Stepping Out

Hello everyone,

This is probably obvious to everyone here, but I've chosen to abandon the blog. It was too much time to keep up with it. That said, I also feel good about what has been accomplished here. I think it's fair to say that this serves as a fairly decent resource where there aren't too many.

If you do have questions that haven't been addressed on here, feel free to shoot me at e-mail at speakingboricua@gmail.com . I don't check it much but I will reply eventually.

Thanks for all the fun on here! I'll leave you with a photo:

Hasta luego!

The day after

As I'm sure we all know, Luis Fortuño will be the next governor of Puerto Rico. Does this mean I get to stop complaining about el cabezón for a little while? Anyways, I thought I'd pass along these great photos petchie has uploaded of election day in Puerto Rico. Almost makes me wish I were there to witness the locura... almost.

Nostalgia...

Click to see it larger...

Photos, Río Piedras: Urbanization meets Nature

I thought I'd share a couple of the photos from yesterday's adventures.


Fruit stand on the corner.


I know everyone hates the strange color choices on the island. Don't ask me why, but I love it. It's "trashy" and I love it.

"yo soy la fokin maravilla y si no te gusta brega k-bron" (plus some other stuff)

Dirty rag by flamboyán...

I love this picture. Who decided to put these two trailers together and leave them in that perfect spot, anyways?

Café Salsa

Que le pongan salsa, Que le pongan salsa, Pa' mojar pa' mojar Que le pongan salsa...

This weekend I went to old town Alexandria to celebrate the 4th. And of course, what do I run into but a whole bunch of Puerto Ricans... including a Puerto Rican restaurant! I could have sworn there weren't any around DC at all.

Of course we had to go. Even if my friend is returning to the island in less than a week.

Café Salsa technically calls itself "Nuevo Latino" cuisine but it mostly draws from Puerto Rican food, plenty of Cuban and a couple other things as well. It's a pretty small place but the food isn't bad. Here come the pictures...





Yum!

About time!

Here are some photos, good although I wish they were larger, of the bombs on Vieques being detonated. Definitely worth a look (and a hurray!).

Short short history: The navy began using Vieques as a training base in WWII, promising to vacate after the war. This didn't actually happen until 2004, when heavy pressure from protesters forced action. Most of the island remains off limits, although if this keeps up perhaps someday this will change.

A Few Current Events: the Eclipse, an Art Collection, and the Teachers' Strike

As everyone probably knows, last night was a lunar eclipse. I found this amazing photo of an eclipse by the faro (lighthouse) in Arecibo and I had to share it!

Also, I just stumbled upon this page with a variety of Puerto Rican art. It's not a collection of my favorites, but there are some that are definitely interesting, particularly those from Campeche and "Goyita" (a friend of mine's mother is nearly identical to the woman in that painting!). Apparently this is a selection of what is up at the Galeria Nacional in Viejo San Juan, in which case I will definitely be going next time I am in the island!

Another thought: I've been eying the news about the impeding teacher's strike but apparently it is more serious than I would have suspected. Apparently 10 protesting teachers have been detained and there have been some injuries. It's really unfortunate that it has to come to this and I really hope that it can be settled soon. If you want more information, a great article (along with a video) can be found here... but it is in Spanish.

San Juan

Nothing to say today, so I'm leaving you with this. I think it says a lot more than I could right now.

Musical instruments of Puerto Rico

What, you didn't think your holiday would go without a present from me?

I thought, in time to finish up the parranda season, I'd do a quick introduction of musical instruments from Puerto Rico.

Pandereta

The pandereta isn't much different from a tambourine, except the one here (which is mine) actually is a tambourine. Oops. Anyways, it's the same except without the bells on the side.

This picture on the right is of the inside. Click for a larger view.

Palitos

If you speak enough Spanish you probably could have guessed what these are. They're simple sticks! You play them by hitting the two ends together. Pretty easy.

Güiro

The güiro was invented by the Taíno, the indigenous people of Puerto Rico. Basically, it is a gourd that is emptied, then left to dry. Grooves are cut into the top, and holes lie underneath for the fingers usually. It's played with what honestly could be a hair pick, which is scraped quickly over the grooved area in both directions. This makes a loud, rich percussion sound.

I'm a big fan of the güiro. It has a beautiful sound and a unique character.

Maracas

Maracas are another Taíno instrument made from gourds. Most people know what maracas are and how to play them so I don't think they deserve much of an explanation.

I will say, however, that these particular maracas on the side here were made by my friend's father from some gourds he picked up. I painted them.

To wrap this all up, here is a short video I made that demonstrates the sounds of each instrument. It's nothing special, and the sound quality is not... ideal, but it helps.

There is an excellent website for learning about Puerto Rican music in both English and Spanish here. I highly recommend it!

Pictures from San Juan -- the beach and Christmas decorations!

My good friend from the island is there now and she went to San Juan to see the beach yesterday. She also got a few shots of the city.

Yeah, the Christmas decorations are still up, of course. I feel just a bit jealous looking at the decorations and the pictures of the beach, neither of which I can find here in the States. As far as most of the U.S. is concerned, Christmas is over and the beach is just too cold!

The beach is el Escambrón, by the way.

Wish you could be there? If you're in luck (or just in NYC), you can. JetBlue has lowered prices for New Years from JFK. Flights to San Juan are $119, and getting to Aguadilla (on the east side of the island) is $109.

Boston, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale also have reduced fares to the island. From Boston it's $99 to get to San Juan. FL is offering flights to Ponce (in the South) for $59 and Orlando's flying to all three mentioned cities for $79.

So what are you waiting for?

Photos of Puerto Rico and Its Beaches

I know, I know, I've been silent. I thought instead I would share some of my photos of the island. I don't really have a nice camera but some of these photos are all right anyways (and I should be upgrading my camera soon, in time for the next trip... whenever that will be).

I hope that by looking at these it'll make the cold easier to bear for those of us in North America!

This photo and the next few are both from Condado, a popular beach for tourists in San Juan.

So blue!

And these are from Seven Seas, in Fajardo.

You should recognize this picture.

You could see through the water, it was really nice... and absolutely no waves!