This Day In Latino History

On this day in 1898, the United States Navy blew a bitch out of the water when the Spanish Caribbean Squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, was destroyed at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. U.S. control of the seas around Cuba lead to the end of the Spanish-American War a month later, garnering freedom from Spain for Cuba.

On this day in 1952, Puerto Rico’s Constitution was approved by the Congress of the United States. The constitution ensures that the United States maintains ultimate sovereignty over Puerto Rico while giving Puerto Ricans a high degree of autonomy. So much so that no one has ever really agreed about the legal status of Puerto Rico under the Federal Government since the document was created. The autonomy recognized to the island has been put into doubt following certain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States which have interpreted the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution as still controlling over Puerto Rico. Under this clause, the United States’ Congress is the recognized sovereign of the island. But we all know that it’s really Ricky Martin who is king.

And on this day in 2005, Spain got it’s gay on when a national law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect there, making Spain the third country in the world to do so, after the Netherlands and Belgium and 17 days ahead of Canada.