“Mouth watering pinchos and fresh fruit”

by: Katylee Strange

Photos: Top-The fruit cup I bought at a stand in the plaza of Juana Diaz. Middle- The pincho stand in Juana Diaz "Three King Festival." Bottom- Pincho de pollo with plantains.

Today I visited the city of Juana Diaz in breathtaking Puerto Rico. Every year on January 6^th in the city of Juana Diaz is the final and largest parade of “Three King Festival.” It is where the festival started in 1884 and where the parade of the three kings ends each year. The town is filled to the brim with people who are engrossed in the open air mass or waiting in lines that spiral and loop for what seems like yards to get the authentic Puerto Rican dishes. The food vendors deep-fry and grill all types of meat and vegetable for their many different dishes. The food is served on everything from buns to skewers. The food that I tried were so mouth wateringly delicious that I will never forget the succulent barbeque flavored chicken that burst with juices as you maneuvered to eat it off the kabob or the sweet crunch of the deep fried plantains. In the future, I would travel all the way back to Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico during the festival for the pinchos de pollo. At the festival I also had the privilege of trying some hand cut fruit. The second I bit into the ripe pineapple or better known in Puerto Rico as pina. The luscious diced fruit juice trickled down my throat it was so moist. I felt like I was drinking the fruit it was so juicy. The food at the festival was like none other, fresh and flavorful that I will never forget the parade and crafts let alone the melt in your mouth authentic Puerto Rican food.