Cultures & Communities

Furniture, cooking wares, clothing, works of art, and many other kinds of artifacts are part of what knit people into communities and cultures. The Museum’s collections feature artifacts from European Americans, Latinos, Arab Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, African Americans, Gypsies, Jews, and Christians, both Catholics and Protestants. The objects range from ceramic face jugs made by enslaved African Americans in South Carolina to graduation robes and wedding gowns. The holdings also include artifacts associated with education, such as teaching equipment, textbooks, and two complete schoolrooms. Uniforms, insignia, and other objects represent a wide variety of civic and voluntary organizations, including youth and fraternal groups, scouting, police forces, and firefighters.

This wooden-cask drum was used to play bomba, one of the oldest forms of music in Puerto Rico. One end of the drum is covered in animal skin with a fur fringe.
Description
This wooden-cask drum was used to play bomba, one of the oldest forms of music in Puerto Rico. One end of the drum is covered in animal skin with a fur fringe. This is held in place by a wooden band that is tensioned with fiber ropes hooked on four wooden pegs driven into the sides. Bomba was created on the plantations of Puerto Rico by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the 1680s. Like the Cuban rumba, bomba must include dance in its performance, reflecting its west African musical origins. Bomba ensembles usually feature three differently pitched drums and a single maraca.
date made
ca 1954
ID Number
1983.0686.01
accession number
1983.0686
catalog number
1983.0686.01
This mortar and pestle were used to grind coffee beans after they were dried and roasted. Coffee was a major cash crop in Puerto Rico, second only to sugar. It grows well in the low mountains of the island, like the fertile area around the town of Yauco in the southwest.
Description
This mortar and pestle were used to grind coffee beans after they were dried and roasted. Coffee was a major cash crop in Puerto Rico, second only to sugar. It grows well in the low mountains of the island, like the fertile area around the town of Yauco in the southwest. In the 19th century many Corsicans settled in this region and played a significant role in developing the island's coffee economy, both as growers and exporters.
Description (Spanish)
El pilón se usaba para machacar los granos de café una vez secos y tostados. El café constituía un cultivo comercial de gran relevancia en Puerto Rico, el segundo en importancia después del azúcar. Se da bien en las montañas bajas de la isla, como por ejemplo en la zona fértil alrededor de la ciudad de Yauco, en el sudoeste. Durante el siglo XIX se establecieron en esta región muchos colonos oriundos de Córcega, quienes desempeñaron un papel esencial en el desarrollo de la economía de la isla en torno al café, impulsando tanto la producción como la exportación.
Date made
ca 1970
ID Number
1997.0097.0129
catalog number
1997.0097.0129
accession number
1997.0097
This branding iron was used in the 20th century to brand cattle with the letters "HC." While cattle and other livestock were introduced to Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean in the earliest years of Spanish settlement, by the 20th century most land on the island was geared
Description
This branding iron was used in the 20th century to brand cattle with the letters "HC." While cattle and other livestock were introduced to Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean in the earliest years of Spanish settlement, by the 20th century most land on the island was geared towards a cash crop economy based on sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, and other agricultural products grown for export.
Description (Spanish)
Esta marca de hierro se usó en el siglo XX para marcar el ganado con las letras "HC". Si bien el ganado fue introducido en Puerto Rico y el Caribe durante los primeros años de la colonización española, ya para el siglo XX la mayoría de las tierras de la isla se destinaban a cultivos comerciales basados en la caña de azúcar, el café, el tabaco y otros productos agropecuarios sembrados para la exportación.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.0138
catalog number
1997.0097.0138
accession number
1997.0097
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1970
ID Number
1997.0097.1171.001
catalog number
1997.0097.1171.001
accession number
1997.0097
Pictured here are a carpenter's hammer and square. Carpentry was considered both skilled and semi-skilled labor. Many carpenters worked independently and traveled the countryside looking for work opportunities.En esta foto se observan un martillo y una escuadra de carpintero.
Description
Pictured here are a carpenter's hammer and square. Carpentry was considered both skilled and semi-skilled labor. Many carpenters worked independently and traveled the countryside looking for work opportunities.
Description (Spanish)
En esta foto se observan un martillo y una escuadra de carpintero. La carpintería se consideraba como mano de obra calificada y semi-calificada. Muchos carpinteros trabajaban en forma independiente y viajaban a lo largo del país buscando oportunidades de empleo.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.1130
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1130
In Puerto Rico, the traditional center of lace making is the town of Moca. There, lace is made by hand on bobbins and is known as mundillo. Bobbin lace is a complicated process of weaving together different spools of thread held in place by pins.
Description
In Puerto Rico, the traditional center of lace making is the town of Moca. There, lace is made by hand on bobbins and is known as mundillo. Bobbin lace is a complicated process of weaving together different spools of thread held in place by pins. Lace making today is undergoing a resurgence of popularity among a new generation of lace makers on and off the island.
Description (Spanish)
Moca constituye el centro tradicional del tejido de encaje en Puerto Rico. Allí se hace el encaje a mano en bolillo que se conoce como mundillo. El encaje de bolillos es un proceso complicado que consiste en el entretejido de diferentes bovinas de hilo que se sujetan mediante alfileres. El tejido de encaje está recuperando la popularidad gracias a una nueva generación de tejedores dentro y fuera de la isla.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.0156
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0156
Known as a puyero or raspador, the pick or scraper used to play the güiro makes rhythmic patterns with combinations of downstrokes and upstrokes.Conocida también como púa o raspador, el puyero que se utiliza para tocar el güiro produce patrones rítmicos que se logran combinando g
Description
Known as a puyero or raspador, the pick or scraper used to play the güiro makes rhythmic patterns with combinations of downstrokes and upstrokes.
Description (Spanish)
Conocida también como púa o raspador, el puyero que se utiliza para tocar el güiro produce patrones rítmicos que se logran combinando golpes hacia arriba y hacia abajo.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.1093
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1093
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca. 1940
ID Number
1997.0097.0835.002
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0835.002
Las Tres Marías, the Three Maries, are the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Cleofas. They are often depicted at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ or at his tomb.
Description
Las Tres Marías, the Three Maries, are the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Cleofas. They are often depicted at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ or at his tomb. But, a popular Puerto Rican story relates that the Three Kings were suitors of the Three Marys, whom they accompanied to local festivities. This radical departure from scripture is an example of the distinctive religious traditions developed over the centuries by rural Puerto Ricans.
Description (Spanish)
Las Tres Marías son la Virgen María, María Magdalena y María de Cleofás. Por lo general se las representa en la escena de la crucifixión de Jesús o ante su tumba. Sin embargo, una historia popular de Puerto Rico cuenta que los Reyes Magos eran pretendientes de las Tres Marías, a quienes acompañaban durante las festividades del lugar. Este alejamiento radical de las escrituras es un ejemplo de las tradiciones religiosas distintivas que fueron surgiendo en las áreas rurales de Puerto Rico a través de los siglos.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th-20th century
maker
Garcia, Ramon
ID Number
1997.0097.0731
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0731
This manual coffee grinder from the late 1800s is a mechanized replacement for the mortar and pestle.
Description
This manual coffee grinder from the late 1800s is a mechanized replacement for the mortar and pestle. The covered grinding receptacle empties the ground beans into a wooden box in its base.
Description (Spanish)
Este molinillo de café manual data de fines del siglo XIX y representa el sustituto mecanizado del mortero con mano. Los granos se muelen en el receptáculo cubierto, desde donde se vierten a una caja de madera en la base.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
late 19th century
ID Number
1997.0097.1132
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1132
Based on lore and church documents, this figure illustrates the Miracle of Hormigueros. In 1599, Our Lady of Montserrat appeared to Gerardo González, a farmer near Hormigueros in southwestern Puerto Rico. Attacked by a bull, González invoked the name of the Virgin.
Description
Based on lore and church documents, this figure illustrates the Miracle of Hormigueros. In 1599, Our Lady of Montserrat appeared to Gerardo González, a farmer near Hormigueros in southwestern Puerto Rico. Attacked by a bull, González invoked the name of the Virgin. Immediately, the beast fell, its legs broken and its forehead touching the ground as if in prayer. In gratitude, González built and dedicated a church to Our Lady of Montserrat. This figure dates from the beginning of the 19th century.
Description (Spanish)
Esta figura describe el Milagro de Hormigueros basándose en la tradición y documentación de la iglesia. En 1599 la Virgen de Montserrate se le apareció a Gerardo González, un granjero, cerca de Hormigueros, en el suroeste de Puerto Rico. Se cuenta que González fue atacado por un toro e invocó el nombre de la Virgen, luego de lo cual la bestia se desplomó de inmediato con las patas quebradas y la frente apoyada en el suelo como en posición de plegaria. En agradecimiento, González construyó una iglesia y se la dedicó a la Virgen de Montserrate. Esta figura data de principios del siglo XIX.
Date made
late 18th or early 19th century
ID Number
1997.0097.0721
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0721
This especially fine figure of St. Raphael the Archangel, was carved in the 18th century.
Description
This especially fine figure of St. Raphael the Archangel, was carved in the 18th century. Rafael is one of several archangels (high-ranking angels) who exist in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions.
Description (Spanish)
Esta es una figura especialmente distinguida de San Rafael Arcángel, tallada en el siglo XVIII. Rafael es uno de varios arcángeles (ángeles de alta jerarquía) presentes en las tradiciones cristiana, judía y musulmana.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th century
depicted
Saint Raphael
ID Number
1997.0097.0785
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0785
The yo-yo maraca is a Puerto Rican novelty that unites both a spinning top and a musical instrument of native origin called a maraca.
Description
The yo-yo maraca is a Puerto Rican novelty that unites both a spinning top and a musical instrument of native origin called a maraca. The name "yo-yo" is a misnomer, since the toy functions like a spinning top.
Description (Spanish)
La maraca yoyó es una novedad puertorriqueña en la que se observa la unión de un trompo con un instrumento musical de origen nativo, denominado maraca. Yoyó, sin embargo es un término erróneo, dado que el juguete funciona como trompo.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
late 20th century
maker
Matias, Artesania
Matias, Fernando
ID Number
1997.0097.1134
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1134
This large santo depicts St. John Nepomucene, a 14th-century martyr who is considered by Catholics to be the patron saint of confession. His image was widely circulated by Jesuits throughout the Spanish empire in the 18th century.
Description
This large santo depicts St. John Nepomucene, a 14th-century martyr who is considered by Catholics to be the patron saint of confession. His image was widely circulated by Jesuits throughout the Spanish empire in the 18th century. The Church promoted devotion to this saint since it encouraged Catholics to confess their sins in the presence of a priest, a ritual known as the Sacrament of Penance. This santo is believed to be the work of Felipe de la Espada (1754–1818).
Description (Spanish)
Este santo de gran tamaño representa a San Juan Nepomuceno, un mártir del siglo XIV a quien los católicos consideran patrón de la santa confesión. Los jesuitas distribuyeron ampliamente su imagen a lo largo del imperio español durante el siglo XVIII. La iglesia fomentó la devoción a este santo por considerarlo un incentivo a que los católicos confesaran sus pecados en presencia de un sacerdote, ritual conocido como el Sacramento de la Penitencia. Se cree que este santo es obra de Felipe de la Espada (1754–1818).
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1754-1818-06-18
maker
Espada, Felipe de la
ID Number
1997.0097.0901
catalog number
1997.0097.0901
accession number
1997.0097
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca. 1940
ID Number
1997.0097.0835.005
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0835.005
This carpenter's wood planer was bought from Juan Camarón, a cabinet maker from Barrio Obrero in San Juan. It was made by another cabinet maker many years earlier.
Description
This carpenter's wood planer was bought from Juan Camarón, a cabinet maker from Barrio Obrero in San Juan. It was made by another cabinet maker many years earlier. The objects collected by Teodoro Vidal illustrate many aspects of labor and production in Puerto Rico.
Description (Spanish)
Esta cepilladora de carpintero se obtuvo de Juan Camarón, un fabricante de armarios del Barrio Obrero de San Juan, pero ha sido fabricada años atrás por otro artesano de gabinetes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
user
Camaron, Juan
ID Number
1997.0097.1190
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1190
The lore surrounding the Virgin of Monserrat originated in the jagged mountains of Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.
Description
The lore surrounding the Virgin of Monserrat originated in the jagged mountains of Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. In 1599, when she is said to have appeared to Gerardo González, a farmer, near Hormigueros, in southwestern Puerto Rico, she acquired a new set of traditions and imagery, unique to the island. Like many Madonnas, the Virgin of Monserrat is usually shown seated on a thrown, with her son Jesus Christ on her lap and a globe in one of her outstretched hands. In this example, the globe is missing. This figure shows the unique style of its creator, El Cachetón de Lares, (The Big-Cheeked Man from Lares), a name given to an anonymous santero by Teodoro Vidal, based on the large cheeks with which he endowed his carvings.
Description (Spanish)
La tradición en torno a la Virgen de Montserrate se originó en las montañas angulosas de Cataluña, en el noreste de España. Cuando en 1599, según se cuenta, se le apareció al granjero Gerardo González cerca de Hormigueros, en el suroeste de Puerto Rico, surgió un nuevo conjunto de tradiciones e imaginería exclusivo a la isla. Como tantas otras Madonas, la Virgen de Montserrate se representa sentada en un trono, con su hijo Jesús en el regazo y un globo en una de sus manos extendidas. En este ejemplo el globo está ausente. La figura exhibe un estilo único característico de su creador, El Cachetón de Lares, nombre que Teodoro Vidal le otorgó a un santero anónimo, basándose en las mejillas infladas con las que el artista dotaba a sus tallas.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
early 20th century
late 19th-early 20th century
maker
Cachetón de Lares
ID Number
1997.0097.0668
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0668
Both on the island and in "the States," many working women found jobs in textile mills and garment factories to support themselves and add to their family incomes.
Description
Both on the island and in "the States," many working women found jobs in textile mills and garment factories to support themselves and add to their family incomes. Poorer women took in piecework at home, and were often involved in the labor-intensive production of handmade garments that only the wealthy could afford. Needlework of all kinds-knitting, crocheting, and embroidery-and the use of sewing machines were seen as a material way for a young girl to help support her family.
Description (Spanish)
Tanto en la isla como en "los Estados", muchas mujeres buscaban trabajo en las industrias textiles y fábricas de indumentaria a fin de contribuir con su propio sustento y el de sus familias. Las mujeres más pobres se llevaban el trabajo a la casa y a menudo formaban parte de la mano de obra intensiva que requería la producción de vestimenta hecha a mano, la cual sólo los ricos podían costear. Todo tipo de costura -tejido, crochet y bordado- se consideraba como un modo material mediante el que una joven podía colaborar con el sustento de la familia.
Date made
20th century
early 20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.0593.001
catalog number
1997.0097.0593.001
accession number
1997.0097
This homemade costume was made for the Ponce carnival. It has a cape attached at the neck made from the same black and red striped fabric (black and red are the colors of the city of Ponce).
Description
This homemade costume was made for the Ponce carnival. It has a cape attached at the neck made from the same black and red striped fabric (black and red are the colors of the city of Ponce). Carnival participants who wear costumes like this one, in addition to a mask, and other carnival accoutrements like matching shoes, canes, and gloves, are called vejigantes. Vejigantes are famous for playfully swatting at carnival-goers with a vejiga, a dried, inflated bladder. When a real animal bladder in not available, an empty water bottle is an acceptable substitute.
Description (Spanish)
Este disfraz casero se confeccionó para el carnaval de Ponce. Lleva una capa adherida al cuello, hecha del mismo género de franjas negras y rojas (el negro y el rojo son los colores de la ciudad de Ponce). A los participantes del carnaval que visten trajes como éste -además de la máscara y otros accesorios, como calzado haciendo juego, bastones y guantes- se los llaman vejigantes. Los vejigantes son famosos por deambular por las calles dando palmadas con sus vejigas (vejigas infladas y secas) a los concurrentes a la celebración. En caso de no contarse con vejigas reales de animales, se aceptan como sustitutos botellas de agua vacía.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1980
ID Number
1997.0097.0047
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0047
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.1118
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1118
This wooden santo represents Santiago Matamoros, or St. James the Moor Slayer. It was made by the Ramos family from the town of Aguada.
Description
This wooden santo represents Santiago Matamoros, or St. James the Moor Slayer. It was made by the Ramos family from the town of Aguada. Santiago Matamoros is the patron saint of Spain and provided spiritual inspiration for the Christian re-conquest of Iberia and the subsequent expulsion of Jews and Muslims. The legacy of this conflict between Christians and Muslims in Spain was transplanted to the Americas.
Description (Spanish)
Este santo de madera que representa a Santiago Matamoros fue tallado por la familia Ramos en el pueblo de Aguada. Santiago Matamoros es el santo patrón de España y fuente de inspiración de la reconquista cristiana de Iberia, con la consiguiente expulsión de judíos y musulmanes. Este legado de conflicto entre cristianos y musulmanes se trasladó luego desde España a las colonias de América.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1904
maker
Ramos, Pepe
Ramos, Justina
Ramos, Jose
Ramos, Justina Torres de
ID Number
1997.0097.0650
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.0650
This large, hand-held drum, known in Puerto Rico as a pandereta, is an essential instrument in the musical genre known as plena. The plena was developed by agricultural workers at the end of the 19th century on the southern coast of the island, around the city of Ponce.
Description
This large, hand-held drum, known in Puerto Rico as a pandereta, is an essential instrument in the musical genre known as plena. The plena was developed by agricultural workers at the end of the 19th century on the southern coast of the island, around the city of Ponce. Considered a national musical genre throughout the 20th century, the plena may have originally reflected musical traditions brought to Puerto Rico by immigrants from other Caribbean islands.
Description (Spanish)
Este gran tambor de mano, conocido en Puerto Rico como pandereta, es un instrumento esencial dentro del género musical conocido como plena. La plena surgió entre los trabajadores del campo a fines del siglo XIX en la costa sureña de la isla, alrededor de la ciudad de Ponce. A lo largo del siglo XX se la consideró como género de música nacional, si bien originalmente puede haber reflejado tradiciones musicales llevadas a Puerto Rico por inmigrantes de otras islas del Caribe.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.1095
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1095
This red painted tinware oil lamp was acquired in the town of Lares in 1959. Popular lore says that small oil lamps like this were used by women to meet at night and gossip.
Description
This red painted tinware oil lamp was acquired in the town of Lares in 1959. Popular lore says that small oil lamps like this were used by women to meet at night and gossip. Chisme, means gossip, therefore the lamp was named a chismosa, or gossiper.
Description (Spanish)
Esta lámpara de aceite de latón fue adquirida en la ciudad de Lares en 1959. Es la creencia popular que lámparas pequeñas como estas eran usadas por mujeres que se reunían por la noche a chismear. Por esta razón este tipo de lámparas se llaman chismosas.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1959
ID Number
1997.0097.1067
accession number
1997.0097
catalog number
1997.0097.1067
A bellows is a device for pumping air to get a fire started and to make it hotter. This handmade bellows was collected from the Joyería Bairan, a jeweler's shop on Calle Fortaleza in San Juan.
Description
A bellows is a device for pumping air to get a fire started and to make it hotter. This handmade bellows was collected from the Joyería Bairan, a jeweler's shop on Calle Fortaleza in San Juan. This jewelry store produced many silver ex-votos, probably using this bellows in the process.
Description (Spanish)
El fuelle es un artefacto que se utiliza para soplar aire a fin de encender y avivar el fuego. Este fuelle hecho a mano proviene de la Joyería Bairan, una tienda de joyas de la Calle Fortaleza en
San Juan. En esta joyería se han creado muchos milagros de plata, para cuyo proceso de elaboración probablemente se utilizó este fuelle.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
mid 20th century
ID Number
1997.0097.0517
catalog number
1997.0097.0517
accession number
1997.0097

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