San Sebastian Festival 2020

Introduction

The fiftieth Festival de la Calle San Sebastion started this past Wednesday. It is a street festival in Old San Juan named after a street – Calle de San Sebastian. Apparently, 50 years ago now, the upper end of that street was home to a number of artists. They started a festival as a means to sell their art. It has morphed into a huge event with closed streets, multiple sound stages, all kinds of street vendors, and huge crowds.

It almost did not happen this year. In view of the recent earthquakes that caused damage in the southwest part of the island, Governor Wanda Vazquez asked the mayor of San Juan to postpone the festival. San Juan Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez joined with the governor in this request, stating that the dispute as to whether the festival should go on was causing divisions among the people.

San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soho, herself a gubernatorial pre-candidate for her party, disagreed. She noted the Destination Marketing Organization had published ads stating Puerto Rico was open for business in all but the southwest part of the island. She said

“The Tourism director is telling visitors that the quakes damages are concentrated in one part of the island. You cannot have one government office saying something different from what the government is saying. No one has told the cruise ships not to come. We are going to have over 902 artists and power in San Juan has been fully restored.”

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soho as quoted in the San Juan Star, January 14, 2020, page 2.

So the festival started as planned.

Preparations

It takes several days to prepare for the festival. Soundstages were constructed around the city, traffic had to be diverted, tents had to be erected, and beer had to be delivered. Here are some images of the preparations.

The festival was stocked with copious amounts of beer.
Fountains were fenced off.
The King of Fried Meats set up his stand in Plaza d’Armes.
Portable generator powered beer coolers appeared.
A sound stage was erected in Plaza d’Armes.
This is the soundstage in the Plaza of Five Centuries. Castle El Moro is in the left background.
Enterprising bar owners used various educational tactics to entice visitors into their establishments.

Parades

The festival features parades. Some are planned; other more impromptu. They always have music and often have people on huge stilts. Dancing on stilts on the rough brick streets certainly takes a lot of skill.

A percussion and trombone band lead a parade in Calle de San Sebastian.
This parade included several effigies, one of which seemd to be San Sebastian.’
An effigy of San Sebastian (Saint Sebastian).

Aside: Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian was tied to a tree and shot with arrows by minions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. This was a part of Diocletian’s persecution of the early Christians during the third century AD. According to legend, Sebastian survived, having been nursed back to health by Saint Irene of Rome. Shortly after his recovery, Sebastian went to Diocletian to warn him of his sins. Diocletian had him clubbed to death for his troubles. Both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches of Chrstianity revere him as a saint.

Dancers on stilts follwed the effigies.
A stilt dancer oo Calle de San Sebastian.
People wearing huge masks followed the stilt dancers, one of whom is in the background.
More people in masks. I have no idea as to who or what they may represent.
Different day, different parade, another pair of stilt dancers.

Music

There was music everywhere, both on the sound stges and by impromptu groups along the streets

A small soudstage in the La Perla section of Old San Juan.
An informal band making its way up Cale San Francisco.
A salsa band performing at Plaza Colon.
Musicians on Calle de San Sebastian.
This group specialized in Caribbean music as influenced by African slaves and immigrants.

Food

There was street food everywhere – almost all of it fried. But is was good.

A cook pours batter onto hot oil. The result is like a garlic bread. Most delicious.
Fried foods of various sorts available at the King of Fried Meats tent.

Random Thoughts

I’ve been to San Sebastian festivals several times in the past, though this was my first time in the last three years. The festival seemed a bit less crowded than I remember. There was more of a corporate presence in years past – bands sponsored by banks, hand out samples of medicines and other things, corporate banners in the parades. It also seemed a bit subdued. Perhaps that is because of the ongoing earthquakes in the southwestern part of the island.

I took all the photos in this post.

One thought on “San Sebastian Festival 2020

  1. Don Siegel

    This looked like one hell of a fun party. I want to come to one and will do my best to convince Bette to join me!

    Reply

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