boricua

[baw-ree-kwuh]

noun

1. a Puerto Rican, or person of Puerto Rican descent.

   He’s a proud boricua.

adjective

1. of or relating to Puerto Rico or Puerto Ricans: The new production of West Side Story will prioritize boricua casting.

   the top ten boricua restaurants in New York;

   The new production of West Side Story will prioritize boricua casting.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boricua¹

First recorded in 1945–50; from Taíno Borikén “the great land of the valiant and noble lord” (the name of the island)

Example Sentences

Local tattoo artists are meeting the demand with creative designs that honor Boricua heritage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“It was very healing for me,” she says of the album, which blends old-school Puerto Rican boricua samples with Latin dance and reggaeton influences for an emotional imagining of Puerto Rican identity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Bringing the film there reinforced Del Valle’s sense of belonging in her Boricua identity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Adrianna Toledo, a Boricua tattoo artist known as “Versa” online, is the owner of 823 Tattoo Studio in the adjacent town of Carolina.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As Bad Bunny’s San Juan concert residency draws tourists to Puerto Rico, local artists partnered with Mijente and AgitArt to create an art exhibition that examines the complexity of Boricua history.

Read more on Los Angeles Times