by John Roberts
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Tue January 24, 2017
Photo by John Roberts
The streets were unusually crowded. Old Town San Juan gets busy when cruise ships arrive, and Norwegian Gem and Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas certainly had dumped a lot of people into the town, but this was something else.
The streets and neighborhoods had a pulsating vibe. The residents and tourists alike were out in full force. Wandering the town, we noticed lines at food trucks and pop-up eateries. People and music spilled out of the normally sedate cantinas that line the narrow streets.
Finally, a parade materialized almost instantaneously, and we found ourselves enveloped by the rambunctious revelry. Going with the flow, we bounced to the rhythm and slapped high-fives with smiling island residents in the procession before we ducked out to grab a beer and stake out a better view of all the action.
Sipping on our cold Magna brews and enjoying the warm evening breezes, we learned about the annual San Sebastian Festival, a four-day celebration filled with music, food and other entertainment. And we had fortunately arrived in the middle of it all, a serendipitous turn on our trip to San Juan.
Heading back into the streets, we found live entertainment at each town square, throngs dancing to DJs and live musicians strumming out tunes as couples twirled under the moonlit skies.
San Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr. He is celebrated because he refused to renounce his faith and was put to death by a Roman emperor in 287.
The San Juan street festival has been held since 1970 and is known as San Se. The party, which draws more than 200,000 attendees, begins each year on the third Thursday in January, and aside from the nightly music and dancing, you'll find plenty of food and drink, of course. Try Puerto Rican favorites like mofongo, frituras (fried foods: bread, fish, lobster and shrimp) or empanadas and wash it down with a pina colada or cold beer.
While the narrow streets of San Juan can get crowded during the festival, you can always find your way to a more open area if you are feeling too cramped and hot (it's always warm in San Juan). The people are exceedingly friendly and welcoming. I can't count how many smiles we saw and how many times we were encouraged to join in the singing and dancing (as the night wore on, I'm certain a lot of this had to do with the amount of beer and rum being consumed).
Even so, it's best to stick to the main streets (you'll also notice a beefed-up police presence for the festival). If you want to enjoy the festival with your family and kids and prefer shopping and strolling to the raucous partying, attend during the day before it gets too wild.
I found San Juan's San Sebastian Festival to be a blast and a fantastic way to connect with the people who live and work in this popular destination. Next time, though, it won't be a surprise; attending will actually be part of the plans.
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