Photo tour with RIA Novosti - Puerto Rico

The residents of the small Caribbean state of Puerto Rico consider themselves the successors of the great navigator Christopher Columbus and Spanish conquistadors.

Columbus discovered this island during his second expedition by landing on its western shore on November 19, 1493.

When travelers arrive at a bay they see a on the bank a fortress with medieval walls of old San Juan and learn more about the history.

San Juan is the second oldest city in the Americas after Cusco in Peru.

The Roman Catholic Church is a de facto state religion on the island. The first Catholics came with Columbus on board his flagman ship Marie-Galante as did the first settlers who took cattle, grapevines and seeds with the desire to stay forever on this blessed winterless island.

European settlers hardly assimilated with the indigenous tribes Tainos which completely disappeared as they could not adapt to the viruses and harsh colonization of the Europeans.

Old San Juan cannot be imagined without music from cafes, bars or street musicians. The island gave birth to the musical and dance style “bomb.”

There are a few monuments of various styles on the island. And sculptor Zurab Tsereteli plans to bring here his monument to Christopher Columbus, which is another record of large-scale sculptures.

Ponce is the second attractive city for tourists located in the south of the island.

The lion is the symbol of Ponce which is called the island’s “southern pearl.”

The old firefighting station is an unforgettable site in Ponce. In 1951, the chief firefighter of the city, Raul Gandara-Cartagena, wrote a book about his duties. In many Spanish-speaking countries his book became the fireman's manual in Latin America.

Puerto Ricans likes carnivals. The traditional carnival masks in the south of the island look freaky. They have the image of a devil which is believed to be able to scare away evil spirits and angry pirates.

One can cross the whole island by car in one day and see creeks, mountains, prairies tropical bushes, and dry cactus forests.

The residents of Puerto Rico, a former Spanish colony and now a territory formally controlled by the United States are unsure about their state status – either they will be an independent state or join the United States. Plebiscites have not answered a philosophical question if another independent Caribbean state should exist.