49th Annual Artisan Fair of Barranquitas

The very best of hand made Puerto Rican art and craft

I had a big break in the weather and made it out to Barranquitas on a Sunday. It was a leisurely drive from Coamo, up into the mountains. From San Juan, take Hwy 52 south and get off at Caguas. From Caguas, take Hwy 156 west, all the way to Barranquitas. Highway 156 is your typical PR back road. Its safe to drive, but full of tight turns and blind corners. You may be able to do 45-50 mph in some places, but most of the way will be 30-35 mph. Hey! Take time to enjoy the view. It’s why you came to Puerto Rico, right?

Unfortunately, Barranquitas is not on my map (Note- Map has been fixed, WooHoo). It lays southeast of Orocovis, northwest of Cayey and almost dead center of the island.

Its a relatively small town by PR standards. The central Plaza is very nicely executed. Every plaza has a Catholic church.. this one was painted in bright oranges and yellows.  The Plaza features a large, raised wrought iron gazebo with several small statues. There are also 4 fountains located at each corner of the Plaza. It felt very festive, even without all the day’s activities.

Basic History:

Barranquitas was founded in 1803.

Its heritage dates back to the time when Taino Indians retreated to the hills to escape Spanish slavery. The Taino Indians were driven to near extinction in only one generation. Many poor Spanish and European immigrants also “headed for the hills” to escape control of the Spanish landowners or raids from the sea by Carib Indians.  Over time, these groups intermarried producing a look unique to this area.  Coffee was the leading crop during the early days.  Coffee is still grown here as well as a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Some manufacturing takes place here too. The island’s first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Rivera was from Barranquitas and has several museums dedicated to his memory.

That concludes today’s history lesson.

Though it costs nothing to check out the Artesano art and craft fair, parking was $2. Not too bad and we were able to ride the town’s air conditioned trolley right to the Plaza. At least they had parking and folks managing it too. There were a few kids trying to sell you a spot on the street for $3, but I didn’t fall for that.

We got to the Plaza at high noon. A sound stage was set up facing the Plaza. ‘Trovadores’ were performing traditional PR country music using authentic instruments similar to the ones featured in one of my shots. It was awesome!

This event was jointly sponsored by the city and the Instituto de Cultura Puerotorriqueña (in Spanish only). PR formally certifies its Artesanos and there are some substantial advantages to being certified, but I’ll save all that for another time. The white pop-up tents, for lack of a better description were spread out all over.

Several side streets were cordoned off to accommodate all the vendors.

I was pleasantly surprised at the overall caliber of  items for sale

As can be seen in the photos, there was quite the range of products available. My shots only cover about 10% of what I saw. Besides the items in the photos, items crafted from wood ran the gamut from simple key fobs, to name plaques, to spinning tops and mechanically actuated wooden toys, to intricately carved art and religious icons of all kinds.  There was also lots of homemade candies, fresh honey, and an assortment of hot sauces and condiments. Leather goods were very popular, sporting very unique designs. Several vendors were selling jewelry with upscale themes. Art and illustration in several media as well as hammered copper was on display. The hand crafted ‘Cuatro’, a 12 string Puerto Rican instrument similar to a guitar, but with a much thicker body was extremely impressive. I’m sure they fetch a pretty penny.

Considering everything here was made by hand, the prices were most reasonable. The Scurvy Dog scored a locally designed ‘Pitorro’ T-shirt and me Firstmate picked up a nicely finished leather wallet.

They should be selling more stuff
like this in Old San Juan…
less of the Chinese junk.

After spending several hours shopping and shooting, we managed to catch the trolley back to the car. We almost missed our stop. I did not recognize it because the parking lot was full. Another car pulled into our spot, the moment we pulled out. I have only one minor complaint- I bought a ‘Piragua’, a shaved ice with fruit flavoring and was charged $2 bucks for it. Seemed a little high since it didn’t come with a spoon, but what the heck. All in all, a great trip, great weather and one we will do again next year.

I really want to score one of those colorful festival masks.