Art, Culture & Folklore
Bomba, plena, the Vejigante, and the making of a distinctly Puerto Rican voice.
Question 1 of 8
What is the difference between bomba and plena?
Bomba answers the body. Plena carries the news.
Question 2 of 8
Why is plena called el periódico cantado, the sung newspaper?
Before radio reached everyone, plena was how a town told itself its own story.
Question 3 of 8
Why can a painting be a kind of historical record?
Oller painted scenes connected to Puerto Rico and its people, which is why his work tells us more than a date ever could.
Question 4 of 8
Why does Colectivo Moriviví talk to a neighborhood before designing a mural?
The community decides the subject, which is what makes it their wall rather than someone else’s art on their street.
Question 5 of 8
Why is Roberto Clemente remembered for more than his statistics?
He died in 1972 on a flight carrying relief supplies to Nicaragua.
Question 6 of 8
In Loíza, what are Vejigante masks traditionally made from?
Loíza carves from coconut. Ponce builds large horned masks from papier-mâché. Same tradition, different hands.
Question 7 of 8
What do musicians, artists, writers and athletes from this week have in common?
Four different tools, one job: carrying a place out into the world.
Question 8 of 8
African traditions shaped Puerto Rican music most directly through which element?
Bomba developed within Afro-Puerto Rican communities, and its drums and rhythms changed the island’s sound permanently.
Carve a Vejigante mask
In Loíza the masks are carved from coconut shell. Choose your colors and horns, then print it.
Shell color
Horn color
Horns
Markings
Word find
A fresh grid every time. Tap the first letter of a word, then the last.
This is one week of eight.
The quiz and the game are free. The lessons behind them are the full unit study: 24 lessons, 360 pages, grades 4 to 8, with read-aloud scripts, hands-on activities and answer keys.
See the unit study