The island of Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, not unlike Guam, or Hawaii before it became a state in 1959. I believe it would be notably unwise to deny its long-standing cultural influence on both the nation and Connecticut in particular.

For example, I was at a karaoke bar in West Hartford earlier this year, and someone sang a song by Bad Bunny, one of many noted musicians from the island. On a day that would celebrate Puerto Rican heritage, I often see cars on Route 9 decked out in Puerto Rican flags, too. Plus, even if you exclude the numerous celebrities hailing from there, there's a lot to like about the island, such as the stunningly beautiful architecture that I've personally observed in Old San Juan, or the iconic frog species known as "el coqui," which I'd love to see for myself someday.

I would also argue that Puerto Rico deserves more assistance from the U.S. for its respective issues, such as being more vulnerable to mosquito-borne arboviruses from the Aedes aegypti species like Zika and Dengue. I would imagine that there's a vastly disproportionate amount of attention to this particular issue compared to when southern Florida is the subject. Do people forget Puerto Rico is indeed part of our country?

Max Ian Engle

East Lyme