Explore Paradise The Smart Way!!!
Are you sick and tired of the freezing cold, shovelling snow and being trapped inside? Or maybe it’s the opposite situation: it’s 125° outside, your air conditioner just can’t keep up and —once again— you’re sick and tired of being trapped inside. Did you know that there’s a place, just off the eastern coast of the United States, where the Continue reading…
Today we’re going to talk about Caguas, Puerto Rico, “centro y corazón de Puerto Rico” (center and heart of Puerto Rico). Well, let’s just set the record straight, I’m all for motivation and “pepper uppers” but, for those of you visiting from the mainland, the geographical center of Puerto Rico is actually in the “Pellejas” ward of the town of Continue reading…
Old San Juan is one of those wonderful places that people pay a small fortune to visit and I have it for free. Why? Because it’s 12 ½ miles away from my home. And it’s beautiful. That’s God’s honest truth. When my children were kids (they’re all now in their 30’s) I took them so many times to Old San Juan Continue reading…
Puerto Rico has one of the longest Christmas seasons in the world. It starts on Thanksgiving day and ends with “las octavitas”. These are the eight days that follow “Three Kings Day”, which takes place on January 6. Another event that usually coincides with “las octavitas” is “Las Fiestas De La Calle San Sebastian” (The San Sebastian Street Fiestas), which Continue reading…
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Marketers have known this for years. And it goes for good and bad ones (first impressions, that is). So, if this is the case, and we’re all on the same page on this basic marketing principle, why do we see so many poor images both in digital and printed Continue reading…
Millions of habitual tourists have decided to stay close to home or even stay put altogether. Can you blame them? It’s called virtual tourism. According to “Recommend” magazine only 44% of Americans are planning leisure travel in 2020. Of those, 81% will take a day trip and 72% expect to take overnight vacations. Most importantly, the overwhelming majority don’t expect Continue reading…
We need to repave Old San Juan. It’s overdue and the city is falling apart. We also need to convert Old San Juan into a pedestrian city. So here’s a 10 step plan to do just that. My name is Orlando Mergal. Think of me as a guy with a camera, a computer and the Internet. I’ve been visiting Old San Continue reading…
Last Monday my wife and I got up early. I was going to shoot a couple of buildings in Cabo Rojo for a New-York-based customer. The idea was to catch the sunrise, so we got up at 3:00am and had left by 4:00am. By seven we had shot both buildings, had breakfast and were on our way to the coastal Continue reading…
Driving in Puerto Rico has always been hectic. Road conditions on the Island are in a deplorable state due to the depression (yes, the correct word is depression, because there’s no such thing as a 10-year recession) that has affected the U.S. territory for close to a decade. Throw in the way many Puerto Ricans drive like maniacs and it’s Continue reading…
Twenty-seven years ago, in the balmy month of June, a group of virtuoso musicians from Puerto Rico and abroad got together to honor cuban saxofonist Paquito D’Rivera and raise money for the Inter-American University’s Jazz Program. The event took place at Plaza Dársenas in Old San Juan. Throughout the years the event has taken place at other venues including the Sixto Continue reading…