I
’VE BEEN IN PUERTO RICOONLY A DAY
, but I’m
already singing salsa tunes in the shower. I don’t know
any lyrics, so it’s just coming out awkwardly like
boomt-ting-ting,boomboomt-ting-ting
.It’salmostscaryhow
contagious theenergy ishere.
Havingexploredthecity’spast,todayI’mturningmyatten-
tion to its future. Just over thebridge fromOldSan Juan is
Santurce,ascrappyurbanarea thathasbecomeanenclaveof
streetartists,chefs,activists,andgallerists.Theword“Brook-
lyn”gets thrown around a lot, but amore apt comparison
mightbecontemporaryBerlinor ’90sSoho.
Ifortifymyselfwithcroquettesandfresh-baked
breadatPanificadoraJerezana,thefavoritebakery
of localartistMartínAlbarránLópez.Afterbreak-
fast,hedrivesme toLaProductora,his industrial
gallery on thrummingCerra Street.The gallery
got itsname from the recording studios thatonce
lined theblock,churningout tropicalmusic from
the 1950s on. “Thiswas themecca,where salsa
began,”AlbarránLópezsays.“Butwith iPods,the
Internet,it allwentdown.”
A fewyears ago,artistsbegan to fill thevoid.“I
don’t know if youunderstand theword ‘
cojones
,’”
hesays,“butwehadthe
cojones
tomake ithappen.”
Ablock fromLaProductora,JaimeRodriguezCrespocrafts
whimsical plastic replicasof islandwildlife,suchasblowfish
andtheubiquitous
chango
(grackle),agregariouscousinofthe
crow,whichhedepictsstealingonionringsanddogfood—an
ironicurban takeon thepink flamingo lawnornament.
AlbarránLópez shares his gallerywith twoother artists:
JothamMalavé,arealistpaintercurrentlyexploringthetheme
of voyeurism throughnighttime images of the suburbs,and
Gil Ramos, a former lawyer withno formal trainingwho
makeswildcollageswithfoundobjects,likebikinisandscraps
of paper. “I try tomake conversationswith these humble,
discardedmaterials,”he says.“I get a kickout ofwatching
thesematerials elevate themselves. I’m trying to escape the
value society gives them.”It’s an aptmetaphor for theway
artistsare transforming thisonce-malignedarea.
Thedistrict’sstreetsburstwithart too.Muchof thegraf-
fiti is produced during the annual SanturceEs
Ley festival, inwhich street artists from around
theworldare invited tousebuildingsascanvases.
Works range fromPopArt toBanksy-like sten-
cils toAlexisDiaz’s surreal zoological murals,
including a crow-octopus-human hybrid on a
walloutside theMuseodeArteContemporáneo
dePuertoRico.
Next,AlbarránLópez,Malavé,andRamostake
meto lunchatSodaEstudiodeCocina.Namedfor
ArgentinerockersSodaStereo(onthestereowhen
we arrive), it’s a funky spotwithwall-size shrines
to theband’s late lead singer,GustavoCerati,and
pinupqueenBettiePage.And if thedecor seems
82
THREE
PERFECT
DAYS
1978YEAR THE PIÑA COLADABECAME THENATIONALDRINKOF PUERTORICO
LaFactoría cocktail
bar inOldSan Juan
Clockwise from top
left:snorkelingoff
Condado;artistChemi
Rosado-Seijo;the lawn
at theSt.RegisBahia
Beach; abird-loving
OldSanJuan local
DAY TWO
InwhichNicholas exploresnewlyhipSanturceandenjoysan
ocean-viewdinnerbyaMichelin-starred chef inCondado
