To most Americans, the Caribbean is that place below Florida that used to have a pretty big piracy problem. Aside from this, Americans generally know next to nothing about the culture of the Hispanic Caribbean. Let’s take a few minutes to enlighten ourselves about the Spanish-speaking parts of the Caribbean.

The three Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Cuba is just a stone’s throw away from the Florida Keys, with only about 90 miles between the island and Florida’s peninsula. The Dominican Republic shares an island called Isla Española with Haiti. Haiti has the west side of the island, while the Dominican Republic has the east side of the island. Puerto Rico is the farthest Spanish-speaking country to the east, and is a U.S. territory.

So what’s the geography of these islands?

1.Cuba is the largest of the three islands with a capital city called Havana. People from Cuba are known as "cubanos," not to be confused with a tasty type of sandwich.

2. The Dominican Republic is also known as La República Dominicana and has a capital city called Santo Domingo. People from the Dominican Republic are called "dominicanos."

3. People from Puerto Rico are known as "puertorriqueños," and sometimes as "boricuas," which is slang for people from Puerto Rico. The capital city of Puerto Rico is called San Juan.

 There are several defining factors of the Caribbean that set it apart from every other place on Earth.

1. The music: The styles of music called "merengue" and "bachata" are very popular and are a defining cultural aspect of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

2. The climate: The weather is constantly sunny, warm, and tropical. Sounds pretty nice, right?

3. The language: There are some slight differences in the way every Spanish-speaking country speaks the language. "¿Cómo estas tú?" is often pronounced in the Caribbean with the s skipped over, which sounds something like this "¿Cómo esta tú?"

4. Sports: Baseball, called "el beísbol," is very popular in the Caribbean. Many of America’s major and minor league players are of Caribbean descent and grew up with the sport.

The Hispanic Caribbean culture has its similarities with American culture: good food, good sports, and good music. But it also has a unique climate, different cultures from island to island, and a proximity to the United States that makes it all very relevant. Now that you know the basics about El Caribe hispano, don’t you feel more cultured?