When to Visit Puerto Rico?
"When to visit?" is the next question that will come to mind. The weather is nice all year round and while you need to be cognizant of hurricane season (June through November), the mountainous coastline serves to protect much of the inland island from the fury of hurricanes.
Nearly every Puerto Rican town has a Saint's Day and those celebrations can go on for a single day, days in a row and in some cases for an entire week. The celebrations themselves are a melding of pagan and Catholic iconography and Indian, African and Spanish traditions all rolled into one celebration. Along with the long honored religious traditions there is also a lot of food, music, dancing and costumed processions through the towns.
One great fest to catch is the Fiesta de San Juan Bautista (Festival of St John the Baptist) in San Juan in late June, which wonderfully fuses the religious and the secular. The highlight of the parade is a communal luck-enhancing midnight walk backwards into the sea.
Early February brings Mayagúez's twinkling La Virgen de la Candelaria and Loíza's jubilant Fiesta de Santiago Apostal, which takes place late July and celebrates the town's African heritage with parades, drum ensembles and lots of music and dancing.
Old San Juan is the place to be the 3rd week of January and of course if you want to celebrate Carnival, schedule a visit to Ponce and feel the Madres Gras-like spirit that comes only with Carnival. Ponce, where revellers dress up in horned masks for dancing and parades, is the best place to celebrate Carnival in February. Love music? Check out San Juan's Casals Festival which honors Pablo Casals, the famous cellist who came to call Puerto Rico home. This fest draws classical musicians from all over the world and is a major cultural event.
Labels: puerto rico travel, sightseeing