Puerto Rico

Monday, January 26, 2015

Traveling the world one step at a time
By: Pamela Ortega

Plantains, pina coladas( http://www.elboricua.com/pinacolada.html)  and Puerto Ricans captivated me as I traveled through Puerto Rico. Witnessing Puerto Ricans engage within themselves, all while tasting perfectly made food was a diamond of its own. People don’t lie when they say Puerto Rico is the land of enchantment. My journey through Puerto Rico has taught me to discover the hidden gems in the world. As I move forward in life I plan to travel, not to the common popular cities everyone travels to, but to the small hidden towns with bright gems to offer. Puerto Rico showed me to look beyond San Juan, instead discover the wonders in Luquillo (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g635965-Luquillo_Puerto_Rico-Vacations.html) and Fajardo. Often time people are so over consumed by the marketing tactics of the travel industry, that they don’t stop to think about the hidden towns that are often forgotten. I hope to apply my knowledge of real traveling to my future endeavors.

Tourism is the simplicity of visiting a place and claiming to be there. It is a basic concept that is a multi billion-dollar business. Tourism limits the tourist by only providing a handful of places to visit and take photographs at. Thus, it is essential to engage in travel in order to become a traveler. My tourism experience limited me in fully engaging with the people. The activities we did in San Juan, were strictly tourism related events that focuses on places. Having Jose as a tour guide, allowed us to experience more of a travel experience.

The media can positively and negatively influence a travel experience. The booming tourism industry tends to focus on a single aspect of the touring location. Although the tourism industry focuses on prime tourism parts, some travelers go outside the box and publish work about their unique experience.








Sunday, January 25, 2015

Juana Diaz Three King's Parade

4273
 Meta Carstarphen
1/25/15

By: Regennia D. Johnson


One festival that is really important in Puerto Rico, and we were able to participate in is the Three King’s Parade!
For the past 131 years thousands of people gather in the streets of Juana Diaz in celebration of Los Reyes Magos on Jan 6. “This is a very old tradition, and every year it’s more love. People love to come because its tradition. They promote it so well, people come from everywhere,” says Nilda Banchs a pharmacy owner.
Natives and people from across the island arise early to beat traffic to the little municipality of Puerto Rico. Juana Diaz has a population of almost 51,000, which is still just a small fraction of Puerto Rico’s popular city of San Juan. Though Juana Diaz isn’t the most popular town on this cultured island, according to Juana Diaz, Mayor Ramon Hernandez Torres, this day alone brings in more than half of the towns everyday population. “This is a wonderful opportunity not only for the Puerto Rican people but also for the people that are coming here to visit us in Juana Diaz,” says Torres.
According to the Three Kings Museum this holiday originated on the island in 1884, was brought about by a Spanish Catholic priest who wanted extend honor to the Three Wise Men also known as the Three Kings.
The parade begins at ten o’clock a.m., but that is just the beginning of a day filled with activities. After the parade, Mass begins with a real Catholic priest to commence the religious ceremony. This includes a presentation from the prophets, who tell of the coming of Jesus Christ.
After the religious portion of ceremonies, the music festival begins and families begin to make their way to the plaza to greet the kings.  It is required that the kings take a picture with every single child who desires to. This process can take nearly five hours.
The kings have to be catholic, inside of a ministry, psychologically stable, and male. All of their work is done voluntarily, and the kings can serve in their position for the rest of for years or up until they decide to retire.









Traveling V.S Tourism

4273
 Meta Carstarphen
1/25/15

By: Regennia Johnson


I want traveling to be a substantial part of my life. This experience really allowed me to gain further knowledge of the difference between being a tourist and a traveler and that has allowed me to gage what the tourism experience means to me. I think a true tourism experience goes beyond the common attractions that are often posted on brochures and magazines. To really engage in the culture and absorb the place that one is traveling to, it must be understood that those attractions are just that…attractions. They are put in place to attract people to come in, spend their money and make people feel like they expanded their horizon by engaging in the most superficial cultural thing that the town has to offer. The tourism experience means speaking to people from the community and learning about what is important to them… what things they value in their culture. I also believe that the tourism experience is about allowing yourself to be open minded enough to go beyond what you initially thought about a place and learn for yourself and from the residents what it is really about. This means stepping outside of what media feeds people about certain locations and cultures.











Sunday, January 18, 2015

The island that enchanted me

The island that enchanted me
By: Juliana Gutierrez

I had always wanted to have the opportunity of studying abroad. It was during my first week at the University of Oklahoma that I heard about the study abroad in Puerto Rico. I instantly felt like I had to take this class. Being able to speak both English and Spanish was surely on my side. However, neither this nor the six credit hours I was going to earn was what motivated me to take this class.

What motivated me to take this class was my hunger for culture, for relating to other people and understanding their traditions and beliefs. With my never ending desire to take on a journey and discover the world and my passion for culture, this was an opportunity I was not going to miss. 

Although this was a short yet intense one week class, I had an unforgettable experience in Puerto Rico. From the island itself, to my classmates and my devoted professors, everything was more than fantastic.

I loved how we truly immersed ourselves in Puerto Rico. Not only did we go to the touristic places but we also explored many cities of the island, discovering their uniqueness and what each one had to offer.

We engaged in the Boriqua culture and studied how tourism business works in Puerto Rico. We learned about their history and cultural mix, which is the result of three races: European, African and Tainos. We listened to autochthonous rhythms and even recited trovas.

We tasted their traditional dishes, which they reminded me of my home country, Venezuela and, of course, I loved. We explored rainforests and felt the humidity on our skin, witnessed people's strong devotion for the three kings and even watched nature’s marveling bioluminescence.

Each and every one of these experiences filled my heart with joy and my mind with knowledge, and respect for Puerto Rico and its welcoming people, who at all times made me feel at home.

Something that amazed me was how proud are Puerto Rican's of their heritage. Throughout the island I saw many flags in balconies, restaurants, house entrances and squares. Whenever I talked to locals, I felt how they cherished their culture and strived to preserve it.

I learned uncountable things. From how to write a feature and all the dimensions that tourism involves to how to make Puerto Rican fricassee chicken.

With so many beautiful places around the island, I was impressed when our tour guide, Jose Pereira, told us that only 20% of tourists visit other cities besides San Juan. Although it is true that the capital has a lot to offer in all senses, I strongly believe that visiting one city does not give tourists a complete picture of a country.

In my opinion, the media is in part responsible for this. Labeling San Juan as the only important or worth to visit city in Puerto Rico is a mistake. Nevertheless, I was able to see how cities like Caguas have done an excellent job at attracting tourists.

This city, known as the heart of Puerto Rico, had a characteristic that made it different: it is not on the coast. This was not a disadvantage for Caguas. With so many other things to offer, the city has managed to enhance its tourism and uniqueness through the construction and preservation of over a dozen museums that are connected by the 'criollo hear route'.

A welcoming office of touristic development, social media and beautiful easy-to-use brochures that guide people through the 'criollo hear route' have been some of the media strategies the city has used to increment its tourism.

Even if the media has underestimated cities like Caguas, which are obviously less popular than San Juan, I believe that the so called cultural tourism is starting to change with coming generations.

As Resonance Consultancy president, Chris Fair, said in an interview with www.travelmarketreport.com, creative tourism is a trend to watch in the next years. What differentiates creative tourism from other trends is that travelers engage in the culture of the place by having a connection with it. In this trend, tourists become travelers and interact actively with locals and their daily activities.

With creative tourism trend arising, the media will probably start targeting tourists by selling more emotional connections and fulfilling experiences and less leisure time or ordinary visits to museums.

After our adventure in Puerto Rico, more than ever I feel that I am a traveler and not just a tourist. Without even knowing about this trend, I am sure we all engaged in creative tourism in some ways.

This amazing trip actually accentuated my hunger for discovering the world and it made me want to truly engage in the culture of each place more than ever.

Without the shadow of a doubt my expectations for this short study abroad program were exceeded. I learned in the best way possible: stepping out of the classroom and the books and actually experience the topic of study: Puerto Rico. 
Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez 

 
Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez
 
 
 
 
 
 

400 years of history, 2 forts & 1 identity

400 years of history, 2 forts & 1 identity
By: Juliana Gutierrez

The morning was so bright I could barely open my eyes under the beaming Puerto Rican sun. I put on my sunglasses and tucked my heavy backpack on. As usual, I had been left behind because I had been taking pictures, aiming for the right angles and lighting to obtain the perfect photograph. I walked quickly up the hill, leaning my head back to see where the tall dark walls of Old San Juan's forts ended. Inside, centuries of history and battles awaited--I was eager to discover what this place had to offer.

I felt a sense of pride within the forts. After more than 400 years and several battles, San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal forts were still standing tall, undefeated.  With the Caribbean waves crashing right at the bottom of the Fortaleza and the wind blowing my hair, I felt as if I were living in a movie scene. Just the thought of how many people had been in this exact place and the historical events that happened here made me get goose bumps.

On assignment for my class and trying to multitask between taking pictures, notes and absorbing the whole scene, I managed to talk to a park ranger who was kind enough to answer all of my questions.

"San Cristobal fort was built in 1634 to serve as the city’s land attack defense. It is the largest military fortification built in the American continent. It served as defense of the land entrance of the city. It was a very important part of the defense system because it prevented attacks coming from the area of Condado and the Eastern part of the island," said Enmanuel Rodriguez, who had been working at San Cristobal fort for five years.

National Park Service website, confirms this information: "El Morro was built to defend against sea attackers; later San Cristóbal was built to protect against attack on San Juan by land".

He continued explaining that this historical site is the main touristic attraction in San Juan and that within the first days of January 2015, they had a record of having 6,000 visitors in one day. He added that on average, around two million people go to the forts every year.

Before I continued my adventure, Enmanuel Rodriguez gave me a brochure that contained valuable information about both forts. This colorful and full-of-facts brochure, explained Spaniards' reason to build the forts in this specific location was that ''the trade winds blew sailing ships here from Europe, helped by ocean currents.'' Also the deep bays in Old San Juan made it an excellent port.

With such a strategic location that served as the door to both the new world, Europe and Africa, Spain was decided to protect it's colonies, especially Puerto Rico--which was then known as San Juan island.

Over 450 cannons, sentry boxes were soldier took guard, 400 troops, walls of up to 25 feet tall, fortifications of 150 feet tall and 27 acres were some of Spain's defense system against enemies.

In addition, San Juan had a sacred companion on its side: Saint Barbara. With a sword on her left hand and a challis on her right one, she was the patron saint who defended Spaniards in battle. To pray and ask for St. Barbara's intersection, both El Morro and San Cristobal forts had chapels named after her.

Jose Pereira explained that chapels inside the forts prevented soldiers from having to leave the defense system to pray while on attack.

Being a Catholic, I believe that Spain's preach and actions often conflicted and took opposite directions. I find it contradictory that soldiers prayed for protection right before heading to kill countless humans--needless to say that this is prohibited in the Ten Commandments.

San Juan's convenient qualities were not unknown to other countries, which were greedy to take over the island and claim it their own. Tour guide Jose Pereira said that La Fortaleza was attacked in five different occasions by England and the Netherlands.

Nevertheless, Puerto Rico continued to be Spain's colony until 1898, when they lost in the Spanish-American War and the island became U.S. territory.

Looking at this timeline and battles for ''ownership'' of Puerto Rico over the years, I found it quite saddening to think that the island of enchantment has never been an independent country. Only when it was populated by Taino Indians did Boriquen--Taino name for the island--enjoyed freedom from Conquistadores and the U.S.

However, it was amazing to see how Puerto Ricans cherish their culture and protect their heritage and historical sites. I was not the only one marveled by this fact.

Tom Link, a visitor from Pittsburg who was exploring El Morro, said that it was "very interesting to look at it and realize how many years ago the Spaniards were here. What we are mostly impressed with are the fortifications, I mean, my goodness! They still stand after all these years and they are enormous, covering most of the old San Juan. It is very beautiful, an impressive work by the Spanish."

His wife, Nell Link, similarly agreed saying "You come here and you are like ‘oh, my God!’ They come from a great history. People underestimate this place, those who came from here, the beauty of this place, its history. It has been a big surprise for us."

In Jose Pereira's opinion, these forts are part of Puerto Rican culture.

"When you are a child, you go to the forts to fly kites. This area is great to have activities. People grow with the forts. It is part of our culture, we feel owners of the forts and we preserve them. If we see someone attempting to damage San Cristobal, El Morro or any part of this historical site, we protect it."

He continued saying that visiting the forts is one of the first excursions children have with their school.

"It is an amazing experience for kids, because at a young age you believe in pirate stories, soldiers and so on. As an adult, when you visit the forts, you revive your childhood and the many times you went there to play."

In fact, not only Puerto Rican children can have a memorable experience when visiting the forts. Park ranger Enmanuel Rodriguez said that because the forts are part of the National Park Service, the junior ranger program applies to this historical site.

Designed for children between ages of 5 and 12, the program offers kids a free activity book--and entrance ticket--they have to complete throughout their visit. Once they finish the required number of pages--which vary depending on the child's age--they are certified as junior rangers, pledge a short oath and are awarded with a badge from San Juan National Historic site.

"This is a very special activity for children because they can collect the badges and it works as a little souvenir. Not only Puerto Rican children learn about their own history but also children from all around the world can know about Puerto Rico. From an early age, children can learn the importance of protecting and preserving places like this," said Enmanuel Rodriguez.

With this entertaining and free program for young ones, both adults and children have the opportunity to enjoy this exciting attraction in Old San Juan. For only $15, adults can purchase a day pass that covers the entrance to both forts.

After my expedition through the marveling forts of Old San Juan I hoped on the trolley that would take me to a small street where I was going to have lunch with my classmates. On the trolley, I turned to give one last look at El Morro.

And there it was, surrounded by fields of green were children and their parents flew colorful kites and dozens of visitors explored the place. The more than 400 years construction stood undefeated and proud under the bright Puerto Rican sun.

This last scene captured what El Morro and San Cristobal are: centuries old fortifications that are not only an important part of the island’s history, but their significance goes beyond the documented data. The forts represent the cultural heritage that, for generations, has contributed to proudly make people identify as what they are: Puerto Ricans.


 Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez


 Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez
 

Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez 

Photo by: Juliana Gutierrez

To learn more about San Juan National Historic site visit:
http://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/fort-san-cristobal/

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/el-morro/

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/el-morro/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147320-d149852-r177556712-San_Juan_National_Historic_Site-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html