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WI N T E R 2015
PERFECT POWDER PE A K S
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DISPLAY UNTIL JANUARY 24, 2015
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Three Kings Day on Jan. 6 will be celebrated with parades, music, dancing — and souvenirs.
Three Months of Christmas If the U.S. mainland’s holiday celebration doesn’t satisfy, head south to this American island with spirit to spare t always seems that Christmas goes by too quickly. The festive decorations, holiday lights and cheerful parties come and go before You-Know-Who can finish his ho-ho-hos. Puerto Rico may have solved this problem by having one of the longest Christmas seasons in the world. The U.S. territory, just a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Miami, actively celebrates the holiday beginning on Thanksgiving Day through the second week of January. In the midst of this extended holiday season, joyous events from street parties to fabulous food festivals keep the Christmas spirit alive and well in locals and
tourists — and no passport is required!
THREE KINGS GET THEIR DAY To mark the Christian holiday of Epiphany on Jan. 6, Puerto Rican children traditionally leave grass and water under their beds the night before, food for the camels belonging to the three wise men traveling through to take gifts to the baby Jesus. But El Día de los Reyes — or Three Kings Day — becomes even more of a celebration once the sun rises. Parades, puppet shows, troubadours, music and dancing take place across the island. The highlight of the holiday begins in the southern town of Juana Diaz, home to the
PUERTO RICO TOURISM CO.; MAP, KATHLEEN RUDELL
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BY ADRIENNE JORDAN
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HOLIDAY LIKE A LOCAL With appealing attractions and good deals to boot, Puerto Rico draws crowds during the holiday season. So what’s a local to do? “The locals avoid the beaches and go to the lakes, farms and countryside,” says Viviana Vargas of Puerto Rico Tourism Co. If you decide to follow, consider the remote area near Gurabo, where lush mountains surround the peaceful Carraizo Lake. Here the Paddle Paradise company (paddleparadisepr.com) hosts kayak, paddle board and zipline excursions, made all the nicer by Wilson, a Labrador mix who serves as a playful companion to visitors. He’s no Rudolph, but he’s sure to inspire glee.
MORE WINTER EVENTS uDec. 28: The Masks Festival in the town of Hatillo uSecond week of January: San Sebastian Street Festival (above) uFeb. 2: Dìa de la Candelaria, festivities that celebrate the end of the winter season uMid-February: The Cold Festival in Adjuntas (Adjuntas is the coldest town during Puerto Rico’s winter, which reaches its peak during February)
Puerto Rican families roast whole pigs over fire pits for Christmas dinner.
CAROLING MAKES A COMEBACK The joyful practice of caroling has fallen out of favor on the mainland, but it’s still one of the biggest parts of the holiday in Puerto Rico. The parranda is the island’s take on the tradition. Groups of friends travel from house to house, singing songs while playing traditional instruments including noisy maracas, stringed cuatros, conga drums and hand drums called pleneras. The San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino (marriott.com/hotels/ travel/sjupr-san-juan-marriott-resort-andstellaris-casino) is the premier location in San Juan to experience a parranda. The resort hosts mini-parrandas along the pool twice a day during the holiday season. “At the Marriott, we walk around the neighborhoods; we come back, and
there are refreshments and presents for the kids during the pre-Christmas celebration. Then we light the Christmas lights,” says Hans-Georg Röhrbein, general manager. The resort even lets guests borrow GoPro video cameras to record the festivities for a keepsake of the events.
NOTHING SAYS CHRISTMAS LIKE PORK “No pork during Christmas is like no turkey during Thanksgiving.” So says Jorge Collazo, a Puerto Rico native, of the lip-smacking meat at the top of every Puerto Rican’s holiday
shopping list. The savory, roasted pork, also known as lechonera, is prepared by rotating over a fire pit. During the holidays, the town of Cayey, south of San Juan, celebrates along Highway 184 in the neighborhood of Guavate, a stretch of road known as the Roast Pork Highway. Locals restaurant-hop for miles, indulging in drinks and gastronomic delights along the way. While the pork highway is open for business year-round, at Christmas the route comes alive with roadside tents filled with arts and crafts, local produce and live bands. One popular stop is the El Rancho Original (guavatepr.com/elrancooriginal. htm, in Spanish). Try their succulent lechonera and must-have sides including morcilla (or blood) sausages, yellow rice with pigeon peas, batatas (sweet potato), pasteles (hard banana) and yautias (a native yam-like vegetable). Diners who prefer white meat can try chicken and turkey roasted underneath the pig so pork juice drips down and seeps in. Wipe your mouth, and wash it all down with Medalla beer, brewed in Mayaguez. ●
FROM TOP: PUERTO RICO TOURISM CO.; ADRIENNE JORDAN
Three Kings Museum (or Casa Museo de los Santos Reyes), where three local men dress up as the wise men and ride horses 67 miles north to Old San Juan. When they arrive in the historic section of the Puerto Rican capital, a celebration erupts, and gifts are distributed to children. “The lines for gifts could go on for hours,” says José Morales, a certified tour guide. Take a piece of the tradition home by purchasing locally designed handcrafts depicting the Three Kings, popular in many of Old San Juan’s souvenir shops.
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