Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián

What began in the 1950s as a small parish fundraiser on one street has become the largest street festival on the island, held over four days in the middle of January and closing the whole of Old San Juan. Bomba and plena groups play on corners, salsa comes off stages in the plazas, artisans line the streets with craft stalls, and cabezudos, enormous papier-mâché heads representing local characters, move through the crowd in processions. It marks the end of the Christmas season, which in Puerto Rico runs well past the new year and is among the longest anywhere. Attendance runs into the hundreds of thousands over the weekend.

What you actually see

• The cabezudos - giant papier-mâché heads paraded through the streets.
• Bomba and plena on the corners - drum groups playing all through the old city.
• The artisan stalls - craft from across the island along the streets.
• The processions - opening and closing parades through Old San Juan.

When to go

The festival runs over four days in mid-January, usually the third weekend. Thursday and Sunday are markedly calmer than Friday and Saturday nights. Accommodation in and around the old city books out months ahead and prices rise sharply.

Honest expectations

By Friday and Saturday night the streets are shoulder to shoulder and moving anywhere takes real effort; families with small children generally go during the day. The old city closes to traffic and parking is impossible, so use the ferry or public transport. It is a drinking crowd late at night, and the clean-up between days is visible.

Nearby

The whole of Old San Juan is the venue; Condado and Santurce are a short ride away.