A House in Puerto Rico

 
 
 

Vocabulary

owner	various	quarter (2)
island	show (2)	look forward
culture	heritage	architecture
view (3)	preserve	Latin America
stain	Caribbean	stained glass
typical	craftsman	investment
symbol	furniture	custom-made
wood	include	wood carver
carve	corner (2)	customs office
role	hat stand	identity (2)
part	originate	buy/bought/bought
tourist	pleased	Anglophone
	delighted	remarkable

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

The historic quarters are on an island

Hello. My name is Jose Ignacio Jimenez. I’m a historian and the owner of this house. You can the viewers of Deutsche Welle are very welcome. We’re very pleased to have you here.

And we look forward to showing you the architecture and the cultural heritage of San Juan’s old town; it’s one of the best preserved corners of Latin America.

The stained glass windows up there are typical of the Caribbean, and that includes Havana, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico.

The house isn’t just an investment: it’s a symbol of Spanish and Puerto Rican identity.

Isabelino” Furniture

The furniture was custom-made by wood carvers in various parts of the island. They’re true craftsman who play an important role in helping to preserve the old town.

This here is a hat stand that my wife and I bought on the island of Barbados.

It’s beautiful.

You can find many of these hat stands in the Spanish Caribbean, but they originated in the Anglophone part of the Caribbean.

Town scene, San Juan

This is a very interesting old photo: it shows the first US tourists arriving here 1905, at the customs office in San Juan.

Okay, we’ve come to the end of the visit. We’re delighted in your interest in our island. It might be small, but it’s home to a remarkable culture.

 

 

Questions

1. Jose is a hotel manager. True or false?

2. Is San Juan a new, modern city, or is it old and historical?

3. The cultural heritage of Puerto Rico is mostly American influenced. Is this right or wrong?

4. Are all the windows in his house ordinary?

5. Was Jose’s furniture made in factories with machines?

6. Do many visitors come to Puerto Rico? Is Puerto Rico a popular tourist destination?

7. Jose uses his hat stand to place his many hats. Is this correct or incorrect?

 

A. I live in the old, historical part of my town or city. Yes or no?

B. Do you or your friends have old, antique furniture?

C. My friend’s has a lot of paintings in her or his house. True or false?

D. Is there any foreign influence in your city’s cultural heritage, e.g. British, French, Italian, Greek, Russian, Chinese, Arabic?

E. Many tourists visit my city. Is this right or wrong?