OLD LAND: PUERTO RICO 245 



saints, the hurricane is a curse, the name itself coming from the Borinquen 

 Indian word hurican, meaning "evil spirit." 



Fiestas . . . With such a background of contrasts and extremes working 

 through the centuries to shape and mold the character of the present-day 

 Puerto Rican, it is little wonder that he continually seeks a compromise — 

 a middle ground. But the forces are strong, odds are against him, and, by 

 and large, he remains very rich or very poor. 



Puerto Ricans are pleasure-loving people. The fortunate few may take 

 their families to the movies, casino, dance places, to the club, to a horse 

 race, or a baseball game. The country people may indulge in cock fighting, 

 domino and card playing, or attend a barbecue. Visiting or calling upon 

 neighbors is a pastime common to all. They are socially inclined, fond of 

 music, and whenever a group gathers for play or relaxation, a "fiesta" is 

 in the making. The fiesta is the outstanding form of native recreation. 

 It is spontaneous and unorganized; the participants take their pleasure as 

 they do their food, as part of their everyday life. 



The average Puerto Rican lives so at elbows with his fellows that the 

 only forms of recreation ordinarily available are of the passive sort. He 

 must be an onlooker rather than a participant. Inactively he has his enjoy- 

 ment and diversion but gains few if any physical benefits. Furthermore, 

 he is most likely to live in the relatively hot lowlands. Any climatic relief 

 or change must be found on the island itself. His only resource is to go to the 

 mountains, where climate and environment unite in offering stimulation. 



The plight of two-thirds of the population, the laboring class, whose 

 average weekly wage in 1937 was $4.76, is today a major problem facing 

 the insular and Federal Governments. Hunger appears to induce not revolt 

 but apathy, inertia. But there is a danger of people, whose roots are in the 

 land, remaining idle during their leisure and holing up in cities too long. 

 Puerto Rico's high homicide rate is one result. It is imperative then that 

 since the public forests offer the only conditions permitting real rest and 

 change, the first objective should be to furnish outdoor recreation of a type 

 available for the low-income masses. Forest recreation for the masses should 

 be predicated upon group gatherings — the fiesta moved to the forest. 



