Tour guide services in Puerto Rico - narrative and entertaining walking tours
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Tour guide services in Puerto Rico - narrative and entertaining walking tours |
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Walking and bus tours in Old San Juan and forests in Puerto Rico. |
| Telephone: +1-787-605-9060 Fax: +1-787-946-9060 E-mail: info@legendsofpr.com |
Debbie Molina |
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Leather
craft Ceramic -
Lamps Hammock
weaving Jewelry Jewelry-Sea
Glass Jewelry-Fish
scale Jewelry-Seeds Corozo seed
rings Paintings Painting on
Higuera Landscape painting on native wood Ceramic Ceramic -
corporate Ceramic - Christmas Ceramic -
religious Ceramic -
characters Glass craft Sandblasting More... P |
You must see the thousands of international and local pirates searching for Puerto Rican arts & crafts in Old San Juan. There are 26 types of
craftsmanship made in Puerto Rico. Most of them are functional. In some you may sleep in it (hammock), animate a party (musical
instruments), smoke it (freshly hand rolled cigars), get dressed (bobbin lace,
seed jewelry, “corozo”
seed rings), play with children (toy cars and rag dolls), taste it (native
candy) and the list continues. The
wood carved saints are
the Puerto Rican craft mostly known worldwide.
The low-income families who wished to have a catholic saint in their
homes begun developing this art. They
would carve their saint with a regular knife.
With the pass of time the necessity born to satisfy a religious
belief has been transformed into one of the Island’s most popular hand
crafted art. My hometown of San Sebastián de Las
Vegas del Pepino is known
for the artisans that specialize in hammock weaving.
The “Casa Pepiniana de la Cultura”
organizes the annual Hammock Festival that takes place during the
first weekend of July. We
inherited the art of hammock weaving from our “Taíno” Indians. It is the only Puerto Rican craftsmanship that provides us
the ideal medium to have sweet dreams. It is sad to learn that
some of Puerto Rican arts and crafts are no longer created.
Among the lost ones are the magüey hammock weaving and the straw
hats. Others that are
endangered are the machete’s handles, reed basketry weaving, folk
sponge, fish scale jewelry, paper flowers and folk pottery. Efforts are made to rescue them. The Popular Arts and Arts & Crafts Division
of the Puerto Rican Culture Institute have been involved in the rescue and
conservation process of many traditional craftsmanship that were
endangered. Among the most
important arts & crafts that could be rescued are musical instruments
known as “el cuatro”,
“tiple” and “bordonúa”. In
addition to bobbin lace, “soles”, wood carved saints and masks. More than 7,000 artisans are certified, per life, under the Arts and Crafts Development Program, Puerto Rican Industries division at the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Other artisans practice their craft, but they are not interested in being certified. The law requires that the artisans be certified at PRIDCO, in order to be eligible to participate in their development program and at the festivals. To qualify, the work has to be done with raw material and not use pre-fabricated elements. There are no statistics that indicate how many artisans use their talent as their way of living and how many are active. PRIDCO commenced certifying the artisans during the early 1990’s. Foreigners residing in the Island can be certified as artisans with the condition that they utilize elements of the Puerto Rican culture. The Arts
and Crafts Development Program grants economic incentives to certified
artisans to purchase working materials, machinery and tools that
contribute to the development of arts and crafts in Puerto Rico The Office
for the Arts and Crafts Development manages this program, and sponsors
fairs and workshops for the community. This office is in charge of
facilitating marketing services, training and provides monetary aid for
the artisans’ participation in conferences and seminars workshops and
course fees. The artisans exhibit their work at arts & craft fairs, patron saint festivals, designated tourist areas, crafts centers and private commercial properties. Most of their income is made at the fairs. Three
gigantic fairs are dedicated to this art during the month of July:
The Puerto Rico Tourism Artisan Fair with approximately 300
exhibitions and The Hammock Festival at San Sebastián exhibits
approximately 200. The Barranquitas Artisan Fair is the longest running in
Puerto Rico and exhibits approximately 200 local craftsmen.
During the month of December, The Bacardi Artisan Fair takes place
in Cataño. July
is the month dedicated to the Artisans. The
patron saint festival was originally celebrated as a religious
event. With time, its purpose
became a town party. The Municipalities Administration subcontracts
private companies or individuals to organize the festival.
Part of their duties is to contract the artisans. The
Puerto Rico Tourism Company and the Municipalities Administration of San
Juan have designated public and tourist areas for the artisan to work and
sell their craftsmanship in Old San Juan.
The three places in which you can find artisans during the
weekend all year long are: Dársenas
Plaza, Eugenio María de Hostos Plaza, and The Prince If
you are in the north, visit The Craft Center Melao Melao
administrated by the Culture Department of the Municipality of Vega Baja. While in the south, stop by the Artesanías Tabailba at
Playa Station in Ponce. The
shopping mall Plaza Las Américas is the largest private property
that exhibits art & crafts 7 days a week all year long.
You will have a good bargain when purchasing the craft directly
from the artisan; in addition, you will be sure that you are investing
in an original Puerto Rican arts & craft. The
Puerto Rico Tourism Company has available a free map titled
“Following Puerto Rican Crafts Route”, which is
addressed to people that wish to venture on their own. The general history of Puerto Rico craftsmanship is extensive and the personalized story of each piece adds a spectacular color to our culture. There are two options to study this art: through formal studies or get familiarized through a narrative and entertaining walking tour in Old San Juan.
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Cigars
Needle craft Pottery
Toys Spring top Rag
Dolls
Native candy Musical Instruments African sticks Cuatro Gourd Masks "Vejigantes"
Figures
Loíza Festival Coconut Masks Carvings Animal
carvings Bird
carvings Wood turning Incense
Weaving |
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We are tour guides that offer narrative and entertaining walking tour style in Old San Juan and forests in Puerto Rico.
Listen
to tragic love stories and legends under the Caribbean stars
during the only night-walking tour in Old San Juan. 
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a Modern San Juan - Historical buildings, most visited avenues, food
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