433rd Anniversary of Coamo with Fireworks

This is an editorial.. I take full responsibility for it.

I was there… I was the guy with the camera, funny hat and ponytail.

When I saw the the schedule of events on Coamo’s official Facebook page, I thought this would be a great opportunity to get more shots of life in Coamo…

A historically significant date, full of potential.

There is much said about Puerto Rican culture and the need to preserve it, protect it.

I saw none of that on display at the event on Saturday night.  Nothing that said, we are proud of who we are or of our past.

Instead, it felt more like an effort to leave it all behind.

No, I don’t speak Spanish well.  But there was nothing in the presentation that spoke to ‘what it means to be Puerto Rican’.  No respect for the past… it felt sterile at best.

This was not a family affair.

It looked more like a private party for the folks who have helped shape Coamo.  That’s not a bad thing, but it was the only thing. Large round banquet tables were set in front of the stage to accommodate guests.  This was ‘by invitation only’.  Yes, there was a couple of live bands and a short Michael Jackson presentation that was quite cute.

It was obvious this presentation was not intended for the general public even though it was staged in the plaza.  Something like this would be better done in a hotel or convention center.

Though there were food and drink vendors and Artesanos present, the general crowd was very light.

Some locals, not part of the formal presentation showed up and hung out, around the edges.

I suspect they came for the music and the fireworks that were to follow.

This event did not have the feel of the Christmas Pageant I witnessed a few months back.  THAT was a family affair.

Here is a link to that post.

I find all of this very disturbing… An event of such historical significance being reduced to something so generic.  If there was a time to proclaim your Puerto Rican Heritage, this was it!

The Fireworks…

The schedule listed ‘fuegos artificales’, fireworks for Saturday night.  And yes, this is why I came.

I thought I would have an opportunity to photograph fireworks with the plaza or Alcaldia in the foreground.

I should have known, not to get my hopes up.  They discharged a total of 4 or 5 salutes and one floral shell while playing the ‘Happy Birthday Coamo’ song.  For 433 years, they shot off about 6 shells.

That’s pathetic!

At minimum, there should have been at least one shell for each year…  I understand budgets are tight, but my God!  It’s the most historically significant day in Coamo’s history.

Why aren’t they celebrating it?

This post will not make me popular with the locals, but I felt it needed to be said.  I get no joy from writing a story like this.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living in Coamo…

It is a beautiful place.  A town stuck between the 18th and 21st Centuries.  It has character and style.  There is civic pride.  It IS the Center of the Universe.  The people are genuinely friendly and outgoing.  Yes, they have crime and infrastructure issues, just like the rest of Puerto Rico, but I feel a sense of peace here.

It is home.

Since the event was free, I can’t give it a single skull.

More, larger pictures can be seen over on me Facebook page.