Puerto Rican and Spaniard are a thing.

Puerto Rico was Spain’s last stronghold in the Americas (along with Cuba). Spanish rule lasted until 1898, longer than in most of Latin America.

Large waves of Spaniards migrated to Puerto Rico in the 19th century, especially from the Canary Islands, Galicia, Catalonia, and Andalusia, shaping family names, accents, and rural culture. Spanish identity in Puerto Rico today is cultural, not nationalist: it exists as ancestry and influence, fully blended into a distinct Puerto Rican identity.

Younger generations engage with Spanish heritage selectively—through language, travel, dual citizenship, or study—without it overriding Boricua identity.