Plaza de Armas, San Juan: Viejo San Juan /Dean
San Juan Metro December-2005, By:Travel and Sports Staff
Metro
Christmas Displays, Bacardí Artisans Fair, Three Kings Day
Intro: The heart of the San Juan Metropolitan Area is the walled historic district of Old San Juan. For centuries, it alone encompassed the Island’s capital city. By the 1800s it was a very crowded district, and the city began to move east, to Puerta de Tierra and Isla Grande. Soon residents established upscale communities in the coastal Condado and inland Miramar districts. The city continued to grow, absorbing small communities in Santurce and Ocean Park to the east; and, inland, in Hato Rey, today’s financial district; Río Piedras, home of the University of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Nuevo. By the 1900s, urban expansion reached the independent towns and cities surrounding the capital: Carolina and its coastal suburb of Isla Verde to the east, Trujillo Alto and Guaynabo to the south and Cataño and Bayamón to the west. Now all these cities, towns and districts make up the metro area and house more than half of the Island’s population.
In spite of the Island’s year-round summery weather, Puerto Ricans embrace the winter holiday season with a passion. Anyone who thinks it begins in the middle of December just hasn’t spent time in San Juan. Thanksgiving has become a popular local feast day, especially so as it marks the official start of holiday revelry. Suddenly, lights blink on everywhere, billions of lights, illuminating the colonial buildings of Old San Juan, the streets of Condado, the tall buildings of Hato Rey. Large outdoor trees are lit with much fanfare. Even before the start of December, many families have already bought their own Christmas fir, in the festive optimism that the tree will survive the Island’s 80-degree heat until the holidays end, well into January.
Stores, restaurants and plazas in Old San Juan are festively decorated, and the numerous churches add a spiritual dimension to the season. In a decades-old tradition, nuns at Las Siervas de María Convent adjoining La Fortaleza at the end of Fortaleza Street open their doors to those who want to view their Nativity, a huge display that takes up an entire room and fuses local details with the Biblical events. By viewing the Nativity, you get a glimpse of this peaceful and historic convent devoted to convalescents.
With temperatures in the 80s, winter wonderlands are forgotten as beachlovers catch rays on the beaches in Condado, Ocean Park and Isla Verde. Long strips of off-white sand are wedged between resort hotels and the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic. Calm waters usually prevail at the two balnearios, or public bathing beaches at the western (Escambrón Beach) and eastern (Carolina Beach) ends of the main tourism district. The Condado Lagoon, just east of San Juan Bay, attracts windsurfers, kayakers and joggers. On the bay side of the lagoon, hundreds of recreational boats are docked in marinas, and several can be chartered for deep-sea fishing adventures (see the Metro directory for listings).
In December, shoppers flock to stores, shops and boutiques, and to the Bacardi Artisans Fair. Held the first two Sundays of December, the 4th and the 11th, on the Bacardi grounds in Cataño, this is the largest and liveliest crafts fair in the Caribbean. There are well over 100 artisans, shows for young and old, troubadour music competitions and foot and drink kiosks manned by non-profit organizations. When not hosting the crafts fair, the Bacardi rum plant, largest in the world, opens its gates to visitors on a daily basis. Its museum, Casa Bacardi, re-creates the history of the Bacardi family and the production of Bacardi rum through interactive exhibits. Visitors can sample a rum drink at a large open-air pavilion while viewing the Old San Juan skyline.
For artistic decorations and holiday-themed exhibitions, spend an afternoon at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in its stately neoclassical building on De Diego Avenue in Santurce. The museum houses the largest and finest collection of Puerto Rican art on the Island, spanning more than four centuries. The experience continues in a tranquil five-acre sculpture garden behind the museum. There are also changing exhibits, a theater, a shop and an upscale restaurant.
For most sanjuaneros, the holidays are a time to dress up and step out. Stepping out can mean a family gathering, a business party, a religious celebration or a night at local restaurants, clubs and hotels. Many of the family gatherings occur on Christmas Eve, while New Year’s Eve revelers tend to congregate at restaurants, clubs and hotels.
After so much wining and dining, there is nothing better than a long walk, and the Botanical Gardens in Río Piedras are especially nice in the cooler winter months. Hundreds of species of trees and shrubs from all over the sub-tropical and tropical world are spread out over 75 landscaped acres. For an evening stroll, take the promenade from La Princesa to the San Juan Gate and on to the foot of El Morro in Old San Juan.
The biggest day for children on Puerto Rico’s holiday calendar is Three Kings Day on January 6, and many activities are scheduled on or around that day. For several years, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra has prepared a special Three Kings Orchestra Concert for Children a day or two earlier, at the Ferrí Center in Santurce. On Three Kings Eve, children put grass under their beds to feed the Wise Men’s camels; in the morning, the grass is replaced with gifts. During the day, tens of thousands of children and their families flock to Old San Juan to receive gifts from the governor and enjoy the festivities.
The holiday season doesn’t stop with Three Kings Day. Traditionally, eight days later there is another mini celebration known as the Octavas, and, eight days after that, the Octavitas. Yet most holiday revelers concede the grand finale of the season occurs January 19-22 when the San Sebastián Street Festival moves into gear in Old San Juan. Begun decades ago as a neighborhood gathering with religious processions, crafts and music, it has grown into an immensely popular event. The festival’s mix of processions, art and artisan booths, food kiosks and well-known performers attracts standing-room-only crowds to the old city.
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2007-04 Easter Week Church Tour, Danza Week
2007-02 Metro San Juan
2007-02 Noche de Galerías, Concerts, Noche de Jazz, Cinemafest
2006-12 Time to Shop, Local Festivals, Decorations, Octavas, Octavitas
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