Recent Stories

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Inside the Santa Bárbara Battery of Fort San Felipe del Morro, more commonly known as El Morro, a fragment of a U.S. artillery shell can be seen lodged in the domed ceiling of an old tower. While the fragment, fired during the Spanish-American War by U.S.Read More…

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Aida Maria de Ayala de Sevilla begins her tours with a caveat: “my tour is not a tour. It is a confession.” A confession of four walls and nearly 500 years of history and cultural identity. The terraced garden that surrounds Casa Blanca provides a peacefulRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.—Old San Juan, built on the roughly two-mile long barrier island that protects San Juan’s harbor from the Atlantic Ocean, is the second-oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. Discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 and settled by Juan Ponce de León in 1508,Read More…

SAN JUAN, P. R. — With about 80 percent of its tourists coming from cruise ships, visitors to Old San Juan often act like they’re in a rush to see as much as possible in one day. The old city’s seven square blocks are framed by its city walls andRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.— As Javier Soler sat on the plane heading home to San Juan, memories of his younger years in Puerto Rico filled his mind. He remembered learning about the Coquí frog in school and understanding its importance within his community. He also remembered going away to college andRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.— A vacation in Puerto Rico most likely conjures up images of lounging in a hammock, tropical drink in hand, and listening to rolling waves crash against the shore. While this is perfectly acceptable behavior of anyone spending leisure time on a tropical island, the lack of movementRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.—Looming 145 feet above sea level, the impregnable walls of San Juan’s forts San Cristóbal and San Felipe del Morro rise sharply above Puerto Rico’s rocky Atlantic shoreline. At 18 to 25 feet thick, the 3.4 miles of walls that connect the two forts and once encircled theRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R. — There once was an European navigator and explorer who dreamed big. His voyages during the 15th century across the Atlantic Ocean led him to a sleepy, sun-scorched island in the northeastern Caribbean, then called Boriken by its indigenous inhabitants. But where the Taíno Indians saw aRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Walking between El Morro and San Cristóbal forts in Old San Juan, visitors are transported back to a more idyllic time nearly a half-millennium ago. The masons of the San Juan National Historic Site (SJNHS) work up a sweat everyday to ensure that this historical atmosphereRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R. — “Now you see, there’s a trick to it,” said Jose Bastian with a smirk on his face. He gripped the massive wooden pestle and started twisting it and digging it into the crushed brick, water and lime mixture to form the pasty mortar solution. The sunRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.—Dressed in white linen uniforms made to the precise specifications of the 18th century Spanish military code, volunteer members of the recreated 1797 Fixed Regiment of Puerto Rico wiped away beads of sweat as they stood at attention in the courtyard of Fort San Cristobal under the relentlessRead More…

SAN JUAN, P.R.—  Act one opens with a couple dressed in simplistic white costumes that flow with every step, sensually moving against a stark black background with dramatic instrumentals, weaving in, out and around each other.  The stage is partitioned into three sections, and the initial couple remains in theRead More…