Vamos Pa’ Las Calles
It’s okay, we’ll skip a year.

Puerto Ricans pride themselves in having the longest Christmas season in the world. If they had the choice, their Christmas vacation would last roughly six weeks, since that is how long Christmas is celebrated on the island. The festivities start right after Thanksgiving, go past Three Kings Day on January 6th, and keep on until the famed Las Calles de San Sebastián in late January. That’s why, among the millions of things college freshmen stress about, for Puerto Ricans going to college abroad, a subtle but pertinent one is wondering if the second semester will start late enough in January so we can all reunite and party at “Las Calles,” the modernized nickname for the weekend-long festival that happens once a year. It’s almost like a Russian Roulette. I personally only left back for school late enough to go to Las Calles once out of my four college years. 

Las Calles originated in the 1950’s as a daytime festival in the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico’s old Spanish Quarter. For decades, the grey-blue cobblestone streets have been filled as far as the eye can see of local artisans and musicians carrying plena drums, trumpets and “panderetas.” And no one could miss the “Cabezudos,” the traditional huge puppet heads that festival performers have always sported to march down the street to traditional Puerto Rican jams. To this day, the Cabezudos and artisans remain, but with a few added benefits (save the fact that it’s nearly impossible to reach the islet by car because of the traffic.) Las Calles has become a sort of Puerto Rican Mardi Gras, rooted in island tradition, but the holiday has evolved into a massive three-day party where high schoolers and retirees alike all revel in the streets, day and night. 

Here’s what the weekend usually looks like. Being truly lucky is having somewhere to stay within the islet of Old San Juan. Start heading there on Thursday afternoon, when what’s normally a ten minute drive could take you up to thirty minutes, towards the end of which you’ll be met with police making sure you’re actually a resident of the islet. If you’re in your twenties you probably won’t head out until later that night, but your first stop will surely be Don Pablo to get "Papajac,” an infamous passion fruit punch so sugary you dangerously forget it actually has alcohol in it, not to mention that it comes in a loaded twenty ounce cup. Now, gripping your Papajac on a raised hand to avoid spillage, the other clutching your friend’s hands so you don’t get separated by the massive crowd, you make your way towards one of many town squares, this one on a steep street, between the hotel El Convento and what used to be a children’s museum. That’s where the cool kids hang out. There’s really only two reasons to step away from it the rest of the night: Jellyfish Shots at a nearby bar or my preferred reason, buying Puerto Rican fritters, or “fritanga” at another town square. 

You may ask, have you turned a lovely island tradition into solely a reason to party? Don’t fret, we do the best of both worlds! There’s an entirely different routine during the day. You spend it walking around between crowds nearly as big as the night before but rather than buying Papajacs, you visit local artisans and buy ceramics, maybe get your hair beaded and eat some more fritanga. You catch a break by sitting on the grass of El Morro, the grand fortress on the edge of the islet, and watch children and adults fly kites all day. 

This year we’re all unlucky. Even hearing about past massive crowds doesn’t feel right. Las Calles are a huge source of income for Old San Juan, who has been hit hard financially since hurricane María in 2017, and its merchants are most definitely the most unlucky. Puerto Rican Christmas is a huge part of our identity and while Las Calles may be postponed–2020 sugarcoating for cancelled–and celebrations will be at a significantly smaller scale, we know how to make even small celebrations joyful and meaningful (and we’ll never downsize on how much food is served.) Anyone who is aware of the events Puerto Ricans have had to overcome in just the last three years knows that besides having the longest Christmas, we have the most resilient people too. So while we may not have Las Calles this year, we’ll step out for those who need us any way we can.