SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Forget placards, stoic bodyguards and formal rallies. To win Puerto Rico's presidential primary, both the Clinton and Obama camps are campaigning in the boisterous, face-to-face "boricua style" favored on this Caribbean island.

The June 1 vote will allocate 55 delegates and might finally give Illinois Sen. Barack Obama the number he needs to claim the Democratic nomination if he picks up enough superdelegates in the meantime. But rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is favored to win here, partly because she's done better among Hispanics in previous primaries and partly because the New York senator already represents a lot of Puerto Ricans, many with relatives on the island.

Among Puerto Rico's seven superdelegates, not bound by the primary, Clinton has a 4-2 edge over Obama, with one uncommitted.

"There's a cultural clash in how campaigning is done" in Puerto Rico versus the mainland, said Roberto Prats, the island's Democratic Party chairman and a Clinton campaign spokesman. "We suggested they build a campaign 'boricua style.'"

"Boricua," derived from the Taino Indian word for the island's people, is the term Puerto Ricans use to refer to themselves.

Large, billowing flags are replacing modest placards, staffers for both candidates have summoned their rusty Spanish, and Bill Clinton's bodyguards were asked to relax during his visit to a sprawling public housing complex.

Obama himself visited briefly last November for a private fundraiser and a meeting with Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila, who later endorsed him. Clinton's last visit was after Hurricane Georges in 1998. But the Obama campaign says he will return before the primary, and a local party official says Clinton also will campaign on the island before the vote.

So far, both campaigns have relied mainly on high-profile surrogates. The former first lady has been represented by her husband, the former president, and daughter, Chelsea. Obama has sent his wife, Michelle, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

These surrogate appearances have been steeped in boricua style.

Clinton's campaign hired a Puerto Rican "reggaetonero" to draw crowds with jingles infused with the heavy BOOM-da-BOOM-BOOM bass rhythm of the popular hybrid Latin rap music.

During her second visit to Puerto Rico, Chelsea Clinton was accompanied by a "batucada," or percussion ensemble, of a dozen young musicians armed with drums, maracas and whistles as she greeted shoppers at a San Juan mall.

It is a warmer, more intimate way to campaign, said Clinton spokesman Angel Urena.

Apparently, it works.

Michael Ayala, the 19-year-old batucada leader, said all 50 musicians he oversees are pledging to vote for Clinton and recruit at least two friends each to do likewise.

Not to be outdone, Obama flew his Spanish-speaking staff to the U.S. Caribbean territory, where they met recently with university students. And Michelle Obama offered some Spanish — "Se puede!" (We can!) — during her visit.