|
Para ver este documento en
español, oprima aquí.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
What's Doing in San Juan
by John Marino
January 31, 1999
©Copyright 1999 The New York Times
Sanjuaneros have been through a lot in recent months, starting
with Hurricane Georges in September, followed by weeks of thunderous
downpours and then agrueling political campaign culminating in
a referendum in December that only served to show how deeply divided
Puerto Ricans are over their future.
But the sun has been out since Christmas, and the winner of
the referendum was "none of the above." And with few
exceptions, Puerto Rico's capital city has recovered from Hurricane
Georges.
With the exactness of finger snap, San Juan's weather takes
a turn for the better in mid-December, as the rainy season disappears
into the dry, bright afternoons of winter. There's a clear light
in San Juan at this time of year. It enhances the blues of water
and sky along San Juan's beaches, which stretch from Condado all
the way out to undeveloped Piñones, and turns iridescent
in Old San Juan as it bounces from the sandstone facades of historic
fortresses and chapels, and splashes across the pastel sides of
old houses.
Hurricane Georges barreled straight through Puerto Rico, riding
its mountainous spine as it laced both the north and south coasts
with its high winds and heavy rains, leaving no part of the island
untouched. But San Juan has largely repaired itself; even the
huge banyan tree on Plaza de Hostos in Old San Juan, between the
Banco Popular headquarters and the waterfront, which was flattened
by Georges, has been pruned and replanted. It has been given a
50 percent chance for survival, and the domino players are back
in its shade on lazy afternoons.
There are some notable exceptions to the general recovery:
the University of Puerto Rico's botanical gardens in Río
Piedras and the gardens surrounding the Casa Blanca, the home
of Puerto Rico's first governor, Juan Ponce de León. Both
have suffered serious damage to plants and trees and both are
still closed. A few hotels remain shut, including the Radisson
Normandie and the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, making moderately
priced rooms scarcer.
Another legacy of Georges is the scarcity of plantains. Some
Puerto Rican delicacies that use them, like mofongo and pasteles,
may be hard to find. Georges wiped out not only Puerto Rico's
crop but also much of the crop in the neighboring Dominican Republic,
while Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of the Central American supply
a few weeks later.
Events
Baseball fans can get a winter fix at the Caribbean World
Series, Tuesday to Sunday at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Avenue and Las Américas Expressway. Two games
a day will take place between the champions from winter professional
leagues in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and
Mexico. Tickets: $10 for general admission. Box seats for the
whole series are $150. Call (787) 765-5000.
Olga Tañón, a merengue and ballad singer, brings
her "Magic of Rhythm" show to the adjacent Roberto Clemente
Coliseum, (787) 781-2258, on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 at 8 P.M. Tickets:
$25 to $55; (787) 728-4000.
The best way to check out San Juan's thriving arts scene is
to go to Gallery Nights, which begin for the year on Tuesday night,
with more than 20 museums and galleries in Old San Juan open free
between 6 and 9 P.M. The old city stays festive well into the
evening. Information: (787) 723-7080. Gallery Nights are the first
Tuesday of the month, from February through May and September
through December.
There's something going on almost every night at the Luis A.
Ferré Performing Arts Center, also known as Bellas Artes,
Stop 22, Ponce de León Avenue, near the intersection with
José de Diego Avenue.
Radio Pirata, a Puerto Rican rock band, plays Feb. 7 at 5 P.M.
Tickets: $25 to $40. The Venezuelan pop singer Franco de Vita
performs Feb. 18 to 20 at 7:30 each night. Tickets: $25 to $45.
And José Feliciano will give a 7:30 P.M. show Feb. 27 and
a 4:30 P.M. show Feb. 28. Tickets: $35 or $50. Tickets: (787)
725-7334.
Sightseeing
The San Juan National Historic Site, (787) 729-6960, has
two main fortresses, Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo
de San Cristóbal, which are dramatically perched at the
northern edge of Old San Juan fronting the Atlantic Ocean, and
which can both be reached from Norzagaray Street.
El Morro, whose enormous shadow darkens the waters and cliffs
it overlooks, offers stunning views of the Atlantic crashing against
the rocky headland on which it sits. Take the triangular staircase
to the Santa Barbara Bastión for the best vantage point.
The grounds surrounding El Morro are like a large park, and the
San Juan Cemetery, where many prominent Puerto Ricans are buried,
is a bleached white patchwork of stone squeezed between the castle's
northern wall and the Atlantic.
Castillo de San Cristóbal (Norzagaray Street near the
entrance of Old San Juan) is the larger of the two forts but doesn't
carry El Morro's dramatic punch. Take the tunnel-like section
of bombproof magazines to get to the dungeon, a steaming-hot cell
that still engenders a feeling of dread. Drawings of ships salvaged
from one section of its wall are believed to be the work of a
Spanish captain held captive before his execution. Admission to
both forts: $2.
If you're traveling with children, stop by Museo del Niño,
150 Cristo Street; (787) 722-3791. There's a padded playroom designed
to resemble a small town center, for babies and toddlers, and
exhibits that allow children to climb a pyramid, try their hand
at carpentry or explore a rooftop petrified forest. Admission:
$2.
The permanent exhibition at the Museo de Las Américas,
"Folk Arts in the Americas," includes a ceremonial mask
gallery. Changing shows often feature regional contemporary art.
Free admission, open Tuesday to Friday 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. and weekends
11 A.M. to 5 P.M.; (787) 724-5052. The museum is on the second
floor of the Cuartel de Ballajá, a former army barracks
dating from 1867 that is across from El Morro on the other side
of Norzagaray Street.
The Santurce Marketplace, between Duffaut and Canals Streets
and Ponce de León Avenue and Baldorioty de Castro Expressway,
is a great place for tropical fruits and vegetables. Local dishes
and fruit frappés are prepared fresh, and the surrounding
area has reasonably priced restaurants that are packed for lunch.
The marketplace sells everything from religious artifacts and
spiritual potions to classical CD's. It's filled on weekend evenings
with crowds of people drinking cold beer, eating and dancing in
the streets to music that seems to come from everywhere.
Where to Stay
The San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino, 1309 Ashford
Avenue, is simple but comfortable with a central location in Condado.
Its big, airy lobby accentuates its ocean-front location. The
hotel is within walking distance of several restaurants and clubs.
The 525 rooms and 11 suites mix beige with pastel colors, from
the flowered bedspreads to the paintings of tropical landscapes.
The winter double rate is $265; (787) 722-7000, fax (787) 722-6800.
A longtime favorite in the Isla Verde beach district is El
San Juan Hotel and Casino, 6063 Isla Verde Avenue, with 389 plush
rooms decorated with dark wooden furniture and large enough to
accommodate a separate sitting area. This is probably the liveliest
San Juan hotel at night, with a disco, casino, lobby bars and
restaurants, including the newest locale of The Palm. Doubles:
$345; (787) 791-1000, fax (787) 791-0390.
Budget: At $164 for a double, the Hampton Inn San Juan Resort,
6530 Isla Verde Avenue, is one of the best deals on the Isla Verde
strip. There are 200 clean, comfortable rooms and a swimming pool;
(787) 791-8777, fax (787) 791-8757.
Close to the Marriott is El Canario Inn, 1317 Ashford Avenue,
a cozy 25-room guesthouse. The owner also runs two other properties
in Condado, the 25-room El Canario by the Sea and the 40-room
El Canario by the Lagoon, but the Inn is the nicest, with colorful
curtains and bedspreads and bamboo furniture in the guest rooms.
Doubles: $111; (787) 722-3861, fax (787) 722-0391.
Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton San Juan, 6961 Route 187, is an elegant
beige and white structure on a nice public beach around the bend
from the Isla Verde strip. The hotel has 419 rooms and 11 suites,
and a large pool area. Rooms have tropical flourishes, like colorful
bedspreads and curtains. Doubles: $315 to $385; (787) 253-1700,
fax (787) 253-3232.
El Convento Hotel was inaugurated in 1651 as a Carmelite convent,
but has since served as everything from a dance hall to a flophouse
to a parking garage. It underwent a $15 million restoration in
1997 and now has 57 rooms wrapped around its top three floors,
a secluded perch with a dining terrace and rooftop patio with
a small pool and whirlpool. The rooms are not that large, but
they exude Old World elegance with four-poster beds, antique dressers
and balconies overlooking Old San Juan. Doubles: $315 to $375,
including Continental breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese;
(787) 723-9020, fax (787) 721-2877.
Where to Eat
The Parrot Club, 363 Fortaleza, is one of San Juan's most
popular restaurants, known for its bright tropical interiors and
inventive Nuevo Latino cuisine. There's a long bar, a quiet back
patio and a menu in "Spanglish." Start with jumbo shrimp
in tomato confit or ribs glazed with tamarindo sauce and move
on to a seared blackened tuna with a dark rum sauce or a grilled
flank steak with tomato chimichurri. Dinner for two: $75, with
wine (787) 725-7370.
The menu at Amadeus, 106 San Sebastián, has everything
from light sandwiches and salads to full dinners, and the lively
bar area features changing art exhibitions. Stop here for a snack,
like the Amadeus dumplings, which are served with a guava sauce,
or tostones with caviar. Entrees include grilled tenderloin in
fresh tarragon and grain mustard sauce or linguini in a spicy
cream sauce with chicken breast. Dinner for two: $75, including
wine; (787) 722-8635.
Ajili Mojili, 1052 Ashford Avenue, (787) 725-9195, serves local
food in a rustic plantation setting. The house sauce -- mainly
tomatoes, fresh herbs, garlic and shaved almonds -- works well
with anything from shrimp cocktail to fried cheese and dumplings
made of yautía, a root vegetable. Well-prepared Puerto
Rican standard fare includes roast pork and a mofongo stuffed
with seafood, as well as shrimp in a plantain coating and served
in a white-wine, parsley and garlic sauce. Dinner for two: $80
including wine.
La Fonda del Jibarito, 280 Sol, a favorite with locals, serves
up Puerto Rican food from a menu that changes daily. Among recent
choices were fresh conch salad and fried plantains, and chicken
fricassee. The walls are decorated to represent the street on
which the restaurant is situated, or you can dine outdoors and
see the real thing. Dinner for two with beer: $30; (787) 725-8375.
Tofu steaks make Café Berlin, 407 San Francisco, popular
with vegetarians, but it also serves such things as tiger shrimp
in a curry banana sauce and turkey breast in a mushroom red-wine
and cream sauce. Fresh baked goods are also available. Dinner
for two with wine: $55; (787) 722-5205.
| 
