
Comparsa at Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián. Original cabezudos.
(click on image to see it larger)
The 2025 edition of the world famous “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”, known to many as SanSe 2025, will take place on January 16–19 in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
I must admit that I simply hate that “SanSe 2025” moniker! The actual name of the event is “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”, but marketers have managed to shoehorn the “SanSe” thing into the Island’s collective psyche and it seems to have sticked. Personally, I feel like it diminishes the prestige of an event that’s decades old. But that’s just me. You can call it whatever you want.
And while we’re on the issue of longevity, some argue that the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” only celebrate their 55th anniversary, but in my opinion that’s also wrong. It’s actually their 70th anniversary. You’ll see why in a few paragraphs.
So, why is the “SanSe” term in my title? Simple, because it’s click bait. Yup, I’m guilty! But that’s what the young crowd is going to be searching for. So it needs to be in the title and front loaded into my first paragraph; even if I hate it.
This year my wife Zory and I are going to attend the four-day festival for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic. So I got the latest booster for the Pfizer vaccine just to be on the safe side. After all, what could go wrong at an event that gathers over ¼ of a million people over a loooooong weekend?
This morning I was invited to participate in a local TV program called “Alianza Al Día” where I spoke about “Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián 2025” from the point of view of a long-time participant and observer.
There was a time when Zory and I would attend the fiestas every year to make pictures and videos for our sites Puerto Rico Photography and Puerto Rico By GPS. This year our objective is to update those collections, spend some quality time and get some well deserved R&R.
Many locals refer to the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” as the largest celebrated during the month of January. Well, they are wrong. The other day I even saw a TV ad referring to the “fiestas” as the “largest in the world”. Whoever produced that one was simply ill informed. The “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” are only the largest in Puerto Rico, ‘but they are the best in the world’.
As you might imagine, I’m biased.
To set this issue to rest once and for all —and for the benefit of my fellow Puerto Ricans— the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” gather around ¼ of a million people over a 4 day period. Last year the “Sinulog de Cebú” — a religious event celebrated in the Philippine Islands on the third Sunday of January— brought together over 2 million people.
And that’s just during January. At a worldwide level you have festivities like the Río Carnival in Brazil (49 million people), Octoberfest in Germany (6.7 million), Diwali in India (1 billion), Mardi Gras in New Orleans (1.4 million) and San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain with 1 million, just to name a few. All in all, there are over 20 street festivals around the world that are larger than the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”.
So which is my favorite? The “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”, of course. And why am I telling you all this? Because I believe in accuracy. Hell, my main business operation is called Accurate Communications. We simply can’t go around spreading information that isn’t true! I know that in Puerto Rico there’s a popular saying: “pueblo pequeño, campana grande” (“small town, big bell”), but some things are just misinformation.
Now that the matter of “size” is out of the way, let’s talk about the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”. This year’s edition starts on Thursday, January 16 and extends to Sunday, January 19. On this occasion the honorees will be José Vega Santana (Payaso Remi), a local singer and clown that dedicated his life to working with children after winning the OTI International Song Festival; Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, a track and field olympic gold medalist and boricua rapper Vico C.
The “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” where started back in 1954 by father Juan Manuel Madrazo as a fundraiser for San Jose Church in Old San Juan. Back then the event was a lot simpler with a procession walking up San Sebastián Street. The cabezudos, which pretty much have become the international symbol of the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” didn’t exist either. Instead the procession carried poles with the images of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, king and queen of Spain during the arrival of the Spaniards in Puerto Rico back in 1493.
Father Madrazo celebrated the fiestas until he was transferred to another church. After that the fiestas pretty much died until 1970 when Ricardo Alegría, who directed the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture at the time, asked Mrs. Rafaela Balladares de Brito to reboot the fiestas.

Some people have attended so consistently throughout the years that they have become staples of the event.
(click on image to see it larger)
“Doña Rafaela”, as the “sanjuaneros” used to call her, brought back the event with the help of local artists from the “División de la Comunidad”. Only this time the fiestas became a fundraiser for the “Colegio de Párvulos”, an elementary school near the eastern end of San Sebastian Street that was managed by the Catholic Church and served low income children from San Juan Islet.
The “División de la Comunidad” was an institution created in Puerto Rico in 1949, during the government of Luis Muñoz Marín. Its objective was to reeducate the rural and urban populations of the island, and integrate them into the Island’s economic plan. It also served as a breeding ground for many of Puerto Rico’s most prolific artists and painters.
Many of those painters became the early vendors at the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”. They would simply lean their easels along the walls of the different buildings and sell their creations right there on the street. Today many of those artists are ranked among the best on the Island and their work is on display at prestigious museums both locally and abroad.
So what about the cabezudos? How did they come to be? Well, they were the brainchild of doña Rafaela.
The cabezudos were inspired on figures from the Island’s folklore; not controversial figures or politicians. The first was “El General” a local character that decided one day that he would direct traffic at the corner of San Justo and Comercio streets in Old San Juan. So, he put on a uniform, hung a bunch of medals on his chest and got to work. No one paid him. he wasn’t a municipal employee either. He was just a figure of Old San Juan folklore that stood at the same corner for years.
Other figures that where bestowed the honor of becoming cabezudos were “Don Cholito”, a local comedian and TV personality; “El Coquí”, the small frog that sings in every corner of the Island every night; “Juan Bobo” and “La Puerca”, folkloric characters; “Maximina la Loca”, a lady (from the town of Loíza) who love to dance and wore dozens of a small bowties in her hair; “Toribio”, the best “guiro” player in Puerto Rican history; “La Jíbara”, representing the peasant Puerto Rican woman; “Diplo”, considered by many the best comedian in Puerto Rican history; “Maso Rivera”, Puerto Rico’s best “cuatro” player at the time and Alfonsina Villamonte Vera “La Billetera”, a local lady who used to sell lottery tickets on a corner in Old San Juan.

I shot this image on January 20, 2006 without realizing that I was capturing all the original “cabezudos” except one. From left to right: Don Cholito, El Coquí, La Puerca, Juan Bobo, Maximina La Loca, Toribio, la Jíbara, Diplo, El General and Maso Rivera. Alfonsa Villamonte Vera “La Billetera” died in 2008 and her cabezudo was made later. (click on image to see it larger)
Doña Rafaela was adamant that in order to be bestowed with the honor of becoming a cabezudo you had to be a prominent figure of the Island’s folklore. No controversial or political figures were considered.
In fact, after 28 years of public service as mayoress of San Juan someone proposed making a cabezudo for “doña Fela” (Felisa Rincón de Gautier) and she (doña Fela) refused emphatically.
One little known fact about the cabezudos is that the persons inside are actually children. I’m not quite sure why that is. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the second iteration of “las fiestas” got its start as a fundraiser for the “Colegio de Párvulos”. Who knows.
Every year the celebrations start with a ribbon cutting at the corner of San Sebastian and Barbosa streets. Many personalities gather for the event, including the current mayor, a priest, other government figures and the media.
After the ribbon cutting a “comparsa” dances down San Sebastian Street until they reach the corner of San Sebastián and Cristo streets, in front of San José Church. Several hundred patrons kick off the “comparsa” at one end of the street and several thousand arrive at the other. And, in case you’re wondering, a “comparsa” is a group of people with musical instruments that sing and dance their way throughout the entire street.
“Comparsas” happen several times throughout the four-day weekend and lately they have spread to other parts of the city as well. This has been part of an effort, by the municipal government, to “spread out” the fiestas instead of having everything happen at San Sebastian Street.
I have mixed feelings about that. After all the event is called “Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” (the San Sebastian Street Fiestas). So it stands to reason that they would happen solely on San Sebastian street. But believe me, I participated in several of those original fiestas and I felt like “a canned sardine”. I could hardly move. In fact, on one occasion it took my wife and I over an hour to get from one corner of San Sebastian Street to the next.
And given the fact that we’re living in a post Covid-19 pandemic era, I’m not sure that I’d like to be so close to other people.
Spreading the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” to all parts of the city has had other effects. For one, it has made the event larger. Gone are the days when it was all about artistas (mainly painters) selling their work off the walls of San Sebastian street. Now there are hundreds of artisans everywhere. Especially at the Ballajá military barracks, where the entire center court becomes one giant market with hundreds of vendors.
You can find almost anything at the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”, including art, leatherwork, ceramics, glass, woodwork, books, paintings… you name it! If it has to do with Puerto Rican art, you’ll probably find it at the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”.
And then there’s the food. There are hundreds of street vendors offering every imaginable Puerto Rican dish, drinks and candy. San Juan restaurants also work extra hours during the fiestas. But be advised, they’re usually packed to the rafters during this period. So don’t expect fast service or to linger at your table way past your dessert.
Getting in and out of the city can also be tricky. First, forget about driving in. It’s not going to happen. Old San Juan is basically closed to non-residents during the entire four-day period. The only way in or out is by taxi, Uber or bus, and frankly all three can be a little chaotic at times.
So what do my wife and I do? We park our car at a private parking lot way out in the Santurce or Condado areas and take a bus into Old San Juan. Then, on our way back, we catch whatever is available to get back to our car.
Older people tend to arrive and leave earlier, which makes the whole “transportation” thing easier. But if you’re one of those that stay until the last band plays its last number, be prepared for large crowds all trying to catch a bus at the same time. It’s crazy.
And what about safety? Well, I’m not going to tell you that everything goes on without a snarl. Things have happened in the past. But, like most major events —both in Puerto Rico and in the United States— there’s an increased police presence. And yes, there’s security that you will see and security that you won’t see. All in all, there has never been any major incident at the “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”, and that’s a good thing.
So there you have it. The 2025 edition of “Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” is about to happen, between the 16th and 19th of January and they’re going to be fun! And here’s a final piece of advise. Leave those brand new shoes at home. Instead, put on those old worn-out sneakers that fit you like a glove. Why? Because you’re going to be walking a lot and the last thing you want to do is break in a new pair of shoes. You’ll be crippled the next morning!
Have fun and see you at “Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián”!
©2025,Orlando Mergal, MA
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