Tema: Así quiero ser

 Tropical  Hay dos estaciones: la seca (poca humedad y mucho calor) y la lluviosa (humedad y temperaturas más frescas)

 Arroz con gandules  Masas de puerco  Congrí  Platanos maduros fritos

 Ricky Martin (puertorriqueño)  Pedro Martínez (dominicano)  Gloria Estefan (cubana)  Olga Tañón (puertorriqueña)

 En el Caribe es muy común ver festivales de máscaras gigantes. Esto ocurre especialmente durante el carnaval.  Algunos nombre de estos personajes de cabeza grande son vejigantes, cabezones y cojuelos.

 Carnavals are very common in Caribbean countries. Neighborhoods organize floats, which are then entered into competitions and are awarded prizes at the end of Carnaval.  Floats are designed according to a particular theme. Common themes include different regions of the country, history, or popular tales.  Often, each float has its own band on board, which plays conga, rumba, or other afro-Caribbean music.

 Los fines de semana, los jóvenes caribeños se juntan y pasean por las calles de sus ciudades. Por las tardes salen a caminar y a tomar un refresco, y más tarde van a bailar.  Salir en un grupo es parte de la cultura hispana.

 El Caribe tiene una producción muy importante de frutas. Las frutas tropicales son deliciosas y tienen mucho jugo.  En las calles del Caribe puedes comprar fruta fresca o beber jugos de muchos sabores, como piña, mango y guayaba.

 Fruits found in the tropics grow to incredible sizes. The soil is rich in nutrients and the warm climate helps these fruits grow to incredible sizes. For example, in the Caribbean, a papaya is about the size of a very big eggplant and pineapples are one and a half times bigger than those found in the U.S.

 Many popular music styles come from the Caribbean. More than 50 percent of international dance music comes from this region. The mombo, the cha-cha-cha, son, rumba, conga, bolero, danzón, and timba have their own roots in Cuba; merengue and bachata hails from the Dominican Republic, and reggeaton is from Puerto Rico.

 The Caribbean population is extremely diverse. Those who live there typically have mixed backgrounds; Spanish and African. Cuba is the most populated island in the Caribbean with 11.2 million people; followed by the Dominican Republic with 8.95 million; and Puerto Rico with 3.93 million people.

 …is an athlete from the Dominican Republic. He won the 400-meter hurdles in August 28, 2004 at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. He returned home with the first Olympic gold metal ever for the Dominican Republic.

 describe people  tell others what to do  express wishes and desires

 subjunctive with ojalá and verbs of hope  subjunctive with verbs of influence  suffixes

 ser vs. estar  future