The San Sebastián Street Festival is a Puerto Rican festival that takes place in the

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the Isleta de San Juan, islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, Catedral, Ma ...

, in honor of

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Dioclet ...

,Grupo Editorial EPRL, “San Sebastian Street Festival,” Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico, September 09, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=08120906.Gwenn, “San Sebastian Street Festival: The Party of the Year,” Puerto Rico Day Trips, January 13, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016,http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/san-sebastian-street-festival/.Brujula PR, “Verdadera Tradicion: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian True Tradition: San Sebastian Street Festival” Brujulapr.com, January 15, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.brujulapr.com/verdadera-tradicion-fiestas-de-la-calle-san-sebastian/. celebrated by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on January 20. The event starts the third Thursday of January through Sunday with an attendance of more than 200,000 people, making this activity recognized internationally. The celebration has been introduced in Florida and Texas in the 2010s.Doris Irrizary, “Miami bringing Puerto Rico to its people with Fiesta de la Calle San Sebastian,” AXS, Jan 10, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.axs.com/miami-bringing-puerto-rico-to-its-people-with-fiesta-de-la-calle-san-s-36409.Melvin Felix, “Wynwood’s Puerto Rico Festival,” SouthFlorida.com, January 9, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.southflorida.com/sf-fiestas-calle-san-sebastian-2015-20150109-story.html.

History

The festival was firstly organized by father Juan Manuel Madrazo, the priest of the San José Church in the 1950s,Grupo Editorial EPRL, “San Sebastian Street Festival,” Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico, September 09, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=08120906. with the purpose to commemorate the life of the Saint and to raise money to repair the church.Brujula PR, “Verdadera Tradicion: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian True Tradition: San Sebastian Street Festival” Brujulapr.com, January 15, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.brujulapr.com/verdadera-tradicion-fiestas-de-la-calle-san-sebastian/. When Madrazo was transferred out of San Juan the festival was no longer organized, although, in 1970 the historian and anthropologist Ricardo Alegría proposed to Rafaela Balladares de Brito, a resident of San Sebastian street, to revive this tradition. Since then, with the help of her neighbors, the festival was organized again to collect money for an elementary school directed by

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

The festival today

In Puerto Rico

In the present,

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...

' work acquired more importance, as well as musical and choreographic performances occurring in different stages around the Old San Juan.Brujula PR, “Verdadera Tradicion: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian True Tradition: San Sebastian Street Festival” Brujulapr.com, January 15, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.brujulapr.com/verdadera-tradicion-fiestas-de-la-calle-san-sebastian/. “Cabezudos” now include characters representing the Puerto Rican folklore that traverse the streets dancing and singing followed by the public.Grupo Editorial EPRL, “San Sebastian Street Festival,” Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico, September 09, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=08120906. The municipality of San Juan is responsible in organizing the entire festival, which duration has been extended to four days.

In the United States

In the recent years, the San Sebastián Festival has been celebrated in different areas of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and in DFW, Texas, for one or two days. This has been a result of many Puerto Ricans moving to the United States and wanting to maintain a connection with their typical island traditions. In 2021, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event will be virtual for the first time, and all events will be integrated into one. Doris Irrizary, “Miami bringing Puerto Rico to its people with Fiesta de la Calle San Sebastian,” AXS, Jan 10, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.axs.com/miami-bringing-puerto-rico-to-its-people-with-fiesta-de-la-calle-san-s-36409.Melvin Felix, “Wynwood’s Puerto Rico Festival,” SouthFlorida.com, January 9, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.southflorida.com/sf-fiestas-calle-san-sebastian-2015-20150109-story.html. The festivals are characterized by the presence of “Cabezudos” as well as the Puerto Rican artisan market, and it variety of food and rums and more than 6,000 persons participate.Traigo esta Trulla, Fiestas de la Sanse DFW,” fiestasdelasansedfw.com, November 27, 2018, Accessed November 27, 2018, http://www.fiestasdelasansedfw.com

References

{{Reflist, group="" Grupo Editorial EPRL, “San Sebastian Street Festival,” Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico, September 09, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=08120906. Gwenn, “San Sebastian Street Festival: The Party of the Year,” Puerto Rico Day Trips, January 13, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016,http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/san-sebastian-street-festival/. Brujula PR, “Verdadera Tradicion: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian True Tradition: San Sebastian Street Festival” Brujulapr.com, January 15, 2014, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.brujulapr.com/verdadera-tradicion-fiestas-de-la-calle-san-sebastian/. Doris Irrizary, “Miami bringing Puerto Rico to its people with Fiesta de la Calle San Sebastian,” AXS, Jan 10, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.axs.com/miami-bringing-puerto-rico-to-its-people-with-fiesta-de-la-calle-san-s-36409. Melvin Felix, “Wynwood’s Puerto Rico Festival,” SouthFlorida.com, January 9, 2015, Accessed March 13, 2016, http://www.southflorida.com/sf-fiestas-calle-san-sebastian-2015-20150109-story.html. Traigo esta Trulla, Fiestas de la Sanse DFW,” fiestasdelasansedfw.com, November 27, 2018, Accessed November 27, 2018, http://www.fiestasdelasansedfw.com 1950s establishments in Puerto Rico Festivals established in the 1950s Patronal festivals in Puerto Rico Pages with unreviewed translations Saint Sebastian Saints' days