02 Aug “Pinta tu historia”

Last week, LHIPsters celebrated Latino Conservation Week, and for the San Juan National Historic Site it was the first one ever and hopefully, the beginning of a series of events that could take place in the future to bring more people to the park. Local Puerto Ricans usually skip San Cristóbal Castle when visiting the park, and instead they go to San Felipe del Morro Castle. Isn’t Latino Conservation Week an excellent opportunity to change that? I decided to celebrate the history of the park and how it inspires us to manifest ourselves through artistic expressions. I invited local artist José I. Félix García, who has a project titled Reconstrucción Histórica y Conceptualización A Través del Arte, in which he aims to reinterpret different parts of the Puerto Rican history (including the park) through his vision and artwork. The event, named”Pinta tu historia”, took place in the afternoon of Sunday 23rd at the main plaza of San Cristóbal Castle. We arranged a series of tables along the plaza with paint materials for people to paint and express their art in the castle.  We had adults and children painting and enjoying that beautiful afternoon at the park! After they painted, they had the option to stick their paintings into a wall to create a collective piece of art. After the paintings, we had a musical performance from the group Bomba Pal Pueblo. They played traditional bomba songs and incorporated the public into their dancing. We had so much fun! Definitively, Latino Conservation Week event at San Juan National Historic Site was an excellent opportunity to do something artistic and different, and connect it to the history of the park. I’m glad about the feedback I have received and I know visitors enjoyed their afternoon at the park.