La fiesta de san sebastian puerto rico: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián

La historia de las fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián – Metro Puerto Rico

Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián se han vuelto parte esencial de nuestra cultura. Estamos todo el año esperando por este fin de semana.

Estas fiestas son el cierre de una de las Navidades más largas del mundo, son tradición para muchas familias que se unen y llegan a San Juan temprano en la mañana y son la excusa perfecta para andar de pachanga por cuatro días corridos.

Pero ¿a quién se le ocurrió hacer estas fiestas por primera vez?, ¿qué significan?

San Sebastián

Cada 20 de enero, la Iglesia Católica conmemora a San Sebastián.

• Conoce las prohibiciones de las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián

Sebastián fue soldado del ejército romano y del emperador Diocleciano. El emperador desconocía que él era cristiano y lo nombró jefe de la primera legión de la guardia pretoriana imperial.

Eventualmente, fue acusado por su religión, pero se rehusó a renunciar a su fe. Por eso, fue condenado a morir asaeteado. San Sebastián fue convertido en un mártir. Su muerte data del año 288.

El santo es invocado contra los enemigos de la religión. Además, representado atado a un árbol y herido por flechas es llamado “el Apolo cristiano” por ser uno de los santos más reproducidos por el arte en general.

Origen de las fiestas en Puerto Rico

Historiadores aseguran que el festival se celebra desde el siglo XIX, pero esto es algo difícil de confirmar. Lo que se sabe con seguridad es que en 1954, el padre Juan Manuel Madrazo, párroco de la Iglesia San José del Viejo San Juan, tuvo la idea de hacer un festival para recaudar fondos con el fin de restaurar la calle y ayudar a la parroquia.

Años después, el padre Madrazo fue trasladado a una parroquia fuera de San Juan, por lo que las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián se dejaron de celebrar.

Luego, a mediados del 1970, el historiador Ricardo Alegría le pidió a doña Rafaela Balladares de Brito, residente del Viejo San Juan, que reiniciara las fiestas ya que él entendía que San Sebastián merecía ser conmemorado por mostrar fidelidad a la fe y valentía ante el juicio. Ella y sus vecinos tomaron la idea de Alegría y comenzaron la celebración nuevamente. Esa vez para recaudar fondos para el Colegio de Párvulos.

Comparsa de los cabezudos

A la media mañana del tercer fin de semana de enero, se celebraba la primera procesión con la imagen de San Sebastián desde el Colegio de Párvulos hasta la Iglesia de San José, donde más tarde se celebraba la misa dedicada al santo patrón. Más tarde, se unían los cabezudos y los pleneros.

Los ya famosos cabezudos recrean momentos históricos y se representan personajes típicos puertorriqueños. Algunos de los personajes son doña Fela, el general, Diplo Toribio y la puerca de Juan Bobo. Este desfile llega hasta la Catedral de San Juan Bautista, ubicada en la calle del Cristo.

Música

La tradición era que a partir de las seis de la mañana, un grupo de músicos abría la celebración recorriendo las calles del Viejo San Juan para anunciar la celebración.

El conjunto muscial consistía en un pandero, un tambor de mano, un clarinete, una trompeta y un trombón.

Artesanías

Más tarde se añadió la exhibición de artesanos y artistas que se ha convertido en una de las partes más importantes de las fiestas. Se hacían exhibiciones de pinturas frente a la casa del pintor José Campeche (las pinturas de este eran también exhibidas).

Frente a la Casa Campeche, los pintores de la calle organizaban la exposición de pinturas y grabados al aire libre.

Decoración

En los comienzos de las fiestas, los residentes adornaban los balcones con flores hechas con papel, mantas con bordados de flores y muchas otras cosas llenas de colores.

Además de la decoración, las costureras de San Juan confeccionaban los trajes para las jóvenes que participaban en las actividades nocturnas.

Por último, un grupo de vecinas se encargaba de hacer platos típicos y doña Rafaela y doña Nidia Ríos de Colón preparaban la bebida “agualoja”.

“Agualoja es una bebida que consiste de 5 vasos de agua,12 oz. de melaza, 1 oz. de jengibre y 5 palitos de canela. Esta bebida era obsequiada al público.

Fecha

Durante los primeros años, las fiestas se celebraban durante dos fines de semana, el tercero y el cuarto. A diferencia de ahora, a partir de las seis de la tarde, la calle quedaba desierta.

En varias ocasiones se consideró cancelar esta celebración, pero doña Rafaela se negaba y aseguraba que el próximo año sería mejor… Y podemos decir que así ha sido.

Actualidad

Hoy, todos buscan la forma de llegar a la calle San Sebastián durante el tercer fin de semana de enero.

Niños, jovenes y adultos hacen las calles del Viejo San Juan suyas, llegando desde temprano en la tarde y regresando a sus casas cuando ya no aguantan más.

Muchas cosas han cambiado desde el comienzo de las fiestas. Sin embargo, algo sigue igual: la alegría, la fiesta, la música y la tradición siempre están presentes en la calle San Sebastián.

Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián: The Most Vibrant and Colorful Local Festival | Puerto Rico Living

Puerto Rico’s largest and most concurred festival Fiesta de la Calle San Sebastián is the unofficial closing to the “longest holiday season in the world. ”

During the multi-day celebrations, Old San Juan is completely taken over by live music, impromptu dancing in every street corner, and parades.

At daytime, the events are more family-oriented. The old city’s squares and streets are filled with activities for kids and local artisans showcasing and selling everything from paintings to hand-made jewelry.

Once the sun goes down, a young adult crowd is usual. Multiple concerts and parties take place across the walled city, and the joyous revelry continues into the late hours of the night.

Its inaugural event is the parade of the Cabezudos, (means big head) a group of people in disguise with oversized papier-mache heads representing various historic and folk characters who march down San Sebastián Street and down to the San Juan Cathedral.

Fiesta de la Calle San Sebastián was created for the local community, giving artists and handcraft traders the opportunity to exhibit their work, as well as to bring business to the area.

The plan worked better than expected, as within a few years thousands of tourists flocked to Puerto Rico to attend the street festival.

Old San Juan is a popular destination for cruise ships, and those passengers fortunate enough to be among the ships scheduled to dock in San Juan ports will be able to walk from the port to San Sebastián street.

With more than 1,100 weekly flights from the mainland to Puerto Rico, the island is an accessible location for a weekend getaway or vacation, making the San Sebastián Street festival an easy mid-January getaway from the U.S.

The cultural event will celebrate its 50th anniversary from January 16 to 19.

Despite the tremors and aftershocks that have been reported in the South area, the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz confirmed that the festival will take place.

. (Josian E. Bruno Gómez / EL VOCERO)

“The San Sebastian Street Festival is an event that has international recognition. On 2013, National Geographic proclaimed them as the most important festival in the month of January. We have seven cruises confirmed. In fact, Royal Caribbean made a ‘statement’ already saying that, as in San Juan, no damage had occurred, the cruises are confirmed,” said Cruz.

The hotels in the area have not received cancellations, according the mayor. “This more than a party, is an extraordinary exercise in logistics and economic development. We are going to have 79 artistic activities that gives work to singers, musicians, sound technicians, stage managers, plus people who make their money at the kiosks,” Cruz added.

Make a note that this year, concerts will end at 11:00 p.m., bars will close at midnight and vuvuzelas (loud horns) and whistles are not permitted. Anyone using a vuvuzela will be fined $1,000.

Eviction Routes

The people in La Perla community should go down Norzagaray Street and walk to Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue.

“If you are in the Plaza del Quinto Centenario you should move immediately to El Morro, which is, in fact, the meeting area in the tsunami plan. If you are in the Plaza de Armas, you walk down to San Francisco Street to the Capitol. In Fortaleza Street you should walk to the Capitol and if you are in Plaza Colón, walk along Muñoz Rivera Avenue or Constitution Avenue,” the mayor explained.

Cultural Activities

The festival will have musical presentations by Pirulo y la tribu, Plenéalo, Orquesta Mulenze, among a dozen artists on stage.

Other renowned artists as Olta Tañón, Ednita Nazario, Yolandita Monge, La India, Manny Manuel, Kany García, Gente de Zona, El Gran Combo, and Vico C are part of the musical rundown.

Spanish Montserrat: away from the bustle of the city

Alina Shirinkina,
chief coordinator of the Flahertiana International Film Festival

Montserrat – a mountain in the north of Spain and a monastery located on it – deserves a mandatory visit for a tourist. But, as numerous guides advise, it’s not worth staying there for a long time – it’s boring. However, those five days that I spent there were not boring at all.

Black Madonna for white people

The Benedictine monastery of Montserrat is the main spiritual center of all of Catalonia. It is here, at an altitude of 720 m above sea level, that the main shrine of the region is located, its patroness is the Montserrat Madonna. According to a legend that you will hear more than once on the mountain, the statue of the Madonna was first discovered by shepherd boys. According to legend, they saw a bright light in the mountains, accompanied by a divine melody. There they brought their parents and a priest, who tried to take the shrine from the mountain cave and transfer it to the temple of the nearest town. However, the statue became so heavy that it became decidedly impossible to move it. The arriving bishop interpreted this as the desire of the Virgin Mary to stay on a bizarre mountain, where a whole monastery subsequently appeared. nine0003

The statue found by the shepherds will not be seen by contemporaries, it disappeared later under mysterious circumstances. The Basilica of Montserrat has a copy made in the 12th century. This wooden Romanesque sculpture is carved from white poplar, but seeing the shrine for the first time will surprise you. As time passed, the color of the tree changed so much that the “skin” of the Madonna and Jesus sitting on her lap became … black.

The Virgin of Montserrat, for the dark color of her face, received the sweet nickname of the Smuglyanka (La Moreneta). Thousands of tourists and pilgrims come to touch the sphere – a symbol of power over the Universe, which La Moreneta holds in his right hand, and make a wish. They believe: Darkie fulfills the cherished desires of white people. nine0003

Warning signs and reminders for tourists will repeatedly advise against visiting the basilica during the service, unless you want to take part in it. The best option to go inside the temple and see the shrine is to come to the performance of the boys’ choir of the Escolania school. This unique choir, which has already traveled half the world with its performances, sings chants every day at 13:00, except weekends. To hear the sonorous voices of little Spanish singers, as well as the organ playing and a short peace-loving speech of the priest, we advise you to take your seats 40 minutes before the start of the performance. So you will avoid the annoying clicks of cameras in the back rows and have time to enjoy the beauty of the arches of the monastery basilica to your heart’s content. nine0003

Tired of religious rituals and ancient legends, you can relax in very secular places. For example, the Montserrat Museum operates on the territory of the monastery, where you can see the originals of Caravaggio, Dali, Picasso and other brush masters from Spain, France, Italy and some other countries.

In a cell

We have to admit that the Montserrat Monastery does not always hold pleasant surprises. In search of solitude and silence, visitors often come across crowds of tourists who obediently follow the guide’s raised umbrella, and then noisily buy magnets and monastery liquor in the gift shop. Today, Montserrat is not only an amazing legend, but also an opportunity to earn money for local residents and local managers. But there is still a way to get away from bus tours and overpriced local cheeses. nine0003

Around five o’clock in the winter and eight in the summer, tourists disappear from view, leaving on the last trains of the kramalera, and descend from heaven in yellow cable cars. Then comes the time of the lucky ones left on the mountain.

To see a little more of the traditional tourist set “Smuglyanka – Basilica – Museum”, it is worth staying in Montserrat for a few days. You will be offered two options to choose from: a four-star hotel with a separate restaurant or apartments, which, with their ascetic decoration, resemble the cells of monks. These spacious apartments can still be called “cells” with a stretch. Despite the minimalist environment, here you can find everything that a modern civilized person needs: a well-equipped kitchen, clean bathrooms, a TV and even a tablecloth for a large table in the living room. nine0003

So that your stay in Montserrat is not overshadowed by pressing issues – sandwiches for five euros (with the new exchange rate, rolls begin to seem golden) and very expensive wine in a single store – we advise you to go to the nearest town of Monistrol on the very first morning. After a 15-minute ride on the cog railway, you will find yourself in an awakening Spanish town. Do not go to the usual supermarket – here, on two or three streets, small shops with fresh products are scattered: vegetables, meat, cheeses, groceries. Buy in advance, and you can spend quiet evenings in your “cell” with a glass of real Catalan wine and a warm dinner. nine0007

In the direction of the sketes

In addition to religious attractions, the famous Spanish mountain has something to do for lovers of outdoor activities and quiet walks. Montserrat is not only a monastery complex, it is also a huge natural park, which attracts both botanists and ordinary nature lovers with its beauties.

The administration of the Montserrat Nature Reserve, together with representatives of the abbey, has developed several official hiking trails of varying difficulty. You need to start with those that are designed for ordinary mortals: in this way you will get used to the mountain air and understand that, watching the mountain beauties of the Catalan land, you can not notice even five kilometers traveled along prepared paths. nine0003

Perhaps the most impressive route from the “easy” list is the “Path of Prayers” leading to the Holy Cave. It was there, according to legend, that the Montserrat Madonna was found. The name of the route does not imply the performance of religious rituals. On the contrary, you can enjoy the stunning views of Montserrat in a relaxed atmosphere, as well as see the architectural creations of Spanish architects, deftly inscribed in the mountain landscape.

nine0005 At the beginning of the 20th century, it was along this path to the cave that the architectural groups of the most famous artists of Catalan modernism – Antonio Gaudí, Josep Llimona, Puig i Cadafalch – were installed. Episodes from the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God became a common theme for all artists.
Impressive crosses against the backdrop of rocks, natural ornaments and patterns hidden in mountain turns – this route is rightly called an “open-air museum”.

Another amazing route is a walk towards the ancient sketes of hermit monks. These are small caves right in the rocks. There you can climb up steep stairs and narrow paths. For those who have never thought of themselves as a high-altitude assembler, it is worth making a reservation: even such distant paths are equipped with special railings and leveled masonry. In a word, nothing will threaten your safety. nine0003

On the way to the caves of the monks you will meet the cross of St. Michael, which is literally at the end of the world. A small ledge of the rock has become a kind of stand for the cross, which effectively stands out against the background of the blue sky and the raging wind. Below are only clouds.

Finally, it is worth noting that the walks are always different, not only because of the difference in directions. Nature on Montserrat is able to amaze: the clouds that envelop the mountains in the morning, the tight fog on a rainy day, because of which it is impossible to see the basilica, standing a few meters from it, or a clear warm day, conducive to a funicular ride to the very top of Montserrat. nine0003

All this and a few more red-pink sunrises will be the last reason to linger on a visit to Smuglyanka.

POSADA SAN FRANCISCO SAN JUAN

Posada San Francisco 2*

Located in Old San Juan district, Posada San Francisco apartment offers accommodation with a terrace.

Pan American Pier is a 20-minute walk and San Juan Gateway is 1.1 km away. The apartments are near bars and restaurants, as well as a cathedral and a castle. The apartment is within a 5-minute walk of Al Fredo, Jus Bar and Verde Luz Restaurant & Gifts.Popular – San Juan Branch and Casa Bacardi Cultural Center are within walking distance. nine0007

Free Wi-Fi, pay TV and a fridge can be found in all rooms. There is also a shared bathroom and a shared kitchen. Double beds, single beds and bunk beds are available.

• Local attractions

• Capitol

  450 m

• Mary Magdalina Cemetery

  950 m

• 9000 Gate La Puerta de San Juan 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000
  

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• Cathedral of St. John

  950 m

• Castle San Christobal

  450 m

• District Vgekho-San Juan

  950 m

• 9000 9000 9000

Fort San Felipe del Morro

950 m

• Columbus

  450 m

Services at

Description

• Wi-Fi

Food and drinks

• kitchen weapons

Reasons in number

• Dinner table

It is important to know

Registration :00

• Extra bed information
• Extra beds are not available in the rooms.

FAQ

• Posada San Francisco is next door to the Tapia Theatre.

• On average, Posada San Francisco offers rooms for $53. For more information, please contact the hotel representatives.

• Posada San Francisco offers three-bedroom Family Room, Budget Room and Shared Room.

• 5 km separates San Juan Isla Grande Airport from Posada San Francisco.

• The nearest bus stop 2 is 200 meters from Posada San Francisco.

• Close to Posada San Francisco is the Tapia Theatre.

• Approximately 200 meters from Posada San Francisco you will find Rights and Restaurante Boriken.

Check the conditions of your booking

For bookings made from April 6, 2020, we recommend that you assess the risk associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) and the measures taken by the authorities to combat it. If you select a non-refundable rate, you will not be able to receive a refund if your booking is cancelled. Your cancellation request will be processed by the hotel in accordance with your rate conditions and consumer protection laws. If in doubt, we recommend booking a free cancellation option. If your plans change, you can cancel your booking without penalty during the free cancellation period.

Room information

Free Wi-Fi, pay TV and a refrigerator are provided in all rooms. There is also a shared bathroom and a shared kitchen. Double beds, single beds and bunk beds are available.

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