Falling in Love with Puerto Rico... Again

I’d desperately hoped to visit Puerto Rico for a long time. My spouse and I were excited to honeymoon in San Juan in 2018, but Hurricane Maria had other plans. I had been ravenous to travel again after the pandemic, and I finally reached the Island of Enchantment in 2022 with Cait, one of my best friends and go-to travel companions. The island defied every expectation I had for it, and left me eager to return.

Travel is inherently political. As a queer, non-binary traveler, my world-weary spirit needed a place to land during the latest presidential inauguration, so I leapt at an opportunity to travel back to Puerto Rico with Cait. Other than Walt Disney World, there is no place I’ve seen as brilliantly technicolor as this island. Life doesn’t feel as heavy there — even on Inauguration Day.

Few experiences capture the uniqueness of Puerto Rico quite like Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián. Reminiscent of Mardi Gras — with less flashing and fewer thrown beads — the festival has a stronger religious focus.

What began in the 1950s as a way to raise funds for the revitalization of San José Church has blossomed into a massive annual celebration. In the third week of January, in conjunction with the Feast of Saint Sebastian, hundreds of thousands of people cram into Old San Juan for the revelry. Cram is not an exaggeration — we were sardines in a can swimming upstream through the narrow city streets.

The tantalizing smell of bacalaitos (cod fritters) wafts from street to street, mingling with the artisan markets and aisles full of vibrant artwork. Some of the most fascinating displays are the vejigante masks which emerge en masse for the festival. A demon of Puerto Rican folklore, Vejigante looks like the cross between a jester and a long-snouted coyote. Translating to “bladder giant” in English, these characters traditionally whack people with inflated cow bladders — I guess you shouldn’t piss these guys off. 

Evening parades full of these iconic characters divide the calmer daytime festivities from the carousing crowds after nightfall, and music floats all over Old San Juan. This year, there were rumors that Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny would show up as a surprise guest — sadly, we had no such luck. 

Outside of the city, it’s easier to find a local celebrity: 30 minutes from San Juan is Loíza, a coastal town known for its rich Afro-Puerto Rican culture with the largest Black population on the island. There, tucked away off the main road and nestled among fruit trees is Samuel Lind’s home and art gallery.

In Loíza, we were greeted by hungry chickens before being whisked away into Lind’s colorful world. Awash in greens and blues, many works were dedicated to the magic of nature. A massive, octagonal painting of Mother Nature mesmerized me. Crouched close to the ground, the beautiful figure is poised to give birth to life as we know it. She is a valuable reminder that life is precious, especially on an island where nature is all the more vulnerable. 

Back in San Juan, there is one spot I will never fail to visit — Parque de las Palomas. Pigeon Park is magical if you’re a big pigeon fan like I am. Visitors can buy food from the stand and experience a deluge of birds descending around them, or can simply stroll around admiring pigeons’ feathers and taking photos. Two of the three times I’ve been there, a pigeon perched on my shoulder. A warning: there is a chance of getting pooped on, but it’s said to bring good luck!

Luckily for me, Cait tolerates my adoration of every pigeon in sight. We’re also equally obsessed with Puerto Rican cuisine, especially if it means splitting a sampler platter at Deaverdura in Old San Juan or toasting with a couple of Piña Coladas from the Caribe Hilton Hotel, often credited as their birthplace. 

This time, our culinary experiences were life-changing. Dinner at the eponymous Mario Pagán Restaurant, run by one of the island’s finest chefs, re-taught me something I strive for in every adventure — don’t count out any food items! I was told that the Black Chilean Sea Bass was the finest dish on the menu, but since that fish is not my favorite dish, I almost passed on it. Ultimately I decided to give it a try, and it was the finest fish I have ever eaten — succulent with just a hint of pan-seared buttery crunch. I would eat it for every meal if I could. There are always surprising pockets of joy to be found: we don’t always know where that joy will find us, but we have to be prepared to accept it. 

If you’re lucky, you’ll have an opportunity to visit a place that enraptures you, beckoning you to return. Something about it speaks to the language of your soul, becoming an escape from the rest of the world. To me, Puerto Rico is one of those places. Its cascade of color — buildings in every hue lining the rolling hills of Old San Juan — ignites something in me. Known as La Isla del Encanto, or The Island of Enchantment, it makes the rest of the world feel like a classic film subsisting in the black and white. 

When I departed Puerto Rico, I knew going home meant returning to the real world and all the stressors that come with it. The island offered what I needed when I needed it most — a welcome reprieve from political stressors. Much wine was consumed. More than that, life was lived. In a time when my very existence is considered invalid, there is no better rebellion than that.

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