shares with Russia the hegemony

f\ \ a ,4

Explanation Is, perhaps,

altérnate in our balls with others directly proceeding from

rooted in the fact that

the danza was born in

Europe—minuet, contradance with waitz-figures—and, after 1832, with the rigadon, imported about that time. In 1870, thanks to Julián Andino, the rhythmic transformation of the danza was brought about. In "La Margarita" as Andino's initial compositlon was callad, a combinatlon of ternobinary in the accompaniment and of andante tempo—the composer employed what we cali the tresillo elástico, since its measure cannot be precise. It is necessary to draw out onc note more than another, conventionally.

1

^

the XIXth century:

when figure - dances were no longer danced.

Tiple and Giücharo

But it preserves, nevertheless, one valué characterlstic; its paseo, gallant and selgnoríal. During the first part, before the couple embrace to dance in concert, they prcmenade. until the change in the rhythm of the music authorizes the

interlacing of arms and waist common to

And from this springs the veritable creóle

all modern dances.

Our danza is sonorous.

rhythm whIch characterizes our most frequently cultivated dance-composÍtÍon durIng the XIXth cenfury.

Not a ritual

dance, not a pantomlmic dance, not a

gymnastic dance, one rnay say of it, as

To Manuel Tavárez, born in 1843. be-

longs the distinction of having elevated the danza to a higher artistic category. Familiar with the Classic and Romantic masfers, he learned, from the first, the eurhyth-

How explain this

_j

was said of some of Chopin's mazurkas, that it is a dance of the soul, not of the

body. And as music has registered in all ^

times a country's measure of social refinement, our danzas speak well of Puerto Rico.

mlcs of compositlon: and, from the second, lyric and passional

The melody, serene and sweet in the first part, shows a turn for poetry and innate aristocratic instinct—a touch of the inherited Spanish dignity. Its second part, generally spirited, to

CiifUro

e5<pressIon. Mis best danzas are younger sisters of Schubert's "Musical Moments" and Mendelssohn's "SongsWithoutWords."

If Tavárez, relatively speaking, deserves that we consider

the point of crying out in acute crescendo, seems to rebel against the grief of being sad, of being poor, and of not being

well be regarded as our Beethoven. As the Master

free. At times, it is a deep lament, and, again, a sharp pro test. Then it contrives to conquer itself with noble resolution. To become resigned, better said, convinced of the uselessness of lifting a voice stifled with loneüness and indifference. And

for his grace, his fineness, his sense of proportion, as the Mozart of Puerto Rico, his successor, Juan Morell Campos, may of Bonn ampUfled the Sym-

Lnata, and the orchestra

bequeathed by Haydn and Mor(:c!:s tmor, 1936

by the genius of The Jupi-

ter," Morell Campos instilled

it meditates upon its anguish in a tone which, though major, does not cease to be mournful, proud, and austero, until it concludes with the initial phrase, like a circle bound within itself inevitably, Inexorably. Like the islands: barks detamed in their route to be shipwrecked in the silence.


Copyright por JosĂŠ E. Pedreira - 1935.

Paradise of the Atlantic


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15


rouHDEo ied9

REDS

OFFICES ATSTAOlUM

THE FIRST PROreSSIONAU

CROSUEY FIELO

BASEBALL CLUB IN AMERtCA

FINDLAV AT WESTERN AVENUE

THE CINCINNATI BASEBALL CLUB CO. N A.T lONAU

UEAGUE

March 8, 1936

Jack Vandermeyer» Editor, Paradise of The Atlantic Hagazine, San Juan, Puerto Rico Dear Sir:

On "behalf of The Cincinnati Heds it

gives me great pleasure to tell you that we have found Puerto Rico ideal for tralnlng--so much so, that we want to come "back next year and hope to see other League Teams avail themselves

perfect climate that makes this island so desirahle for our purposes.

It gives me pleasure Indeed to highly recoramend Puerto Rico to all vacationers. Yo^ magazine, with Its purpose of telling people the truth ahout the beauty and advantages of a vaca-

tion here is a fine project and a very much needed one. Hffhen people see Puerto Rico firsthand as we have seen it, they will not be disappoínted. We wish your enterprise great success. Very truly yours,

Manager»

J6

Paradise of the Atlantic


SVGAR MILI AT NIGHf

PMVPÜ!

Gretchen K. Wood


The Story of Sugar Cañe in Puerto Rico By Hon. R, Menendez Ramos, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

By 1533, sugar was already manufactured for exporfafion. During fhaf year 952 arrobas {25 Ibs. each) were shipped from this island fo Spain. Liffie by liftie new improvements were broughf about in fhe infant industry and relafively soon a larger fype of sugar facfory known as fhe hacienda carne info being. These esfablishmenfs soon infroduced sfeel milis moved by sfeam, followed by beffer mefhods of evaporafion of fhe juice and drying of fhe sugar in centrifuga! machines. The agriculfural side of fhe industry progressed very slowly and for many years fhe wooden plow pulled by oxen was fhe main implemenf for filling fhe soil. Mosf of fhe work was done by human labor wifh fhe crudesf of implemenfs. Many

years wenf by before relafively efficient sfeel implemenfs were used in fhe cañe fields of Puerto Rico. The solí, however, was

virgin and very ferfile and satisfactory cañe crops were easy

The desfiny of Puer+o Rico has been, during i+s en+ire hisfory, very closely linked fo fhe developmenf of the

sugar cañe industry. 'n +his sense Puerto Rico shares fhe ideniical fafe of most of her sister islands of fhe Caribbean Sea. The relationship between fhe producfs of the soil and fhe hisfory of fhe island has extended ifs effecfs nof only fowards fhe economic developmenf of Puerto Rico, buf if has

affected aiso, in a decisive manner, ifs social and polifical sfrucfure.

The soil and climafe of Puerto Rico are specially well suifed for fhe growfh of sugar cañe. This was soon found out by the Spanish settiers and, thus, fhe sugar cañe industry can be fraced baclc fo the fírst days of fhe Spanish Colonizafion. in facf, by fhe year 1530. long before fhe Pilgrim Fafhers arrived in New England, sugar cañe was being planfed in Puerfo Rico

for fhe producfion of molasses. |f vvas this product of fhe sugar cañe which years afferwards was fo consfitufe one of

fhe main arficles of commerce fhaf made possible fhe tri angular frade which, carried mosfly by Yankee clippers. flourished between fhe porfs of New England, fhe West Indies

fo obfain. The main problems of fhe farm owners or hacen dados were the questions of proper financing and of securing sufficient laborers. The Indians never made good farm laborers and if had been found convenienf fo import African

slaves for work in fhe sugar cañe planfafions in a manner similar fo fhaf pracficed in Barbados, Santo Domingo and

Cuba. Thus. mosfly because of fhe requirements of fhe sugar

industry for cheap fleld labor, negro slavery was infroduced early in fhe XVI cenfury. In this way the sugar industry contribufed, in a very definite way, fo fhe fufure social and efhnic conformation of the Puerto Rican populafion. With the aid of cheap labor fhe sugar industry improved

considerably during the next century. However, fhe Spanish

governmenf placed too many restricfions on fhe frade of ¡fs colonies. Only one porf in fhe island, fhaf of San Juan, was

generally open for exporf, and fhe Puerto Rican sugar producers had greaf difficulties in disposing of their producfs. The beginning of fhe XIX century found the sugar industry almosf on fhe verge of dissolufion. The war between Spain and

England on fhe one side and the protection given fo beef

sugar by European countries on the other, almost did away

and fhe slave exporfing porfs of Africa. If was nof unfil fhe year 1548 fhaf fhe crudesf fype of sugar was produced by

very elemenfary mefhods and fhe real sugar cañe industry can be said fo have been starfed. Af fhe beginning the juice of fhe cañe was exfracted by passing fhe cañe between wooden pesfles dnven by oxen or mules. Very soon horizontal doubíe

rolls of wood and sfone, moved by oxen or by water power, did fhe work. Many years had fo pass before the first iron niills moved by sfeam were infroduced. The first sugar fae tones were realiy very simple affairs where fhe juice was evaporafed by boüing in open keffles unfil a syrup thick enough fo crysfallize on cooling was produced. The sugar vras known as muscovado.

ÍWACiVij.

Paradise of the Atlantic


with cañe cultivatlon in Puerto Rico. Some "favorable changes, however, took place when a noted Puerto Rican, Don Ramón

about a great ¡mprovement ¡n agricultural methods and me-

Power, went to the Spanish cortes 0"f Cádiz as representative for the island in the year 1812. Very soon other ports of the island, namely the ports of Ponce, Mayagüez, Cabo Rojo,

Puerto Rico the evÜs of absentee and corporate ownershíp and started the accumulatlon of the richest lowlands Ínto a

chanlcal equipment but, at the same time, It Introduced into few sugar milis or centráis. The numerous small ingenios or

Aguadilla, and Fajardo, were opened for export trade and

haciendas, whlch were spread formerly all over the island,

the transportation of the products of Puerto RIcan agriculture

were soon amalgamated into much larger and modern unlts. Many of the original hacienda owners became colonos or

was greatly simplified. It must be remembered that the island did not enjoy at that time either the beneflt of railroads or of good roads. The war of independence v/hich took place in many parts of the Spanish Colonial Emprre—México. Colombia

and

cañe planters who sell their cañe to the sugar faetones at so

many pounds of sugar per ton of cañe delivered. This was, without doubt, a most slgnificant

new chapter in the development of

s

Venezuela, etc.—

our sugar industryi in days to come, it was to have considerable influ-

caused many Spanlards to leave those countrles and seek refuge in

ence on the social and economlc

the quiet and hospitable island of Puerto Rico. Many of these refugees brought with them their slaves together with their financlal resources. They aiso brought a good knowledge of farming and of sugar

To this dominatlng influence of the sugar Industry in the destinies struction of the coffee industry by the disastrous hurricane of 1899 and

manufacture.

the subsequent loss of the Spanish

In the year 1873 a new chapter opened in the history of sugar cañe growing In Puerto Rico. It was the abolitlon of slavery. This momentous event deprived the cañe farm-

structure of the island.

of Puerto Rico, there was another

contributing cause, to wlt: the de-

market.

Coffee had been for a

long time the most important agri

cultural industry of Puerto Rico; but, once this was practically destroyed,

pAlAd®^

ers of the much needed cheap farm labor so necessary for the

cultivatlon of the fields and cutting of the cañe. Yet In spite of this setback, the industry continued ¡ts progress and sugar production Increased rapidly. Wlthin the next few years 1875-1879—the island's sugar production reached the highest level under the Spanish regime.

By this time some additlonal improvements had been introduced in fleid work, as well as in factory methods. Cañe varieties and vacuum evaporators were already known to the

the sugar Industry naturally became the main source of employment, of agricultural Investments

and profits, as well as of income to the government. The development of the sugar cañe industry after the American occupation was amazingly rapid. High tariff protections and adequate financing through corporate structures made such growth possible. Twenty years after the American occupation there were only some forty-odd sugar milis ¡n the Island and by the year 1918 the island was produclng 450,000-odd tons of sugar.

industry, The sugar producers were. however, still confrontlng serious problems of poor transportation, inadequate financing

Our sugar industry had actually become of age and was already the framework of our economlc structure. In some

and shortage of labor. These were serious handicaps that necessitated, In many cases, protective measures on the part of the Spanish as well as of the local government, ¡n order to maintain alive the sugar Industry, which had already come to be recognized as a factor of great importance to the gen

respects the island had become an extensiva sugar factory and operation, absentee ownership and labor unrest. It is fair to

eral welfare of the Island.

try, that most of the material progress with its accompanying

From 1880 to 1894 there was a rapld decline of the sugar

we had in our hands the consequent problems of corporate state. however, that it was largely through the revenues returned to the Insular government by a successful sugar Indus educational and social betterment has been made possible in

industry, but it began to recovar agaín in 1895. By the time of the American occupatlon In the year 1898, there were over

our island.

20 small milis and some 240 larger units or haciendas in opera-

most important Industry. At the beginning of this period and

tion on the island. The total production, however, was oniy

for the next few years, two important developments may be mentioned as landmarks; one was the spread of mosaic disease In the cañe fields of Puerto Rico; another was the consequent introduction of new cañe varieties into the Island. Mosaic disease was for a time a very serious menace to the industry.

about 60,000 tons, mostiy of muscovado sugar. With the change of sovereignty a new era of rapld development began for the sugar industry of Puerto Rico. American capitalists, stimulated by the advantages of favorable tariff protection, appeared on the scene in the newly acquired American territory. Powerful corporatíons were organizad and

large modern sugar centráis were established. This brought Summer, 1936

Since the year 1918 many changes have occurred in our

The disease played havoc with our cañe fields and field pro duction was cut in many instances to one-third of the formen average production. Several milis were brought to the verqe {Continued on pufie 4(1 í


V

Mil

i

/PAiAíiV

La Capillita del Santo Cristo de la Salud By Rev. Edwin V. Byrne, Bisliop of San Juan

PUERTO RICO is redolent of thlngs Cafholic. This Is nof surprising when we consíder thaf the firsf BIshop to arrive

In the New Wortd was Alonzo Manso. BIshop of San Juan de Puerto Rico, in 1513. Among the interesting things. worthy of being seen, are the oíd churches built hundreds of years ago and, despite the buffetlngs of wlnd and storm, still standing and in use. Of these, the most interesting are the Porta

away in a córner of a busy city. is eloquent of the religión and tradition of legendary Spain. It is a good example of that simple architecture and construction that has defied the crumbling attacks of the ages. It possesses the charm that seems to cling to cid buildings, while it elevates our thoughts to the things of eternlty that never pass away. {Conlinued on page 43)

Coeli Chapel in San Germán, built in the early I6th century. the Church of Santo Tomás de Aquino (now San José) in San TROPICAL FLAME PLANT

Juan, built in 1523, and the Church in Loiza Aldea, built in the I7th century. Each of these remarcable structures deserves

Paintcd by Mrs. F. W. Hornp, tliis

kind attention from our historlans. artists, and vlsltors.

plant is known botanioally as Guzmania berteroniana. It is an opiphyte

There is another attractive building in the Capital City of

ibat grows on niossy tree trunks ¡n

Puerto Rico,—La Capillita del Santo Cristo de la Salud (the

tbe high mountain regions and is pe-

llttie chapel of The Blessed Christ of Health). It is about this charming iittie chapel that I propose to treat in this artlcle. At the end of Santo Cristo Street (which received its ñame from the chapel), in the City of San Juan, one comes face to face with La Capillita del Santo Cristo de la Salud—one of the smaliest pubiic chapéis in the world. This Chapel, hldden 20

culiar to Fuerte Rico. The painting is one of a collection of nearly a thousand the artist has niade of the ¡ndigenous and endeinic plants of Puerto Rico—a collection which has

won for her the reputation of being the finest painter of wild flowers in the world.

Paradise of the Atlantic



a

A Puerto Rican Poet: Luis Pales Matos By Tomás Blanco

LUIS PALÉS MATOS married for the firsf time—his friends i gather +he impression that he is always in the process of committing matrimony—when he was nineteen. The marriage was a riot of late Nineteenth Century Romanticism. Pucclni's music translated into (ife; passion, poverty and puerility, even to the inevitable pallld glamour of tuberculosis. Miml died of it before the second year—I almost wrote down, before the second act—leaving Palés a chÜd, or, rather, Palés' mother

There is here an ancient anchorite

Who so Spring-like shows, That on a cliff inaccessible

He tended his mystic rose, Intoxicate with April and haircloth, And censers; and over all—

Since no earthly dew ever fell there— The dew celestial.

a grandson.

His first and oniy published volume belongs psychologically, if not exactly chronologically (it was published before the mar

riage. in 1915), to this perlod: "Azaleas," a small book of trivial, insipid, and imitative poems. It shows what Palés had been reading, which was much: a pelemele of Romanticists, Parnassians, Symbolists, Modernists and what-not. Hugo, Dumas, Lamartine, Byron. Poe, Sudermann, Gorkl, Baudelalre, Verlaine, Valle Inclán. Herrera Reissig, Lugones, and, of course, Rubén Darío.

The book is quite worthless. Love and shame have equal shares in Palés' attitude toward it today. His second book, "El Palacio en Sombras" (1919-1920) was naturally an improvement over "Azaleas." The volume, repre-

senting the years immediately after his marriage and the death of his first wife, was luckiiy never published. It contained a dedication to the deceased, translations from Poe, several

prayers, and two compositions to "the Rabbi of Nazareth," among erotic utterances and songs to the rain. Muña Lee's translation of "San Sabés," in The Catholic Anthology, may be quoted here as a specimen of Palés best at this time:

NOTE:

This article, reproduced by speclal permission of ihe eu^-hor

and by courtesy of the American Mercury, was published in the American

Mercury, September, 1930.

It was, therefore, planned to satisfy the

needs of the mentioned magazine. as to iength, etc. Besides, Luis Pales

Matos' production during these last five years ¡ustifies a thorough revisión of the statements and even the general viewpoirt. But the article is so

well and so entertaíningly written that we are happy for the opportunity

of presentlng it. We plan +o carry a sequel article of Pales' recent poetry in an early issue.—Editor.

He lived remote in a cave, Viscous as an evil mind; Amid thisties and brambles He was animal and divine.

The thorn spoke to his feet With an especial blessing, By his own blood sanctified. No flower its perfume shed On that gentle oíd body, An azure calm possessing. Littie polsonous creatures Were his oniy friends, and gray

Mists were dispelled from his eyelids When he began to pray.

Below him the palé hamiet A flock at dawn seemed to be;

And the sonorous sound of the anvil, The beil of eternity.

Men golng to the mountain, And women to their praying, Children to their playing, Dogs to their barking, Oxen to the plow, Cows to the milklng:

All birds to fiying {Contlnued on page 38)

Paradise of the Atlantic


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Ícoursesmaybefknaoe

The University of Puerto Rico By Muña Lee de Muñoz Marín

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO, founded in 1903. is

J- an insti+u+ion of fhe s+a+e uníversify fype, wüh seven colleges and more fhan four thousand s+udents.

The main nucleus of buíldlngs Is located on an ex+ensive

and beautiful fropical campus in Río Piedras, a small college town, fwen+y minufes' disfance from San Juan. Here are fhe

Colleges of Ar+s and Sciences, Law, Business Adminisfra+ion, Educafion, and Pharmacy.

of Business Adminlsfraflon is nof fheorefically buf acfually bilingual. Ifs graduafes have a firsf-hand acquainfance wifh Spanish Amerlcan and Norfh Amerlcan commerclai procedure;

fhey are pracflced in fhe fwo dominanf languages of our

hemisphere; fhey have become aware of fhe major differences

in nafional mefhods.

This College funcfions In Puerfo Rico In cióse collaborafion

wifh Bosfon Uníversify, and

insfifufion or fhe ofher. The

favored

procedure

is fo

spend parf of fhe fime in Bosfon, fhe resf in Rio Pie

dras. af fhe Uníversify of

wesfern porfion of fhe island.

Puerfo Rico.

Similarly, fhe School of Tropical Medicine in fhe few years of ifs exisfence has al-

ready made a ñame for ifself autonomous,

among schools of fropical medicine over fhe worid. The oniy insfifufion of ¡fg kind in fhe Troplcs under fhe Sfars and Sfrlpes, if ¡s carried on as an infegral grad-

fhe beaufiful

auspices of Columbla Uní versify.

The Deparfmenf of Home

Economics of fhe Universi+y has made a sympafhefic sfudy of fradifional Spanish and Puerfo Rlcan recipes reducing fhem fo scienfifl,-

formulas, and has analyzeU fhe food-value of many qq,

fhe enfire field forcé of exfension agenfs.

^ Entrance to University Jniversity Entrance

Wifh such a physical planf

and fhe facilifies of modern laborafory equlprnenf, and wifh a young progresslve faculfy, fhe Uníversify of Puerfo Rico has won recognifion as fhe leading experimenf of Amerlcan higher educafion in a disflncfly Spanish Amerlcan background. In especial, fhe Uníversify of Puerfo Rico has faced ifs dufies fo ifs own people. ifs widenlng Influence is due primariíy fo ifs cióse and successful affenfion fo fhe fask closesf af hand. If wins indorsemenf from wlfhouf because of dealing

successfully wifh fhe fask wifhin. The Uníversify meefs local problems, and Incldenfally, helps show fhe way fo fhe solufion of many problems nof merely •Hisdanic buf Pan-American in scope. Por insfance, ifs College

five vegefables, adapfing insfrucfion in cookery

and in ofher branches fo fhe

producfs of fhe island. Mefhods of making fhe island s fypicaj

and exquisife drawnwork and pillow lace have been scienf¡fica||y simplified, and new pafferns designad wifh nafive leaf, vine, and flower as mofif.

Bulleftns embodying fhese and ofher feafures of fhe work of fhe deparfmenf have nof oniy been wldely useful In Puerfo Rico, buf have circled fhe fropical zone of fhe worid, senf answer fo requesfs from a dozen counfrles.

The Uníversify of Puerfo Rico has sponsored scienfific inves figafions in fhe Venezuelan and Columbian Andes, carried ouf by members of fhe Uníversify faculfy, which have made fhe mycology of fhaf región fhe besf known of fhe fropical worId Paradise of the Atlantic


excep+Ing oniy Puerto Rico itseit, where the investigations were likewise carried on under the auspices of the Unlverslty.

In the past few years the Art Director ot the Unlverslty has brought to the isíand a distlnguished list of Art Exhlbltlons from Spa in, México, and the United States. In addition, the University has held interesting and popular Art and History exhibitions of nnaterial collected locally. A group of first ranlc

musicians, headed by Sanrom'á of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has made the Muslc Department of the Unlversity's Summer Schooí internationally known. The Unlverslty has sent ¡ts graduates to organizo modern

systems of agricultura! Instruction in Columbia and in Perú. Other alumni have rendered slgnificant service in the modernlzation of the educational systems of Panama and Venezuela.

Investigators from the University have made extenslve and valuable scientiflc surveys in the Virgin Isiands, the Dominican

Republic, and the V^indward Isles. Scientific contrlbutions by ¡ts faculty range from the discovery of a new species of potato to the first complete report on the birds of the island of St. Lucía.

In its recently inaugurated series of University of Puerto Rico Monographs have already appeared valuable works embodying scientific and lingulstic investigations which have received highest critica! recognitlon in al! countries. Another striking example of the Unlversity's responso to its environment is the Department of Spanish Studies. to which have come as visiting professors some of the most famous

educators of Spain and Spanish América; the regular faculty being made up also of highly trained speciaÜsts. Publicists and scholars in North and South América and

Europe have expressed their interest in what the University

Qf Puerto Rico has already accompllshed and in its importance as liaison officer between the two cultures of this hemisphere.

"My classes In the University of Puerto Rico were composed

of ^he most courteous students 1 have ever engaged to help, and the most diligent," declares Thomas Graven in his best

selling Modern Art. "in no other part of América is education so ardently cherished." Incidentally, four ñames of present

of victories in debates with leading universitíes of the United States and Ganada, from Yale to McGill. Pepito and Kachiro

Figueroa. members of the music faculty of the Unlversity's summer school. were awarded fourth and seventh place respec-

tiveíy, in the ¡nternational concourse of vioiin virtuosos at V^'arsaw, Poland, where eminent violinists from al! over the world competed, ¡n representation of 52 countries. And a University of Puerto Rico student broke the Gentral American record for the pole vault ¡n the Olympic Games celebrated in the Republic of El Salvador.

During the present scholastic year the University has reached its highest enrolment to date, a grand total of 4,487: of whom 2,780 are enrollad in the colleges in R¡o Piedras and Mayagüez, and 1 ,707 in the extensión courses.

This year has also seen the inauguratlon of the great building program made possible by the P.R.R.A., which will soon improve the Unlversity's physical plant beyond recognitlon. The program was officially inaugurated on December 19, with the laying of the cornerstone of the new library building on the campus ¡n Rio Piedras. Gonstruction of the new Plant Industry Building in Mayagüez will soon follow, and preliminary

plans have been drawn up for the Biológica! laboratory and the Assembly Hall, so much needed in Rio Piedras, as well as for the Home Economics and Teachers Gollege buildings. The oíd buildings and the University campus will also be extensively extended and improved. Gonstruction of this new library building, which has for severa! years past been a pressing need, is a long step forward toward making the University plant equal to the ever-Íncreas¡ng demands made upon it.

Books in the library at present number more than 50,000, including severa! special collections of which one of unusual interest is the Puerto Rican Section, the most complete collec-

tion in existence of books by Puerto Rican authors and of works about Puerto Rico. Regarding the importance of the Híspanle

works in the library of the University of Puerto Rico, it is interesting to cite the statement made by Miss A. M. Kerr, delegate of the United States, before the recent International Gongress of Librarles and Bibhography,

and former faculty mem-

bers of the University of

Puerto Rico appeared on lists of authors of ' best

sellers" in the United States last year. Exemplifying the range of the Unlversity's Interests and preparation are three triumphs which ¡t achieved,

all

within

[ -|||{ iJI'

dents", the United States

^

a

single month last spring, in three fields of human

1 '^'íñllll

strange that among our

I ^ ''1

universitíes, the University

effort geographically and psychologically thousands of miles apart. President Rooseveit received at the

Vs^hite House and warmly congratulated the under-

graduate debating team after ¡ts unbroken series Summer, 1936

tion, is Princeton's collecPatio of Dormitory )orniitory

tion of Spanish books.


Treasure In Glass

PUERTO RICO is re plete with interesting ,B£i»

J

j

"There is aiso at La Fortaleza an exquisita candelabra which I think aiso came trom La Granja. Its date would be

specimens of oíd glass, ot which perhaps the most un-

about 1795."

usual is the glorious rain-

bow corridor in

Waterford glass and a tew rare pieces ot genuine Baccarat.

the Gov-

ernor'ís Palace. ernor

The west

Beautitul crystal chandeliers hang in many ot the oíd Spanish homes, their prisms retlecting the brilliant sunlight during the

ern facade ot the third-

story corridor is a series ot small-paned stained glass Windows that in the atter-

noon throw magic color patterns across the opposite wall and marbie tiled tioor. Whether these panes are ot Spanish or Bristol glass is a matter ot dispute: documentary proot ot their

Throughout the island one may see many specimens ot oíd

day, and at night, lighted now with electric bulbs that have replaced the original candies, clearly lighting up the high rooms, bringing out the hidden charm ot oíd mahogany. One ot the most interesting ot the oíd customs ot Puerto

Rico, in which glassware tigured, was the placing ot lighted candies on graves on All Souls' Day. These candies, lighted early in the morning, were supposed to burn all day. Large

source has been lost. Mrs. Horace M. Towner, wite ot the

altar candies, standing in handsome candiesticks, were pro-

tormer governor, says ot them: "The colored glass set in the

tected trom the breeze by crystal globes known throughout the

shutters in the long upper corridor in La Fortaleza is an unusual

Islands ot the West Indies as Hurricane Globes or Guarda

quality ot an oíd type ot colored glass which I think was brought trom Spain, although I have no documentary evidence. The red is true ruby glass ot the kind made with gold instead ot copper, and it is that which gives it its exquisito color. All

globes the burning candie awaited the coming ot the priest who ¡ourneyed trom grave to grave repeating prayers tor the

ot the red insets are not ot the same quality, one being a piece ot modern glass, possibly put in atter an earlier piece

Brisas. Within these tine, otten beautitully engraved crystal

souls ot the dead. Today this custom is still tollowed in a

tew ot the cemeteries on the Island. In Rio Piédras one may still see this interesting ceremony though hurricane globes ot

was broken. There is aiso a modern piece or two among the

the oíd type have become such priceless heirlooms ihat tew

other colors, but not many, and the ditference between the oíd and the new is very marked in its retractive powers.

would venture today to leave them unguarded in public

Whatever their source, they lend enchantment in that corri

dor. A briet visit there any atternoon in the year is rewarding with memory ot a rare tantasy ot color and light shed through glass made at a time remote trom our own. AIso in the Fortaleza, as the Palace ot the Sovernors is

called, is a series ot long gold mirrors, misty with years, ot which Mrs. Towner says: "I think they were installed by General Juan Prim y Prats (1847-48) at the same time that he ordered

the decoration ot the ceiling with his tamily coat-ot-arms. Many 'embellishments' were added at this time, although I

cemeteries.

The custom probably dates back to the rites observed by

the Capuchins in the Catacombs in Rome: those who had died during the year were stood on their teet, their hoods

pulled over their heads: those dead many years had large burning candies placed within their skulls. The Candelabra Suite pictured on the opposite page is trom the home ot Mrs. Hermán L. Cochran who has one ot the choicest collections ot antigües in América. The can delabra are oíd French, beveled, etched crystal bujios set in

do not think that there were any structural changes. Although the mirrors were undoubtedly placed in the drawing room at

golden brass, adorned with gracetul lagrimas, mounted on tall, hollow bases. They are probably the tinest complete pair to

that time they seem to date earlier. An expert whom we

be tound anywhere in the tropics. The tan, one ot a large and exceedingly rare collection in

asked to examine them declared the mirrors to be ot Germán

manutacture; the trames are ot course ot French design. The expert said that they were manutactured prior to 1830, because the process used was an oíd amalgam process which was not in use atter that period. From 1780 to 1848 there are

records ot continuous shipments to Puerto Rico trom Spain and the Belearic Islands. and I think many things tor the palace were brought at that time.

"The tweive cut glass compotes (in the dining-room) with the Maltese Cross on the covers, and the Spanish coat-ot-arms etched on the sides, came, I think, trom the Spanish glass works known as La Granja de lldetonso where the best glass

Mrs. Cochran's possession, is an

original Isabela Segunda with its nacre sticks inlaid with gold and

the court scene painted on parchment by the French artist, Eugene André. The polychrome trame

is by Braus Studios in New York. The painting is a study ot oíd San Juan by Nichadómo. The

in Spain was made trom 1728 to 1849. I have seen other

candelabra and tan ensamble is

glass trom La Granja exactly like these compotes, with other

mounted on a tine Chippendale drop-leat table.

devices and decorations. 26

Paradise of the Atlantic


CAISDELABRÜM SUITE

Colorado


C.ÍSA DE ESPAÑA

José Guindulain


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CARAVEL AT Sl^SET

Gn'tih,',, K,


Caravels To The West

BEFORE hlm lay the most fabulous dream in the history of

Friar Bernando BoTl, priest from the Monserrate Monastery who was destined to say the first mass ¡n the Western Hemisphere; thirteen Benedictina friars; Father Morchena, protector, friend and counselor of the Admiral; Dr. Chanca, physician and

the world-attainedi behind him a country of hero-worshippers. He, Don Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the OceanSea, was setting out again to the New Worid h¡s genius had discovered: to a domain more vast than any

chronicler; Juan Ponce, soldier of fortune from

could imagine; to a land whose potential rich-

, /'.• ■i j iii l int

r | /'

ness outreached the most fabulous tales of

wealth any Fifteenth Century European could ||'||' j!/, ''/I//' conceive. It was the return of the conqueror,

Kingdom of León—the list was a thrilllng With them they took a commanding sup-

ply of arms; cuirasses, swords, pikes, cross-

;,i'¡

COLUMBÜS CO

Flag of Ferdinand and habella

flag of Columbas' Flagship "Marigalunle'

the voyage of victory. September 25th, 1493, he left Cadiz-not as before, in ¡n

bows, muskets, powder and balls, etc.—every armament known to the battiefieid of the then modern-day Europe; they would

doned crimináis as crew; but with a spiendid fleet of seventeen 5en

be prepared to conquer ¡f necessary, to clalm the New WorId for Spain at whatever cost.

three doubtful, madequate caravels, with a handful of par,grs ips three fine caracas of a hundred tons each, two naos, os, and tweive caravels [the lighter vesseis, callad Can

ta nan arques, had their timbers fastened together wft wooden pms (est the weight of iron lessen

klkíb

o sai out of Spanish waters on a voyage of ex-

ÚÍÍ(i¡fñ,

their speedj: the largest expeditionary fleet ever remendous confidence had been aroused by

the proofs brought back to Spain from the first voyage. Money to back the expedition had been ort coming from all sidas; for though soma money

was raised by confiscation of property belonging

to Jews and by the imposition of extra duties, large oans were offered, ¡eweis were contributed volun-

With them they took everything necessary for colonizaron, things the Admiral had found lackíng during his first survey: seed-corn, rice, sugar-cane, vegetables,

/

cattie, horses, sheep, goats, swine, fowls—and aven

'

mastiff dogs. They were prepared to build Spanish cities, to establish the Catholic religión, to create 3 New Spain across the Ocean-Sea. As the Marigalante led the fleet from Cádiz

j

that day in early autumn the hopes of the worId went with her—and the heart of the Admiral must

'^

Quecn J,

have been full of a great ¡oy and a deep thankfulness—the dream of his life had come true. , ., , The second voyage even with many stops took

, II

Queen isabcllo.

^

tanly—the whoie Spanish nation was behind the Admiral.

Men representing practically every profession, every social ;¡al 3n re igious order in the country sought what influence they ley commanded in order to ¡oin the expedition, so that the ultimate jte ew and passenger list of soldiers, colonizers and adventurers ers

numbered well over a thousand men. Hidalgos, knights, monks, iks,

priesh, mariners, men-at-arms, mechanics, attendants, servants; its; ruine traders hoping to restore their fortunes in the fabu3U-

ousy wealthy Indies; protégés of royalty and nobility seeking ng

important places in the colonial-empire-to-be; Granadian ianjncers with swift Andalusian horses; prominent caballeros from Dm

e our corners of the kingdom: among them the Admiral's jI's

ot er, Diego Columbus, Alonzo de Hojeda, Gines de Gor3rbalon, Pedro Margarite, Juan de la Casa, Pedro de las Casas: 3s;

^ ^

less time than the first; for though the Admiral was in urgent haste to return to the small garrison of men he had left in Santo Domingo, delays in the Lesser Antilles were unavoidable; innumerable new islands hove onto the horizon as the fleet gradually sailed through "the Eleven Thou-

sand Virgins of St. Ursula", as Columbus called them. Every-

where new and exciting discoveries were made, strange peoples met with who broadened the sphere ot new-land-to-be-tound beyond all belief.

1^ was on the island that now bears the ñame of Guadalupe that Columbus first encountered Boriqueños — people from Boriquen, "Fatherland of Valiant Men", who had been captured

by the Caribs. They toid him of their island which lay directly

north.

Columbus' own iog book of the voyage has been íost; but

fortunateiy there is extant, an extract from a letter written by

Paradise of the Atlantic


m

Dr. Chanca "from the Indies to +he Lords of the Chap+er of

For a day they sallad along this coast of wonderland to

Sevilla which tells brlefly the first impression on whi+e men of

anchor in a harbor on the Western side which harbor, no one

the island fhaf Is today Puerto Rico: "In the afternoon we arrived In sight of another island

knows: it has never been authenticated, beyond

called Burenquen, along the coast of which we ran for the entire day. We ¡udged that it extended thirty leagues on that side. This island to appearance is very beautiful and very

fertile. The people from the Caribs come here to make con-

quests and they take many people away. These people have no fustas and do not know how to sail on the sea. But, accord-

ing to what these Caribs whom we talked with, say, they use bows the same as they (the Caribs) do, and if by chance when the Caribs come to assault them they are able to capture

them, they aiso eat the Caribs the same as the Caribs eat them. We remained two days in one harbor of this island.

where many of the people landed. But we nevar were abte to talk with them. for they all fled away like people who were

terrorized by the Caribs. All of these islands mentioned were discovered on this voyage for until now the Admiral had not

tspute,

whether it was at Aguada, Aguadilla, Rincón, Mayaguez, Boquerón, or at another place; all these places claim t e on —any one of them may be right.

We do know that on November 19th Columbus tirst se^

foot on Puerto Rican soil, carrying ashore the fls'S^ sovereigns, and formally claimed the island in the Spain, calling it San Juan Bautista. , fo^^d It is aiso known that wherever the fleet anchored

a very desirable harbor where they remained for

during which time their water casks were refreshed.

y

^

^ hasty

firewood taken aboard and some foraglng parties

survey of the island's potentiallties. On the shore of this harbor they found a thatched houses built around a plaza. I

gardens.

TI

I

I

There were

•!! The whole place was superior to vill99

^ ■tended otner

islands Columbus had seen.

seen any of them on the first voyage. All are very beautiful and the land is very good. but this one appears best of all." "But this one appears best of all," and doubtiessiy would have been colonized Ímmed¡ately had not Columbus been so anxious to reach Santo Domingo. One, at least, of the party was most deeply impressed—Juan Ronce. Yet it was not until

fifteen years had passed that he was able to consummate his wish and found his first colony—Caparra, ¡ust south of San

""i|\

from the east as they did, their first glimpse of

Puerto Rico was undoubtedly the high. cloud-veiled summit of

El Yunque (callad "Yuke-white cloud"). by the Indians; the

Spaniards, Hkening the word to their own tonque, caHed it ■■ "—"anvil"—which, indeed. it somewhat resembles. ^"j^rentire island must have been massed, heavy foliage, dense forests, superbiy rich te behold. It has oniy been since white man's arrival that timben shortage has occarred m any forested island: such large quant,t,es of traes have been cut,

Jul a ^ ^ ^ I

genenation aften generation, fon fres charccal bu d.ngs, furLhings-with no effort at reforestat.on unt,l the present

'^'"Íal palms. flamboyants, violet trees, braadfruits, acacias and an innumerable vista of flowenng shrubs, flowers and

edible plants must have covered the coastal plams. The mountains lains were wBic dense with mahoganies, traes, endem.c corkwoods magnohas^ and ceiba trae ferns; dripping orchids, moss and brilliant parasitic plants. The island must have reechoed the cries of baautiful-

plumaged birds. Everywhere, from the broad white playas

to the jagged cloud-high mountain peaks must have been a profusión of bizarre and wonderful tropical life such as the bedazzled Span Columbas' Coat-of-arms

Summer, 1936

iards had never imaginad grew in the worid.

Shore W here Columbas May Have

It is hard to see with perspectiva that first venturesome

band of Spanish knights in gleaming armour. walklng up the desertad Puerto Rican beach, Columbus among them bearing

the flag of his sovereigns, implanting it firmly in +he sand, and with arms stretched ¡n thankfulness to The Almigh+y for a safe

and vlctorious voyage, claiming another land for Spain. Yet

one may visit any of the likely beaches today most of them are still quiet blue bays with verdant, encircling shores. Now they are lined with graceful cocoanuts—brought to the island years later. But the breath of the past is there. One need not be too much the idealist, he may not be wrong, if he thinks—"Here is the only sotl under the American flag on which Columbus trod."


HORSE-RACING KNOWN throughout the worid as +he sport of kings, horse- passed April I3th, 1916, the system of betting known as the racing is certainly of oíd and noble lineage In Puerto Rico. First introduced by the hidalgos who accompanied Ronce de León on his voyage of colonization, the sport has enjoyed popular favor on this island throughout the more than four hundred years of its inhabitation by whlte men. Moreover, from the outset Puerto Rican horses bore the best credentíals, being

offspring of the original Andalusian stock brought to the New World by Columbas on his Second Voyage. During the first and second centurles followlng the Spanísh colonization horse-racing as a popular recreation was curbed by laws and decrees—yet it persisted, out of law. as the chief

diversión of the early Puerto Rican. Every free person had some kind of a mount whích he caparisoned as rlchly as his means perrnitted. taking part in the informal races that followed religious ceremonies. Such show of horsemanship, de-

lighting the specfators, kept alive In the new race memorles that harked back to medieval ¡oists and maintained the sport that would survive all others brought from the Oíd Vv'oríd to

the New. The most spectacular single story of one of these informal races Is recounted ¡n the article about the Santo Cristo Chapel.

As early as 1765 horse-racing was offlcially reportad as one of the chief amusements of the people throughout the island, with tracks In Ponce, San Germán and Mayagüez as well as in San Juan. Cock-fighting and boxing grew in favor, but horseracing retained its classic interest. Today two fine tracks. Quintana and Las Monjas, on the outskirts of San Juan, attract

large crowds contlnuously. all year around, every Sunday, Wednesday and legal holiday. Sweepstakes are drawn every thirty days.

Under the United States Administration the Raclng Commission was created in 1913 by an act passed by the Insular

Leg,slature on March 13th of that year. The mutual system

of bettmg was m vogue at this time and by íater legislation

"pool" was permitted. This system consists of the selectlon

of the greatest number of winners in a raclng day. Single betters, by winning the entire amount of this "pool," have sometimes made their fortune in a day. Thís element of chance, so inherent in the Latin character, has certainly helped endear the sport to the people. The sport is under the direct supervisión and control of the Insular Racing Commission conslsting of Commissioner and Council. The government derives a substantial income by collection of a certain tax on all monies wagered. The tax re-

ceipts from special races help maintain worthy charities and aid projects of outstanding public interest. Breeding of the thoroughbred is rapidly developing in

the Island. Mares bred to famous stallions are constantly being importad from the United States. Among the recent importations there are several mares bred to the famous stallion Catalan, one of the best racers which the American turf has produced in recent years. Native thoroughbreds are beginning to prove a success,

many two-year-olds marking I¡I5 to the three-quarter route, on a comparatively slow track, as local conditions do not permit the maintenance of courses in speed test conditions. Puerto Rico has produced. perhaps, the worid's champion in regard to number of races won. This horse, known as Galgo, Jr., is a son of Check out of War Relief, thus a grand-

son, through his male line, of Fair Play, the sire of the mighty Man o' War. He has started in 143 races and finished first 124 times, second 15 times. He is at present eight years oíd

and is still racing and is considerad the best horse on our

tracks, In the native división, being always asslgned top weight in every handicap.

A visitor at either Quintana or Las Monjas, almost any day of races, will have a thrill provided hím. In one of the events a favorita will be nosed out or a new record achieved something to add individual importance to the day's fun.

Finish at Quintana Casenave

Paradise of the Atlantic


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T.X-


4

The School of Tropical Medicine

The School of Tropical Medicine By Constance M. Locke

The tourisf to fhe West Ind¡es does no+ need to be told,

operatlon against the ravages of hookworm, tuberculosis and

"Don't forget to see the School of Tropical Medicine when you go to San Juan". He is not iikely to miss it, for it stands alone in the Caribbean as an institution of its kind, and it is unique and attention-arresting in its beauty of architecture,

early days the School was dreamed of and worked for by a northern scientist who was íater to be proudly adopted by

coioring and setting.

fame for himself and for the island of his adoption. Owing

Fashioned after El Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca— a gem of the Spanish Renaissance—it lies on a strip of green

tropical diseases.

Under the stimulus of the work of those

Puerto Rico as one of her most íllustrious sons, and to win

largely to his efforts, the School was created as an organization in 1924, and the present building was ready for occupancy

filigreed cresting, medallions and arcades, and the softiy blended coioring of a sea shell. Of the large square formed by

in 1926. This date aiso saw a plan of cooperation between the University of Puerto Rico and Columbla University in the City of New York put into effect, whereby the latter was

the building, the south, west and east sides contain the faboratories and offices of the School, while the north consists of the

granted the power of determination in the educatlonaí policy of the School and the election of its officers.

between two brilliantly blue bodies of water, with beautiful

Universily Hospital. The center of the square is a large patio, for which ambitious plans in the way of paíms, flowering shrubs and fountains are being laid, and will gradually be realized as time passes.

For the School of Tropical Medicine is at present enduring the "growing pains" of adolescence; it is stretching upward and outward, yet, owing to skiliful planning and designing, it

is keeping ¡ts proportions of harmony in form and color.

The Faculty, associates and instructors of the School, and

the Staff of the University Hospital, now number 135 members of all grades, who work together with attending physicians, consultants, and visiting professors from the North. The various research departments include those of bacteri°logy, pathology, chemistry. public health and communicable diseases, parasitology, climatology, mycology, and tropical medicine and surgery. Classes are given to a limited number

The creativa work within the School has compelled the need

of students in the advanced fields of the medical sclences, and

for expansión; the mould is being formed by pressure from \vithin, and is not merely a shell lying vacant for indetermined 3nd casual occupancy.

facilities for research are extended to qualified investigators.

Its days of infancy were passed under the beptismal ñame of the Instituto of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, in small offices near the Palacio Rojo. The Instituto was a direct and

as schistosome free or infected. It has aiso endeavored, with

practica! answer to the need of Puerto Rico for a base of

Some of the conspicuous work recently achieved by the

School has been the tabulating of watercourses and lagoons great success, to adapt native fare to the needs and circumstances of the poorer classes, instructing them In the vitamin content of their dally foods, and advising them in the selection Paradise of the Atlantic


of such. Anemia and

cases, and reports on thelr progress. In connection with the University Hospital, Federal agencies have Included ín theír reconstruction project for the Island a rebuilding of the presen!

: «sssss

i+s

causes,

among

I

which are paraslfical

invasions, are being

'

i

_

structure, which wlll render It the most up-to-date hospital in the West Indies, If not in a much larger area. It will be com-

studied in connecllon

wi+h nu+ri+ional prob-

~v '

lems An ¡n+erestlng

s

prlsed of three storles, each story composlng one unit of utility.

^

which in its turn will be divided into appropriate units.

For

example, the ground floor will contain the out-patient depart able pleca of research

'

ment, and all convenlences such as laboratories and X-ray

work lies In ihe datar-

'

rooms in conjunction with it. Adjoining, yet sepárate, will be found the offices for the Superintendent and admlnistrative staff. The second floor is relegated to the use of patients— prívate, ward and children—each having its respective depart ment, including solariums, independen! of the others. These rooms are aÍr-conditÍoned. On the third floor the chief oper-

^ 'í [■ i - i

mination of sharEc livar

I

^

olí as an adequate

subsfitute for fhat

r' " "' _"~'A^

of cod and haÜbuf,

\^"

which If equals in the possession of vitamln A.

I ^s-i^

j

ating room will be constructed, fitted with the last word In equipment, one example of which is the large prism mirror in

This may prove

the basis of a furtherlng of the shark industry—utility and expedient extermination going hand In hand. Fungus growths

which the operations performed by instructing surgeons may be seen in reflection by students in another room. On this

of the skin, tropical or non-tropical In type, have been success-

floor in another wtng are to be found the model kitchens,

fully combated by the Department of Mycology. It Is a curious fact that organisms, idéntica! In the States and Puerto Rico, produce In thair respective lands diseases varying wldely in

service elevators, and staff and servants dlnlng rooms.

form and malignancy.

ing capacity of over one hundred people.

Experlments are belng made with a

view of determining the cause of these variations which may, or may not, be dependent on ciimate, race and livlng condltions. The Department of Medical Zoology has made notable

auditorium with a seat-

The School übrary

enlarged in order +o accommodate the

constitute as accurately as possible the relationship between ciimate and haalth. At present littla is known of the physio-

growing numbers of

the study of ordinary weather conditions together with the measurement of the sun's intensity In that región of spectrum

to peruse them. Jour-

loglcal affects of ciimate, and the School is makinq a start in

which produces sunburn and curas ricketts. This is belng done by reducing observatlons to averagas and limits, such data having been tabulated by self-recording instruments. It is believed that the School possesses the first electrlc self-record ultra-violet meter ever set up for such purpose. The Depart ment of Pathology extends its services to the medical men and Institutions of Puerto Rico and the neighboring Islands, and

does invaluable work In diagnosing specimens submitted to It.

■ ■

has had to be greatly

contribufions in the seroioglcal diagnosis of intestinal and blood

parásitas. The study of Climatology has been established to

Mere,

also, apart from the domestic unit, is to be constructed an

á ^ C S'Vt

"

books, perlodicals, and

JVV

the students who come nals concerning the various branches of med¡cine and related fields are recelved from all

'Ví íi. ^TL-Í* • ^1

ÍÍ -HA -niVl kd,

'

^

'

over the world; Arable,

Chínese

stanl

and

tifies

Hlndu-

mingling

with those of better known tonques.

The School Issues Its own publlcatlon under the ñame of The Puerto Rico Journal of Publlc Health and Tropical Medi cine. This Journal not only formally records the actlvltles of the various departments of the Board of Health—by which Institution It is sponsored—and of the School of Tropical Medicine, but establishes a direct contact with medicine in Latín América.

The present School of Tropical Medicine forms a landmark

spas.

which will be woven into the history of the Island, both by reason of its stabíllty and the nature of its usage, which will ever demand vitality and progress to cope with the transactions of science.

gravity ^of their case warrants It, and has also recently employed the services

of a fully trained social service worker who, under the direction of the Superintendent, follows up non-hospitallzed or discharged Summi'T, 1936

Its maturity lies in the future, stretching along the paths to and fro between the Amerlcas. taking and learning from those

eminent men who pause where the roads cross In Puerto Rico, and in exchange, serving and instructing North, Central and South scientifically minded Americans.


OTE EVILL

SEVILLE ROOF GARDEN SEVILLE FOYER

When in New York make

S p e c i a I attentlon to

+he Seville your home whe+her day, week or

Latín American patrons.

Spanish is spoken.

month.

A modern hotel with a homelike atmosphere, operated by its owners and notad for ¡ts comforts not equaled anywhere. The works of art in the beautifuí foyer are by worid famed artists. Delightful Restaurant, Bar, Grill and Cafetería on premisas Madíson Avenue at 29th Street

Ownership Management

New York City


NOTE; The drínks feafured on +his page have been chosen as represenia-

^L^itr mixingalmost reíreshments that may be preparad by a skillful of rumcouniless and iropical frult juíces. Puerto Rico Cocktail Mixing glass I/2 full fine ice

Pineapple Rum Pizz 1 teaspoon sugar

2 dashes gum syrup

1/2 part pineapple juice

2 dashes orange bitters 2 dashes Boker's bitters

1/2 part rum Beat and serve in fizz glass

I jigger Puerto Rican rum

Mix and strain inte glass—add twisted lemon pee!

Rum Punch

Juice of 1/2 1®^°^

Daiquiri Cocktail 1 jigger Bacardi Rum

I teaspoon sugar

I jigger rum

Juica ot ene lime

Beat and strain into glass of water

3^ teaspoonful powdered sugar

Adorn with fruít

Mix and shake in finely cracked ice

Medford Rum Cocktail Mixing glass I/2 full fine ice

Rum Cooler Juice of 1 orange

Skin of I orange

1 dash gum syrup

I jigger rum

2 dashes Boker's bitters 1 Rum Mix and strain—add twisted lemon pee!

Planters Punch

Chipped ¡ce

1/4 part mineral water Rum Daisy

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 lumps sugar dissolved in a littie water

1 jigger rum

Juica of I lime I jigger rum

1/2 jigger Grenadine Rut in glass ot water with finely chipped ¡ce

Shake well—turn into glass of finely cracked ¡ce Decórate with orange, pineapple and mint Rum Sour

Adorn with frult

Bili Cocktail

Pee! of green lime pounded in mortar

Juice of one lemon

With 1 jigger rum

1 teaspoon sugar I jigger rum

2 dashes syrup Maraschino cherry

Beat and strain—adorn with frult Puerto Rican Cocktail I jigger rum

made. Ripe cocoanuts are filled with sweetened rum, anise

6 drops Granadina 3 drops Angostura Bitters

seeds, cloves and spices, corked and roasted in a charcoal tire in a hole in the ground. When roasted the hole ¡s filled with dirt and the cocoanuts left to age tor a couple of months,

Skin of lemon

The liqueur that comes trom the aged cocoanuts is a mighty

Stir and serve in cocktail glass

sweil one.

6 drops Curacao

Sunimer,

In the mountains ot Puerto Rico a rum-cocoanut llqueur is


A Puerto Rican Poet: Luis Palés Matos (Continued from page 22) And all fllghts to the sea.

Through the minimat duties of his business:

All seas to ihe wind.

This adiposa alcalde, gross abdominal vacuüy, Flip-flopping on exlstence as on a muddy sauce; That shop, slow, idéntica! with what it always was: These goats, forever chewing on the same glaring plaza;

Ali the winds to blowing. Ali the blowing to üfe, All Ufe to labor.

A mendicant; a hack: skin, oíd bones and sores, And above this intranquillity,

That knows by heart the length of all the county-roads;

In the refuge he had made, San Sabás, ampie as a tree, Giving his paternal shade.

The dead and asphyxiating Sabbath at siesta hour; Petty gambling at cards and bllliards at the club .. .

The whole municipality, this herd of tedious Uves.

Palés' blography ís both a determinan! and a com-

plement to his llterary work, as much so as his poems are a compensation for his life. He was born at the cióse of

the last century ín Guayama, a wide, qulet. lonesome fown on the southern

coast of Puerto Rico, the

driest part of the Island.

This quaint decrepit town where nothing ever happens, Where all dies smoothly, rulnously crumbling down, Worm-eaten by the peaceful comfort of being at ease. Mercy, my God! Oh. mercy on this. my humble town! Amongst these simple souls turn loose a wholesome rasca!

To stone the stagnant waters of their superfluous iíves With life-stirring shocks of iniquitous feats: A burglar who would break into the very church; A Don Juan to despoil the intactness of the maids;

Qr a confidence-man able to upset the neighbors And rend the trouble-proof, barren polse of their calm. Mercy, Lord, have mercy on this. my honest town, Lest all this humble people die of sheer nothlngnessi

This home town, as a theme,

appears with persisten! frequency through his writings.

"The alcohol - preservad tapeworm at the drug store

was Its chief notoriety," he says. "Topografía" is an analysis of the influence of

the poets' visión of the place on what he gathers his life has been. "Pueblo

is a direct personal reactlon

to his birthplace.

W]

Both

poems figure Ín still another book that almos! got

published, "Canciones de la Vida Media" (1925). Here, within traditional moíds. Palés shows his knowledge

of the resources of Spanlsh, and the sense of rhythm and power of suggestion which were to be devel-

oped in his Negroid poems.

I put "Pueblo" into English: Mercy, Lord, have mercy on this, my humble town, Wherein my humble peopie will die of nothingness!

That oíd notary lettlng his days go by

In prose, beside numerous articles for the loca! magazines. Palés has writfen a short novel. "Memoirs of an Inslgnificant

Man," dealing with the political and social life of a typical Puerto Rico town and the changes brought about by the American occupation. The central figure of the book (which is more or less autobiographical) is an inslgnificant man osclllating between his Quixotic convictions and his Sancho Panza's pragmatism.

A list of Palés' ¡obs is lllumlnating. He has been a Law-

yer's clerk in Guayama at $20 a month; a draftsman's apprentice in a government irrigation bureau; the postmaster of a

small town for three days: a rural teacher; a clerk for the Fajardo Sugar Corporation; the editor of EL PUEBLO, a small

newspaper Ín the town of Fajardo: municipal secretary in the same town; secretary of a Bureau of Social Welfare Ín San Juan: secretary of the Insular Baker's Association; sergeant-at-

arms of the Insular House of Representativas: and, lastiy, sec retary to the president of the Senate. The first part of the "Memoirs", dealing with Spanish Colo

nial times, is based on Infantile recollections of the story of his parents. His mother was the daughter of a Spanish capfain—the least possible quantity of militarism—a superficial, light-headed, good-humored man who sheathed his sword and put away his uniform after the American occupation. His father came from a pompous family of landowners and planters. Vanity and maladministration left them pennlless. Don Vicente Palés was the youngest of the family, and, although he became the best-informed man in Guayama, all he knew he

taught himself. He earned his meager subsistence by teaching French and conducting a small school for boys. He tell in (ove (Continued on page 46)

Paradise of the Atlantic


A DESERTED PORTAL

Jiiun T'iuiiié


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The Story oj Sugar Cañe (Conlinucd ¡rom page 19)

of bankrup+cy and some actually falled. Then carne the technlcal survey and studies which culm¡nated In the introduction

into Puerto Rico of more productive cañe varíeties, some of

w ich were practically immune to the ravages of the disease

whüe others, although not resistant, turned to be very high

producers when measured in tons of sugar per unit area. The most important of these canes were brought from the distant island of Java through the combined efforts of the

federa! and insular governments: others were brought from

the neighboring Island of Barbados. In both of these countries

the art of cañe breeding and its appíication in solving agri cultura! problems had received considerable attention. Through

the use of these cañe varieties the ruination which was men-

acing the industry was avoided. Mosaic disease was entirely routed by scientific research and sound agronomlc technique. The salvation of the sugar industry of Puerto Rico through agricultura! science is, without doubt, one of the most alluring romances of modern science.

This point will be better em-

phasized when we consider that the industry was not merely

saved, it was actually made better and more permanent; slnce through new cañe varieties and better cultural methods Puerto Rico is now produclng, in practically the same area as in the year 1918—about 250,000 acres—more than twice as much sugar. This has meant not oniy a better income for the

sugar milis and for the cañe growers, but aiso a proportionately larger tax income to the insular government and considerable more employment for the laborers of the island.

There are at present some legislative and economlc plans for the regulation and curtailment of the sugar industry in Puerto Rico. Corporate ownership of land may or may not be limited to 500 acres. Exports to continental United States have already been íimited to about 800,000 short tons under

a system of export quotas for off-shore producers. Another

new chapter may be in the offing for the Puerto Rican sugar

industry. Whatever its future may be, there is no doubt that the sugar industry is with us to stay. It is our one great national industry and the future of Puerto Rico seems to be forever interwoven with the destiny of the sugar cañe. Paradise of the Atlantic


Puerto Rico: Our Link With Latín América (Continued from page 11) social workers. The doctor coordinates his work with whatever

times as fast as it does in the northern countries. In the con

health services he may tind in the community, whether munici pal or private. His unit forms the outpost which tights the disease when it occurs and, more important still, spreads pre

tinental United States we have consumed our forests and are

ventivo knowledge. The effectiveness of this scheme in trop ical countries is illustrated by the fact that after the last bad hurricane no epidemic outbreaks of any sort occurred.

In addition, the schools in the various communities have been utilized for health work under the joint supervisión of the Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Education. Teachers have given practical instructions along these lines. Lectures on sanitation and the common diseases are arranged

and delivered, not for the children, but for the grown-up members of the community. Scientific terms are tabú. Pietures or slides are used where possible. I have said enough, I think, to show that Puerto Rico has

made considerable steps in medicine and health work which can be of valué to other Spanish-American countries if contacts of the right sort are established.

In agriculture Puerto Rico's achievements have been the

equal of those in medicine. There is a College of Agriculture Experimental Station. Both of these and the Federal Experi

connected with the University. and there is aiso an Insular

mental Station have attained notable results. Sugar, as I have said. is the Island's principal crop. By scientific experimentation'and breedings. canes have been developed which yieid a sucrose content 15 per cent higher than those used a short eriod ago. These species have an immunity to common dis-

elses Again irrigation systems have been evolved. having

¡n view not merely the growth of the plant but aiso the health of the cultivators. for irrigation too often means a great in-

crease in malaria. Fertilizers and their effect on soils in trop ical climates have been exhaustively studied. and in some

'nstances the yieId per acre has been more than doubled. The investiqation of sugar merely typifies what has been done in th case of other branches of agriculture. Coffee, citrus fruits,

Lcco vegetables, all have come in for their share of attenc+^ndard works on these matters have been published by Rican students. Dr. Carlos E. Cherdon, the Chanby Puerto F

tion.

oranaai^

II

^

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of the University. and Mr. Edmundo Colon, formerly

• Rámos. Mr. Lóoez ctmm!ssioner ofof Aariculture. Agriculture, Mr. Mr. Menendez Menendez Kímos, Mr. López

rv

7 Mr. E. Matti and Mr. Molla have done investige

tioi^Tand scientific work of the first valué and have reported thereon in writing.

..

l

u

4.

in medicine, equal attention has been given to spreading

I dae to those who must benefit therefrom. Systems of ,

work suitable to tropical countries have been devel-

j have proved effective in practice.

t I have deait merely with what has been done. The

• X í ^ the tuture is very wide. There are many subjects

"h h Lve not been touched which clearly are worth while. r arlier paragraph I alluded to the tact that the north

XTt rld fcres'y products tronn the south. Puerto Rico otfts a splendid place in which to carry on experimental work in forestry ^/ood in the tropics grows approximately five

Summer, 1936

consuming them far more rapidly than they grow. ünquestionably the disastrous floods in the Mississippi Valley, which cost so much in life and property, have been due in great measure to the deforestation we have so reckiessiy pursued. In the future we must draw from those parts of the worid

where crops of timber can be quickiy raised and where the acreage lies. To prepare us for this we need a forestry station to investigate what woods may best be used in our manufacturies, how it can be raised, and where it can be obtained. Let US now return to the broader aspects of the problem.

namely the bearing of what I have outlined on the ultimate relationships of the nations forming this hemisphere. I believe that by developing the services described above we can be of benefit not merely to Puerto Rico and to the United States. but to the other countries as well. We have neglected and

mishandied our relationships with the nations south of the Rio Grande. Often we have approached them

thought than to exploit them for the benefit of some in ivi ual or group in the United States. This has been shortsig te in

the extreme. No permanent good can ever come to a part of the citizens of a country at the expense of all its citizens.

By the same token. no foreign relationship of lasting valué can

be built between nations on a basis other than mutual un er standing and benefit.

We of the United States should strive first of all to under-

stand and appreciate the ideáis and aspirations of the LatinAmerican republics. and second. to be of service to them to

the end that all may profit thereby. No better mstrument of

attaining this lies at hand than Puerto Rico. Through the

School of Tropical Medicine we will be discovermg the cures

of the diseases which have devastated tropical peoples. If it

is developed as it should be. it will draw young men from all

the central and northern South American counkies. and prob-

ably many of the Puerto Rican graduates will go to those

countries to practice. The same holds true in agriculture. The

experimental work will be of great valué to all Latin-Amencan nations.

Furthermore. the young Puerto Ricans can go to

them and help in the organization of agricultural services. These are not impractical visions: already much has been

accomplished. Young American citizens born in Puerto Rico are now in Perú. Ecuador. Colombia. Venezuela. Costa Rica, Cuba, and Santo Domingo, some of them acting as production directors for large companies or agricultural associations, others

serving in the respective governmental departments of agri culture. Many of them have been sent at the direct request of the government concerned. There are many other examples. At the request of the Colombian Government, Dr. Chardon some years ago visited the Department of Antioquia in that country for the purpose of making a detailed study of the School of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. The study was made, and the Governor of that State passed legislation

to put the recommendations into effect. A few years ago the Ecuadorian Government sent its Director of Agricul+ure, iContimií'd on page 46) 41


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La Capillita del Santo Cristo de la Salud (Continued jrom page 20) 1753. The well-known historian of Puerto Rico, Don Cayetano

proper permission, these votive offerings were melted and cast into different objects for use in the Chapel. The beautiful

Coll y Tosté, in his book "Leyendas Portorriqueñas," Vol. I, page IOS, gives us the following account oí its origin:

Altar, with its silver and gold repoussé work. is admired as a work of singular merit. The candelabra. lectern. lamps an

According to pious tradition, the Chapel was erec+ed in

"On the afternoon ot an important festival in San

Juan, there was a horse race along this street. It was like the hippodrome of that time. The street, being in

amphora are proofs of the faith and devotion of the people to the Santo Cristo de la Salud. The Sacred Relie

its original state, was not paved,—sand here, clay and ditches there, and a hill near the Dominican Convent.

The goal was the main door of the Church of Santo Tomás de Aquino, today San José. The horsemen, after one of their races, were returning in order to

begin again their speedy contest. Some daring youths who were astride spirited charges, havlng descended the hill and while cióse to the starting-point, started

galloping in order to see who would arrive first at the wall. It should be remembered that the large wall at

the south side is cióse to the prison and is quite high. In those days, of which we are speaking, the house of correction did not exist. One of the charges—that of

the arrogant youth, Baltazar Montañez—became wild

upon reaching the parapet, gave a terrific leap. cleared

the wall, and to the consternation of everyone, both horse and rider went to the bottom. The Government

Secretary. His Excellency General Tomás Prats, who

was watching the races trom the balcony of a nearby house, cried out excitedly as in prayer: 'Save him, O Blessed Christ of Health. The horse was crushed

against the large rocks which |utted out from the wall; but the youth was miraculously saved from injury. Orí account of this tragic event. General Prats. a man of faith and piety. constructed a chapel over the shut-in

wall with permission of the Governor of the Indies and of the Bishop, and placed in a mche a beautiful frame with the picture of Blessed Christ of Health, which is

the very same which is venerated today in the holy place. This picture was considered miraculous and every year spiendid festivals whose expenses were paid

by the people of the neighborhood. were held in its

honor."

After the Chapel was built, a covered pórtico was added

in order to shelter. as in a cloister. the large numbers assisting

In 1761 a Sacred Relie was sent to the Chapel trom Rome

and is exposed to the faithful on Holy Thursday, on important

Feast Days. and is venerated on the Day ot Our Saviour. T e

document ot authenticity signed by Guido. Bishop ot Cesena. reads as follows:

"To each and everyone of those who see the P^esent authentic document we testify and make nown

a

certain Sacred Relies, taken from authentic places hav-

ing been shown to us with sealed «"thentic document^ were examinad caretully by us. an we ex ggp.ijf them partióles ot the bones ot St. John he Bapt^t and ot the cloak ot St. Joseph. spouse ot blessed Virqin Mary, which we reverently placedi m

Jlircaskeb tied with red silk thread and sealed wi h our small seal in Spanish wax in proot of the cereta,n identitv of the same; and we seal and give and

foríhe greater glory ot Sod and tor the veneration

ot the saints. with taculty to retain them. dónate the,". exDose them to the public veneration of the taithful in any Church. Oratory. or Chapel In +est.^ of which we order that these letters. wntten by us and sealed with our seal. be forwarded Given in Reseña ¡n Our Episcopal Palace this 30th day of July. 1761. This document. lost for almost two centuries was found the Feast of the Saviour, 1931. Although the act.on of time has affected the oíd parchment. yet it is legible and can be seen at the Chapel. It is interesting to know that the Diocese ot Cesena in Italy is one ot the oidest in Christendom and still exists.

Restoration of Chapel

The painting over the altar pictures the Crucifixión, while in the trypich below are San Luis. Rey de Francia; Santa

Because ot its ruined condition. the Chapel was closed tor •orne years. its treasures being kept at the Cathedral in San luán The Municipality of San Juan was planning to tear riown the building and thus facilitate the transit ot the City. I 1927. a committee of ladies took interest in the restoration o"f the Chapel. The inscription on a tablet at the Chapel reads:

Catalina. Virgen y Martyr. and San Tomás. Apóstol. St. Louis.

Chape! of the Santo Cristo de la Salud

King of France, stands in history as the ideal King of the

Erected as a special memorial in 1753 Restored 1927

Middie Ages, who built hospitals. visited and tended the sick and gave to charity. St. Catherine was the patrón Saint of the Chapel in La Fortaleza, the Governor's House. and seems

Catholic Daughters of América

to have been loved in Puerto Rico from earliest times. St. Thomas, one of the tweive Aposties. is one of the great mis-

Women's Civic Club of Puerto Rico

at the traditional feast—which is the 6th of August—that of the Saviour.

Painting of Santo Cristo de la Salud

sioners of the Catholic Church. The Altar of the Chapel

From 1753. the time of the beginning of this devotion,

many votive offerings of gold and silver were made, covering first the walls of the niche and then of the Chapel. With Sunitner, 1936

Interior

Court of Granada No. 579 San Juan Exterior

Histórica! Department

The Catholic Daughters of América continué their Ínteres^

in this historical Chapel. Today the Chapel is the scene of numerous visits from lovers of art and historical lore. Weekly divine services are held therein and many ex-votos are made. It is still a centre of the faith of a grateful people. Í3


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Did You Know: Puerto Rico is the oniy solí under the American flag on which Columbus actually set foot?

-[■|_|/\7 Puerto Rico is the real land of Ponce de León? That he v/as its coionizer and that his remains lie today in the Cathedral ¡n San Juan?

-[•[-|/\T the bishop to San Juan Bautista, as Puerto Rico was

formerly called. was the first Papal delegate named to the New Worid?

oniy aggressive shot fired from American soÍl durlng the WorId War was fired from El Morro at a Germán vessel

attempting to clear the Port of San Juan?

Puerto Rico is the homeland of Santa Rosa, oniy Ameri

can Saint—her parents having emigrated from San Germán

to Lima shortiy before her birth?

the dense forest at the summit of El Yunque Mountain

in Puerto Rico has been declarad by Dr. Britten, famous naturalist, the finest example of a ram-forest on earth? ¡n the mountains of Puerto Rico there are many hundreds

of varieties of orchids, most of which are found nowhere else in the worId?

San Juan, with over half of its original defenses intact, w.c one of the two completely walled cities in the Spanish

Se/iír>-6ojr at El Morro

CoUial Espiro in the New WoHd7

that Puerto Rico is the most mountainous island In the south

THAT Hurican. the word from which "hurricane" Is derlved,

Atlantic?

was the ñame of a Carib Indian delty?

that the deep immediately north of Puerto Rico Is one oí the two deepest places ¡n the seven seas—soundings having reached a depth of six milas?

that Drake and Hawkins and Cumberland all attempted In to take San Juan from the sea?

that Hawkins was killed in San Juan Harbor by a shot fired from El Morro?

that Puerto Rico was colonized more than a hundred years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts? tuaT the spa at Coamo Springs is one of the finest in the worId, having been preved a definite cure for rheumatisn.? that on El Yunque Mountain there are giant tree ferns twenty

THAT in the mountains of Puerto Rico you see the nativa

¡ibaros carrying coffins on their heads? THAT the brand of giant oxen developed by Don Manual Gonzales on his estates on the south coast of Puerto Rico are the finest in the world?

THAT cock-fighting is one of the favorita sports ¡n Puerto Rico? THAT there are no snakes on the island of Puerto Rico?

THAT Puerto Rico Is the summit of a submerged mountain range?

THAT the famous flamboyant traes are more numerous and beautlful In Puerto Rico than anywhere else in the world, and

feet high?

that during the season of thelr fullness. in June and July. you may drive through bowers of them for many miles—an

that there ¡s a network of oíd underground passages con-

experience that may be described as drlvlng through a tunnel of llving fire, because the branches meet over the road and the

necting all the ma¡or Spanish fortifications in San Juan?

that Puerto Rican coffee is considered by connoisseurs the

scari^t petáis cover the pavement?

best coffee in the worId?

THAT there Is no ralny season In Puerto Rico?

that the largest swimming pool in the worId is at the

THAT Puerto Rico is the United States' best customer in Latín

Escambrón Beach Club ¡n San Juan.

América?

Summer, 1936


Puerto Rico: Our Link With Latín América (Continued ¡rom page 41)

Dr. Abelardo Pacharno. +o Puerto Rico to study the organization on the Island. Panamanians and Peruvians of attainment

and distinction, besldes many others trom other countries, have come to the Puerto Rican Experimental Station for study. At Rio Piedras is the University of Puerto Rico. It could

symbolize the ideal of which I speak; it could well be a gathering point for scholars from both north and south. In literature there are classes in Spanish writings from both Spain and the South American countries. These classes are already drawing students from the north to learn of Cervantes. Lope de la Vega, and Rubén Darío. At the same time there are courses in English literature where boys and giris of the Spanish countries hear of Shakespeare, Milton, and V/aIt Whitman.

There are numerous political phases that should be devel-

oped The law school could teach Román law for the benefit of North American students and our Common Law for the students from the south. Special features could be a part thereof. For example, here in the United States we have

developed over the past years new methods of dealing with public utilities. South América is on the threshold of this

development. It would be of real valué for many South Ameri cans

to get an opportunity to study our legislation on this

su

bject in a university where they could understand the

language.

The illustrations which I have given could be multiplied many fold. We might well make Puerto Rico a base for cultural and scientific work the influence of which would be feit through both continents.

There is still another aspect of what I have been discussing, and that is the use to which Puerto Ricans might be put in our dealings with South Americans. The United States has

both governmental and business relationships with all of the South American nations. From a practica! standpoint, what could be better in these positions than young Puerto Ricans. Spanish by blood and tradition, Spanlsh-speaking, and yet American citizens with a thorough knowledge of the English language and of American customs? To sum up, it must be admitted that Puerto Rico is not and almost certainly never will be an economic asset to

United States. She is far more likely to continué to be in need of federal aid. On the other hand, as I have tried to indicate, from the broad aspect of international relationships Puerto Rico can be of great valué both to our country and

to this hemisphere. She can and should serve as a connecting link between the two great cultural divisions.

A Puerto Rican Poet: Luis Palés Malos (Continued jrom page 38) and married Luis's mother for their "common poética! ideáis".

They were both poor, and, what is worse, they both wrote poetry. Palés pere took Liberalism and free thought very seriously, but his inoffensive anarchy was oniy the expression of an intrinslc tenderness and humanitarian optimism. A seden-

Mayagüez, another Puerto Rican town, four hours later, completely demoralized by sea-sickness. Palés' conception of his own inner self is characteristic. • •_ Th IS 15

*'CI from "El Pozo

tary pacifist with a head ful! of revolutionary projects, he was

My soul is like a well of deafened waters . . .

intransigent oniy In religious matters. His son was not baptized until twenty-four, and then It was out of love sickness for a

The landscape falls dead upon its surface, And in its depths, for many years, A misanthropic toad sits dreaming undisturbed.

very devout girl. The father, in spite of his poverty, his literary inclination,

and his passion for history and Liberalism, managed to bring

up a family of six children. The two outstanding features of his life were his tragi-comic imprisonment and his dramatic death. The first was the result of an article written in defense

of Renán. His friends took him out of jai!, and on the second

day of his confinement, to the accompaniment of a brass band, and exhibited him at a Liberal meeting, mustered up for the occasion, as one of the "martyrs of clericalism". His spectacular death occurred suddenly on the stage of the Guayama Theater as he was reciting some prophetic original verses in honor of the visiting South American poet, José Santos Chocano.

Out of this hereditary conditionings, and a passive resistance to the médium in which he has vegetated, Palés' indo-

lence and sedentary habits have grown hand in hand with a

theoretical passion for travel and a literary expression of exotic themes. He has never left the island. Once his relatives paid

for a trip to Santo Domingo, to enable him to be present at an aunt's wedding- but he embarked in Ponce and landed in 46

And this from "Claro de Luna": Under the moon, my heart is a dark frog

Hopping over the lawn ... Under the moon, my heart, a dark frog,

Jumping out of its swamps, Hops from star to star.

But his best work, the oncoming of his poética! maturity, the attainment of real originality, dates only from the publica

ron of his first Negroid poem, "Pueblo Negro" (1925). During the past four years he has produced a series of poems inspirad, not exactly by the Negro population of Puerto Rico, but rather

by the exotic Negro of travelers, missionaries, slavers, explorers, and ethnographers, with an admixture of Haitian royalty, Cuban ñañigos, childhood reminiscences of slave-songs, and other West Indian flavorings.

Most of these poems have been grouped together in a book, "El Jardín de Tembandumba which has been accepted Paradise of the Atlantic


for publication in Madrid. Among them there is one exceptionally local in sub¡ect, "Canción festiva para ser llorada" ("Festive Song to be Wept") dealing with the grotesque trag-

BOOKS

edy of the Antilles in a light and colortul mood. He has managed to pour the spirit of modern poetry into the classical vessel of the oíd romance castellano, reminding the reader of

For the information of people in The States and Abroad who are interested in reading about Puerto Rico", a few recent

one of the foremost modern Spanish poets, García Lorca; yet

nature and authorship, are authoritative in their respective fieids. Some of them incorpórate valuable research material, others are noteworthy for their great intrinsic interest and literary merit; a few of them are good fiction about a córner of the worid that has been very slightiy fictionized in the modern

the piece is quite distinctly Antillean and Pelésian. It ends with a synthesis of the Antilles that may be roughiy translated —thereby losing much of its worth—thus; Snapshots of touring Babbitt:— Ragged niggers and palm trees Dreams of sensual Tartarin:— Sinuous Venustian half-breeds.

publications are mentioned here.

These books, various in

press.

PORTO RICO: A CARIBBEAN ISLE, by Elizabeth and R. K. Van Deusen.

Oniy Don Quixote at times, Out of idealistic madness,

From your Maritorneries Recreates a' Dulcinead.

It has been frequently said, with ¡ustice, by natives as well as foreigners, that Puerto Rico is as ridden with poets as a

PUERTO RICO: A BROKEN PLEDGE, by Wailey W. and Justine Diffie.

'

GEOLOGY OF PUERTO RICO, by Howard Al Meyerhoff. BIBLIOGRAFIA PUERTORRIQUEÑA, by A. S. Pedriera.

stray dog with fleas. The saying carries obviously deceptive

NOVELISTAS ESPAÑOLES MODERNOS, by José A. Balseiro.

Luis Lloréns Torres, apt in the coinage of folklore into lyrical

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUERTO RICAN JIBARO AND

connotations of the word poet. With the exception of Palés; stanzas of ten verces (décimas); José Balseiro, better known for

his essays; Evaristo Ribera Chevremont, and perhaps one or

HIS PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD SOCIETY, by José C. Rosario.

two others, they are all unimportant. The merits of Palés' later work have been recognized abroad

RECTIFICACIONES HISTORICAS EL DESCUBRIMIENTO DE

__an unusual and difficult success for a Puerto Rican. J. Robles Pazos, the translator of "Manhattan Transfer". credits him, in La Gaceta Literaria, Madrid, with possessing a sound

BIBLIOGRAFIA PUERTORRIQUEÑA,

instinct for the modern lyric. and places him at the head of all the Puerto Rican poets. After comparing his dances with

A SOLDIER IN SCIENCE, autobiography of Bailey K. Ashford.

Borodin's music. Amado Alonso of the Centro de Estudios Históricos of Madrid, says that he owns the secret witchcraft of rhythm." And Angel Valbuena Prat, visiting professor from

Spain in the University, describes his Negroid poems as

^^'"Th'e^'confllct that Palés sees between his favorito pastimes marriage and dreams of extrabeous adventures, has been sublimated out of the unconscious—as a Freudian would say—in the following.

The good husband this morning Said to his wife,

-Prepare my luggage, I am takmg a tnp.

BORIQUEN, by J. L Montalvo Guenard. 1494-1894, by José

Geigel y Zenón y Abelardo Morales Ferrer. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN LATIN AMERICA, by Teobaldo Casanova.

PRONTUARIO HISTORICO DE PUERTO RICO, by Tomás Blanco.

THE SENTRY-BOX MURDER. by Newton Gayie. DEATH AT 28: 10, by Newton Gayie. THE HEAVEN AND EARTH OF DONA ELENA, by Grace Zaring Stone.

For any who may be interested, a list of studies recently

She looks at him in such a way That he understands. He lights a cigarette

published by members of the faculty of the university range

And throws about his sorrow in smoke-rings.

comparison of Don Quixote and St. Paúl; from a study of the medical profession in Puerto Rico to an article on the landing

I offer this as a hint to his next wife, because by the time

this paper is published Luis Palés Matos wlll be married again. h1 is entering the holy state of matrimony as the pet of his bride's relativos, and hopes to be •■Worm-eaten by the peaceful comfort of being at ease." Siimmer. 1936

from a listing of the birds on the island of St. Lucía to a

of Columbus; from a report on a newly dlscovered species of

wild potato to a history of hurricanes; from a Spanish-American

test for English to essays on such varied themes as the meaning of Ulysses, the cultivation of coffee, the treatment of sprue, and the danza in Puerto Rico. Exact information abou+ any or all of these books and artlcles is available on reques+.


¡I

PUERTO RICO ^

has that wonderful i

climate that a'

Wintertime

mi Vacationists

feSf"

Look For!

Amid +he mosf wonderful tropical scenery imagi

PROOF! During December, January, February, Puerto Rico 1$— 28 degrees warmer than Nice

27 degrees warmer

than Naples 20 degrees warmer

than Algeria 19 degrees warmer than Cairo

nable, sun-bathed, palm-fringed beaches, luxurious

semi-tropical vegetation, rugged mountainous paradises, ancient sea walls and fortresses which bring to this modern worid a touch of life and romance of another almost-forgotten age . . . . all yours to enjoy in

Puerto Rico This Tropical Paradise which beckons to you is oniy three and one-half days distant from New York by sea and tweive hours from Miamt by plañe.

19 degrees warmer than Los Angeles

Come to this Edén of the Caribbean and experience

7 degrees warmer

More than 350 days of healthful, energetic sunshine

than Miami

the joy of living in its greatest realization. every year.

4 degrees warmer than Honolulú

The lowest temperatura ever recordad at San Juan, P. R., was 62 degrees F.

Dr^partiiieut of Aí^ririiltiirc and Coiiiiiierce Puerto Rico, U. S. A.

PRINTED

I N

U. S. A.

THOMSON a CO.. PRINTERS NEW

YORK. N. Y.


The White Star Bus Line

owns and operates a fleet of 175 buses, trans-

porting over 21 ,000,000

passengers annually.

WhIte Star buses serve San Juan, the capital of Puerto

Rico. Santurce, Martin PeĂąa, Hato Rey and RĂ­o Piedras. The

iatter is a thriving city in itself where the bi-lingual University of Puerto Rico is located. White Star buses provide a 24 hour

service over 6 routes, with '/2 minute headway from San Juan during rush hours.

The policy of the company is to replace 20% of their buses each year, thereby assuring complete and adequate equipment at all times and affording the traveling public perfect comfort and safety when using the spacious buses of the White Star fleet.

V

4

WHITE

STAR BES LINE iivr.

SAN JUAN

PUERTO RICO


'•- tj

r-£r

The land of Ponce de León, Swltzerland of América, unsurpassable for ifs

QQQir a o ac

górgeous mountain scenery-set In true tropical splendor. The perfect spot for a sunshine vacatíon in the Spanish tradition in the most beautlfu! isiand in the Caribbean saturated by a glorious climáte. And don't forget to trave! the "BARBARA" route, a perfect steamer with

perfect appointments, where' every passenger is a guest.

INSEEAR EINE, PI ERNO. 5

-

PRATT

/ ^

STREET-BALTI

INC.

MORE,MD.


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