This intricate handmade lace baby cap dates from the turn of the 20th century and was probably worn for a baby's christening. The baptism of newborns is both a religious and a social ceremony, strengthening ties among members of a community. Compadrazgo, the special relationship between

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. Consider

The image shown here represents El Santo Niño de Atoche, a depiction of the Christ child common throughout Mexico and the American Southwest. Made by Rafael Aragón in Santa Fe, this particular image is from a retablo, a kind of Catholic devotional art. Aragón came from a family of santeros

This tile is from La Fortaleza, a military and government complex in San Juan built to defend the city from naval attacks. Construction began in 1533 and was finished in 1540. This tile resembles the Spanish ceramic style of Talavera, a tile factory established in the 16th century near the city o

Students will learn how Atlantic-based trade shaped modern world history and life in America, and explore the web of maritime connections between Western Europe, western and central Africa, and the Americas that made up the Atlantic world in this section of On the Water: Stories from Maritime

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 accoutrem

This elaborate mask, made around 1980, is painted in red and black, the colors of the city of Ponce. Masks like this are typically worn by young men from the neighborhood, who don the costume of a vejigante, a character who roams the streets during Carnival, playfully scaring children an

Although introduced by Spanish settlers, the island's carnival celebrations, like mask making, music, and public performance, have developed into uniquely Puerto Rican traditions that also reflect the customs and sensibilities of Puerto Ricans' African ancestors. This carnival mask pictured here

Carnival celebrations featuring performers dressed as devils are found in Puerto Rico and the rest Latin America. The presence of these characters during Carnival is understood by many as an ancient reference to the contest between good and evil. The devilish mask pictured here was made for the

In the 15th century, decades before they sailed into the Caribbean, Spanish merchants, captains, and adventurers had already conquered and enslaved the people of the Canary Islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. On the western coast of continental Africa, the Portuguese had been cultivating a sla