San Juan Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture in San Juan

What does Grammy winner Ricky Martin, world-renowned writer and historian Tomas Blanco, and Golden Globe Award winner Joaquin Phoenix all have in common. Ricky, Tomas and Joaquin are all just a few of the notable personalities in the arts that were born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The capital city of San Juan is a municipio found in the island of Puerto Rico which is situated at the Caribbeans. San Juan is part of the rich and distinct Puerto Rican culture, and it is home to several noteworthy cultural facilities, events and artists.

The City of San Juan exemplifies the perfect harmony between modern and traditional art and culture. Alongside dance choreographers Sylvia del Villard and Jose Enrique Pedreira is singer and dancer Ricky Martin who is made famous shaking his bonbon to the tune of “Living la Vida Loca”. San Juan local and world famous opera performer Justino Diaz shares the same hometown with hiphop artist Raymond Ayala who is more popularly known as Daddy Yankee.

This balance and diversity in San Juan's culture and arts is also evident in the kinds of museums found in the city. The Museum of Contemporary Puerto Rican Art which is found in the Sacred Heart University is home to modern artworks and masterpieces of newly discovered Puerto Rican artists. The San Juan Museum of Art and History on the other hand, is another museum in San Juan, Puerto and is known for housing several historic artifacts and traditional Puerto Rican artworks.

As expected from a Latin American country, Puerto Rican culture is greatly influenced by Spanish culture and the latter's culture is very much noticeable in the former's arts and culture. Christianity for instance, is a powerful influence over Spain and this has been imparted among Puerto Ricans, many of whom continue to view Spain as their motherland or at least, their ancestors' motherland. Christian artworks such as sculpted statues of Christian saints and paintings of scenes from the bible are commonly depicted in San Juan Christian artworks. The Convento Los Dominicos is a kind of San Juan chapel, convent and art gallery rolled into one where Christian artworks can be seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Other San Juan museums that provide venue for artists to share their skills and talents with the rest of San Juan and the world are the Pablo Casals Museum, Museo de Doña Fela, Bacardi Museum and Distillery, The Book Museum, The Casa Blanca, Ruinas de Caparra, The Puerto Rico National Gallery and the Casa de Los Dos Zaguanes. These San Juan museums feature anything from local crafts, paintings, sculptures, historical artifacts, religious items, legacies of famous San Juan residents and other interesting displays and objects.