Yesterday was a great day in Old San Juan. Despite a little rain a few minutes before commencement, the 2014 edition of the San Sebastian Street Fiestas started right on time about 5:00pm.
Writing a whole new post about the 2014 San Sebastian Street Fiestas (or SanSe 2014, like the younger crowd has come to call them) would be redundant. So instead I shot this short video that shows the first “comparsa” led by this year’s honoree Mr. Raymond Arrieta.
So give us four minutes of your time and witness the kickoff of “Las Fiestas De La Calle San Sebastián 2014”.
Enjoy Puerto Rico,
©2014,Orlando Mergal, MA
____________________
Bilingual Content Creator, Blogger, Podcaster,
Author, Photographer and New Media Expert
Tel. 787–750-0000, Mobile 787–306-1590
©2014,Orlando Mergal, MA
____________________
Bilingual Content Creator, Blogger, Podcaster,
Author, Photographer and New Media Expert
Tel. 787–750-0000, Mobile 787–306-1590
Very interesting video. This the first time I have witnessed such a celebration. Obviously, a very happy crowd. Ahh! The Plenas. How I miss them. I first heard them when I lived in St. Just. I must have been 5 or 6 years old. The one element missing is the dark skin Puerto Rican. I saw nothing but European types, or light skin if you will. That’s my observation. Just a thought. Blessings.
Thank you Dr. Velázquez for your interesting comments.
You know, it’s funny that you should mention the lack of dark skin Puerto Ricans, because that is one of the things that I criticize the most in many Island publications.
For example, there’s a supplement in “El Nuevo Día” called “Magacín” that only seems to cover high society events attended by white people. So I would have never been expected to be accused of doing such a thing.
The fact is that most of the shots in our video are of the wide angle variety, including a bird’s-eye view that shows the actual length of the parade, so they present the event as it actually happened.
Finally, I have never been one to see Puerto Ricans as white or black. Puerto Ricans are mainly a society of “mulatos” where white, black, Taíno, Arabs, Jews, Chinese and dozens of other cultures have melded together over five centuries to create a unique and marvelous individual called a “Puerto Rican”.
So forgive me if I don’t see the world through these arbitrary looking glasses.