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

Putting Religion Back In Sunday.

Ponce: Focus on Religion

Traveling from San Juan to Ponce has opened my eyes to the differences in lifestyle around the island. While all places in Puerto Rico possess the same ideas about culture and religion, there are slight variations on these traditions depending on where you go. We arrived in Ponce on a Sunday afternoon. Dr. Subervi, one of our professors based at Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, had explained a brief overview of the towns history and how they identify themselves among the rest of Puerto Rico. They are a very proud city, and according to our tour guide Papo, "they believe Ponce es Ponce, and the rest is just parking." The people of Puerto Rico are predominantly Catholic. This religious association is reflected throughout the land in its architecture, festivals, churches and business hours. Arriving on a Sunday, we were warned that not much hustle and bustle would be found. Business' were closed due to the Sabbath day, or they had early closings. It has become such a law throughout the land, that even finding something to eat can be a hunt and gather process. This dedication to the Catholic faith makes those in the states, including myself, seem mediocre and faithless. According to the religion, Sunday's are to be regarded as a day of worship, focusing only on the LORD and leaving business and material focus for the remaining 6 week days.

My journey for food and entertainment began around 5:00 that Sunday afternoon. I was hoping to find shopping, eateries and local bars to have a few drinks from. While walking around, we realized little to nothing was open. Stopping to ask a police officer where to eat, we received an "it's Sunday" with two options that turned out to also be closed. Finally, we spotted the Remada Hotel. I figured that if anywhere would be open, it would be a restaurant in a commercialized hotel. I was right and we ate in a restaurant named Lola. It was seemingly upscale for the area, but delicious and everything I wanted. I was hoping to find information from the bartender or servers there about potential nightlife in the area. My good friend and fellow student, Kali, and I were sitting at dinner and received two roses from the bartender, courtesy of two gentlemen sitting at the bar. They approached us and we began a conversation. Yovan Murillo is originally from Puerto Rico. He moved to Jacksonville, Florida and is now back living in Ponce. He works in marketing a few days a week. Talking to Yovan, I began to understand the importance of religion in Ponce and its correlation to a "dead nightlife." He gave me a recommendation for a place that might be open on a Sunday night, Hollywood Cafe, which we went to later that evening."In comparison to San Juan, Ponce is quieter, nightlife here is less of a tourist attraction. Our weekends start on Wednesday, so it is pretty quiet other nights," Yovan said. Speaking with him made me also come to the conclusion that a lot of the nightlife during the weekdays was based around family gatherings.