Juana Diaz Three King's Parade

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 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.

1.     http://www.reyesdejuanadiaz.com

2.     http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g2062746-Juana_Diaz_Puerto_Rico-Vacations.html

3.     http://gopuertorico.about.com/od/eventsandholidays/tp/The-History-And-Meaning-Of-Three-Kings-Day-In-Puerto-Rico.htm

4.     http://www.elboricua.com/losreyes.html

5.     http://www.houseofpuertorico.com/dia-reyes.html

“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.

Remember to Enjoy the View

By Kali Carter

On the first day of fall classes, one of my professor's told my magazine class about the trip to Puerto Rico. I took the class with one of my sorority sisters, who I didn't know much about at the time. Immediately, Lauren and I told ourselves we would go on the trip together, and have the winter break of a lifetime. To be honest, I don't think either of us really thought we would follow through, but planning the trip and talking about our adventure brought us closer.

Since I was five years old, I have always been that girl who holds back if I know one other person in a group. For some reason, I always tend to let loose or act on my own when I don't know anyone around. Overall, I am a very outgoing person. I say what I think and I think that quality is often appreciated by others. On one hand, though, I am reserved. On the other, I am wild and free. Around certain groups of people, I'm quiet; Around others, I'm not. I couldn't tell you why I am different around people, because no matter how I act, I stay true to myself and I act the way I feel in each moment. Before studying abroad in South America last summer, I didn't know anyone. From the moment I arrived, I was exactly the person I wanted to be. I talked, I laughed, I made jokes, and most importantly, I didn't hold anything back. My close friends from the trip are still my good friends to this day. It was the experience of a lifetime, and I thought nothing would ever come close to topping it... Until now that is.

The Puerto Rico experience is a different story. This time, I had a friend. I expected a two week vacation filled with laying on the beach and finding the hippest nightspots. I thought having Lauren around might keep me from branching out, and it some ways, that was true. Overall, though, having her around pushed me to try new things and get out of my comfort zone in ways I might not have done otherwise.

From the first time we met at our pre-departure class back in Norman, it was clear every person in the group was unique and different. We were all different ages, we all had different interests, but we had one thing in common: we were branching out. One thing I know for certain is no matter what your age and no matter your background, trying new things and leaving your comfort zone is always a challenge. At first glance, an outsider would never think this group could become a family. I guess it's a good thing we weren't outsiders.

A few days into our trip, we went to the Puerto Rican rainforest, El Yunque. After hiking a distance, we approached a magnificent waterfall. Most of the girls were brave enough to swim under the waterfall, which is definitely one of my life's greatest moments thus far. In a weird way, that experience brought us together. That afternoon, we went to our graduate assistant's apartment in Luquillo Beach. We grilled food on her rooftop, and swam in the water at one of Puerto Rico's most beautiful beaches. Overall, it was one of those absolutely perfect days. Those days only children dream about, before they grow up and realize what a complicated world this is. It was one of those days written about in fairy tales, filled with innocence and magic. Everyone was happy. By this point, we barely knew each other, but there was no one else in the world we would have rather been with in those moments.

Although I can easily recite 50 facts about Puerto Rico thanks to Dr. Subervi's oral exam, I'm not sure how long I'll retain that information. I could easily sit here and tell everyone reading this blog that El Yunque gets roughly 200 inches of rain per year. I could tell everyone that four million people live in Puerto Rico, and that over two million of those people live in the San Juan metropolitan area. I could tell everyone that Ponce is known as the city of lions, but it wouldn't matter to them. Most people who read this do not care about the facts, because that's something they will forget. I, too, will eventually forget the facts, but I will always have my memories.

My memories include New Years Eve, which was by far everyone in the group's best New Year's Eve to date. My memories include El Yunque, and kayaking through the bioluminescent bay. My memories include Luquillo Beach, and the three kings day parade in Juana Diaz. My memories include our last night in Puerto Rico, and everyone coming out with me at midnight to celebrate my 21st birthday.

Although the schoolwork took its toll, I definitely came away with a better knowledge of a culture, both similar and different than my own. My friendship with Lauren became stronger, and I formed bonds with everyone else in the group. I am so grateful for all of my experiences over the past two weeks, and the trip turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I enjoyed all the people I was lucky enough to meet, because they truly are what made the experience worthwhile. After all, the journey means nothing if you have no one to share it with.



I have traveled all my life, and as an aspiring travel writer, I can say for certain this trip will not be my last. Each experience is its own, and not at all comparable to any journey that occurs either before or after. I will always have fond memories of my time in Puerto Rico, and I feel so privileged to know everyone who was a part of it. I know we will all go our separate ways from here, but for two weeks, we were a family, and no one can ever take that away from us. I will always care deeply for everyone on the trip, and I look forward being a part of everyone's lives as we look forward to the many adventures that await us.

Of God and Mofongo

By Marisa Mohi, true believer

I’m not a religious person. God, for me, has always been more of a question or intangible possibility than an absolute. My views have evolved throughout my life. I’m no longer so devoutly agnostic as I once was whilst growing up in the conservative safe haven that is Edmond, Oklahoma. The further I get from the people shouting at me that alcohol is a sin and educated women are tools of the devil, the more I can envision a god.

For the past few years, as I have gone through graduate school, everyday I’m overcome with intense feelings of love and gratitude for the place and person I am today. I have never felt so comfortable and content in my entire life. The further I get away from the city I grew up in, the more convinced I am that there is a god out there, just not the one in Edmond that wanted me to fry.

I don’t mean to bring up a controversial topic. I’m a good country girl and I know better than to talk about religion or politics in polite company. And I know this all seems wholly irrelevant to Puerto Rico. But I’m getting there.

I’ve always been terrified of water. Pools, lakes, ponds, and stagnant mosquito-ridden puddles used to make my blood run cold. I’m not a strong swimmer, I’ve never looked good in a swimsuit, and my family isn’t the type to pack up and go to the lake. Up until my trek to Puerto Rico, I had only seen the ocean once before.

On New Year’s Day, I stepped off the sand on the beach in Luquillo and made my way into the waters of the Atlantic for the first time. I didn’t swim much, and I found out that I wasn’t good at boogie boarding, but I did wade out a little and experienced real waves for the first time.



Before this day, I had been feeling intensely homesick. I was the furthest from my family that I had ever been, and I was surrounded by a class of near-strangers. But when I stared out at the waves, I didn’t really care anymore. I finally was beginning to understand why so many people love the ocean, an entity that used to terrify me.

As the days wore on in Puerto Rico, we were so busy that many of us lost track of time and couldn’t really tell you what day of the week it was. Some complained of missing their boyfriends or girlfriends, or wanting to see their family. While I did miss my family, I really didn’t have any desire to go back. Even now, as I sit on my couch staring out the window at the dreary gray deathscape that is winter, I think that I could definitely go back.

It’s not just the ocean or the white sand beaches though. I think it was the people there too. There were so many people constantly surrounding us in San Juan that I initially felt scared. I had never been to such a big city before. As we ventured away from San Juan to cities like Ponce and Juana Diaz, I began to feel less like an outsider. Though my Spanish is still the Spanish of a public high school classroom, I still felt like I could make my way through Puerto Rico.

So, my initial reason to take this course was to get away from my family and see the world in order to become a better writer. I’m not sure if my writing has gotten any better, but I definitely have a new perspective on my surroundings. I think seeing a place unlike your home forces you to consider new ideas and makes you adjust your opinions just a little. Going into this trip, I thought that I would always live in Oklahoma. Graduate, get a job here, and finally raise a family. After this class, though…I’m thinking there might be some other things for me on the horizon. I now have places to go and a to-do list to go along with them.

So what does all this have to do with my imaginings of a celestial being? Well, maybe nothing. Or maybe everything. I am thankful that I was able to go on this class trip. I am thankful that I had the experiences I did—sleeping on a beach, hiking through a rainforest, swimming in a waterfall, standing on an 800-year old tree, seeing more neoclassical/Spanish revival architecture than I could even recognize, eating fresh pineapple on the side of the road, seeing a religious festival and standing in the middle of it…



And even now, as I wallow in flannel pajamas, I can almost still feel the ocean and how it felt to be hit by a wave for the first time. It was a whirlwind two weeks to say the least. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I became content with just going with the flow. I stopped missing my home. I didn’t care that I was sleep deprived. I welcomed a dish called mofongo with open arms. In all of this, I would say there is more than just a tincture of grace. This opportunity to travel, the experiences I’ve had, and the new friends I’ve made—these are all things I would call blessings.

Did I find religion in Puerto Rico? Nope. But some of the feelings that I’ve come to over the years have been reinforced. And maybe for a once-staunch agnostic, seeing the ocean and riding the wave of travel is a good first step.