Participted In The Wonderful Festivals Of Puerto Rico

Almost every weekend, there is a festival or celebration around Puerto Rico. Festivals in this country are colorful and loud: live bands play, amusement park rides twirl, parades take over streets, and, of course, fried foods are enjoyed. Each festival is rooted in tradition, and often Catholic in origin. These are some of the biggest and most popular:

Fiesta de los Reyes Magos Festival
Along with Christmas and New Year's, the Epiphany on January 6th is also celebrated as part of the holiday season in Puerto Rico. People throw parades featuring locals and actors dressed as the Three Wise Men - important figures in Catholicism.

Carnaval Ponceño
This annual festival celebrated in February or March in the town of Ponce lasts a full week and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. Every day of the Carnaval features colorful parades and activities, with long-snouted vejigantes (a local folk character that wears a colorful papier-mâché mask and multicolor jumpsuit) taunting the crowd, the appearance of King Momo and the coronation of the Carnival Queen, a masquerade ball, and finally the Burial of the Sardine, a simulated funeral marking the beginning of Lent.

Festival de la Piña Paradisíaca
The "Pineapple Festival" is celebrated every year in May or June in La Parguera. The festival features vendors selling locally grown pineapples and dozens of local agricultural products and fried foods while local bands liven up the evening.