http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/puerto_rico_12 National Geographic website on Puerto Rican music and its history
http://africanmusic.org/glossary.html Glossary for African styles of music
http://www.rhythmweb.com/jorge/plena.htm Article and background soundtrack re: plena music
http://www.musicofpuertorico.com/en/genre_bomba.html Audio snippet and brief article on the origins of bomba
http://www.batadrums.com/understanding_rhythms/talk.htm Background information re: how the bata drum talks and messages that are conveyed
http://www.lafi.org/magazine/articles/batadrums.html Background on the use of the bata drum in Cuban culture
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/culture/music.shtml Provides background info on the music of Puerto Rico, accentuating artists known for moving us with traditional, contemporary, and folkloric music well known throughout La Isla and abroad
http://www.historical-museum.org/exhibits/carib/carib.htm Provides an overview of percussion instruments influenced by African culture found throughout the Caribbean from the Historical Museum of Southern Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_immigration_to_Puerto_Rico Background information on the immigration of African people to the island of Puerto Rico
http://americanhistory.si.edu/vidal/music.htm Provides a bit of background information defining the music of Puerto Rico
http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/courses/latino/pr1.html This site provides background info on the music of Puerto Rico, emphasizing African influence on Bomba, Plena, and other forms of musical expression
http://www.gotopuertorico.com/newsletter/2004_spring/english/featured.htm A general information newsletter accentuating the origins of today's contemporary music heard throughout Puerto Rico
http://www.batadrums.com/background/yoruba.htm Origins of Bata drums
http://www.historical-museum.org/exhibits/carib/carib.htm#Puerto%20Rico Puerto Rican
percussion
http://www.alovelyworld.com A wonderful visual resource to help students get a sense of lifestyles, culture, and diversity within countries throughout the world.
http://www.alovelyworld.com/webcuba/htmgb/lahavane.htm A pictorial view of the island of Cuba; great geographic accompaniment to map study for this region.
http://www.alovelyworld.com/webseneg/index2.html A pictorial view of the country of Senegal; terrific geographic accompaniment to map study for this region.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_history_in_Puerto_Rico background information re: slavery in Puerto Rico
http://www.seeingblack.com/2004/x021304/puertorico.shtml background information on African culture and its influence on Puerto Rico; provides additional resource info via
"El Museo de Nuestra Raiz Africana in San Juan, PR
http://sparta.rice.edu/~maryc/Santeria Provides an overview of Santeria and orishas (deities) as it is embraced by West African Yoruban, South American, and Caribbean cultures