For me, a new Puerto Rico

by Ajia I. Meux

My birthday, San Juan 2013
Photo Credit: Ajia Meux

I went to Puerto Rico in 2013, for my thirty-fifth birthday. We rented a villa which sat directly on a beach, rented a car and partied in old San Juan. That was my plan – to drink, beach and eat with friends and my trip went exactly according to plan.

When I returned to PR in January of 2017, having read When I was Puerto Rico by Esmeralda Santiago, I landed with a completely different perspective of the island. Santiago’s descriptive narrative of parts of Puerto Rico that I never even thought to think of resonated the most during this class experience. Her descriptions were so vivid that I had a running account of her life and what it meant to be in Puerto Rico from a native person’s perspective. Her account of standing on the side of the road, in the rain, I imagined what it was like when there were no highways with American signage. I imagined being a teenager in my own country and having an imperialistic experience – being aware that things were changing around me, having no control and no explanation. I imagined the constant power struggle of a person caught between being an adult and a child.

Three Kings Day Festival, Juana Diaz, P.R., 2017

Photo Credit: Ajia Meux

Santiago’s book and the trip back to PR gave me a new perspective of a place known primarily for its food, music and beaches. I have become a tour guide, of sorts – offering suggestions on places outside the norm to visit. Where you can have an “authentic” Puerto Rico experience, like one can get in Caguas or Ponce. Or the enormity of Three Kings Day. I’m excited for my third time back, when I can rent a car and navigate El Yunque by myself.

Contact Information:

Ajia I. Meux

ajiameux@ou.edu

www.tallandloud.com

Connecting with Others

By: Heather Ricchi

Growing up in a Christian home my faith has always been extremely important to me. I had no idea that studying abroad in Puerto Rico and learning about the five pillars of tourism would allow me to learn about an attraction that is treasured by Puerto Ricans, and is extremely important to their faith.

The Three Kings parade is a historic festival has been celebrated in this tiny Puerto Rican town for the past 133 years, and across Christendom for millennia. Getting to experience this event was incredible and my favorite part of my study abroad experience in Puerto Rico. Walking into the festival I was a little overwhelmed at first by the celebration and music surrounding a crowd of swarming people in the streets. I did not know that this event was so important to Puerto Ricans, but I soon learned that this festival brought Puerto Ricans that lived in the Unites States back to Puerto Rico to celebrate. This celebration allowed me to really feel as if I were a local for the day. At this festival I got to worship our amazing God with people who I had never met before. This was a memory that I will never forget. Looking back on my experience at the Three Kings Celebration I am amazed that I got to study and learn about a famous Puerto Rican tradition, but at the same time I got to express my Catholic faith with others. Getting to connect with the people at the festival that share the same religion as me was remarkable.

People from all over the world travel to Puerto Rico to experience the Three Kinds Parade.

                Authentic Puerto Rican cuisine can be bought at the Three Kings Celebration.

                      Excitement filled the streets as King Gaspar walked in the parade. 

Links:

https://www.whychristmas.com/story/wisemen.shtml

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/three-kings-2012/

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

Contact Information: 

Email: Heather.a.ricchi10@ou.edu

Phone: 214-551-2715

Twitter: @heatherricchi4
Facebook: @heatherricchi
Instagram: @heatherricchi

“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.

The Exquisiteness of a People

The Exquisiteness of a People

Zaina Al Ghabra

January 12, 2010

Waking up at the crack of dawn in order to leave a place of joy, beauty and history wasn’t easy. As excited, as we all were to get home to our pets, our beds and our daily routines, a feeling of sadness remained lurking deep within us. Before embarking on this journey, I expected to encounter only feelings of happiness and fun and come across beautiful beaches and beautiful people. However, leaving Puerto Rico, I feel as though I have really gotten to know her, her insecurities, her pain and her long history, which are masked with happiness, beauty, nature, music and pride.

First and foremost, most people visiting the Island are unaware of the intrinsic nature of its evolving history. The Puerto Rican people are not strangers when it comes to stories of war, and fighting for justice in the name of their land and their roots. When the United States of America won Puerto Rico from the Spanish in 1898 that was only the beginning of an agenda to wipe out Spanish as a language and as a culture. However, the Puerto Ricans, so proud of their heritage and roots which involve a mixture of Taíno, African, Spanish, European and even Middle Eastern, fought long and hard to keep their culture alive. After all, this fusion of cultures is what truly makes a Puerto Rican a Puerto Rican.

Like any other tourist, of course we visited the beautiful beaches and the amazing wonder of the rainforest. Adding on to the Islands mystical beauty was the bioluminescent bay, where we kayaked through mangroves in darkness, our paths only lit by the magnificent stars above us. What makes this bay so unique is the amount of dinoflagellates (a plankton) that is present in the bay, thus creating a sparkle of stars when you inject your hand into the water. According to the website of the bay, “Imagine a lagoon full of Tinkerbells fairy dust! Pure magic, the experience is actually indescribable.”

However, beneath all the fascinating things the Island offers, I found myself first identifying with the people at the Three Kings Festival, where everyone played a role in the parade and the aftermath of the celebration. People were unified, expressing the love of their culture while commemorating the Three Kings. Being from Palestinian descent, I felt a level of nationalism and pride that I thought only existed amongst the Palestinian people. The amount of emotion expressed at this parade was overwhelming and therefore, I felt as though I had bonded not only with the people, but also with Puerto Rico.

Approaching our final days, we visited the Island of Vieques, where we learned about the injustices enforced on the people living here. The US navy has been using this Island as a location to practice tactical military operations. Besides the fact that the people here were forced to relocate from the outskirts of the Island to the center of the Island, they are constantly living with sounds of bombs exploding, rattling doors and dangerous chemicals floating in the air. More so, due to all the chemical radiation, the amount of sickness and disease spreading on this Island is far greater than any other city or Island in Puerto Rico. Watching a short video composed by students who visited Vieques, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion. Seeing the Puerto Rican people protesting wholeheartedly against the injustices they faced, paralleled with the struggle of the Palestinians.

Being able to identify with the Puerto Rican people was perhaps the finest experience I gained on this astonishing Island. My story does not end here, this may have been the first time I visit Puerto Rico, but it definitely won’t be the last.