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Social Profile
Food & Drink: Puerto Rico (and especially San Juan) abounds with good restaurants, catering for all tastes from Spanish to Chinese, Italian, French and Greek. The island cuisine is Spanish-based, with rice and beans as the staple diet. Paella, chicken dishes, black bean soup, sancocho (beef stew), jueyes (land crabs) and pan de agua (native bread) are all excellent, as is the delicately seasoned langosta. Island rums such as Barrilito and Don Q are not to be missed.
Nightlife: Puerto Rico’s nightlife is abundant and varied. The streets are lively in the evening. Many shops are open late, and the visitor can sit in the squares of old San Juan and indulge in people-watching. A recommended walk is down La Princesa Promenade, lined with antique street lamps. Meeting places include a Bogart-style cigar bar and cocktail bars. Hotels provide some of the entertainment, but there are also different types of clubs, both modern and more mainstream. Many Puerto Ricans favour traditional Latin dance clubs with large dance floors, which often have live bands playing salsa and merengue music. Puerto Ricans are passionate about their nightlife, and often dress up. Casinos are also a feature. More intimate and friendly than the gambling rooms of Nevada and Atlantic City, they generally open at noon and close at around 0400 daily. Hotel casinos are open to guests and non-guests alike. Dress is generally informal, though men should wear a shirt with a collar in the evening.
Shopping: Special purchases are cigars, coffee, hammocks, straw weavings, sculpture, santos (carved religious figures), festival masks and stringed musical instruments. Shopping hours: Mon-Wed and Sat 0900-1900, Thurs-Fri 0900-2100, Sun 1100-1700 (shopping malls). Some shops open on Sunday if cruise liners are in port.
Special Events: ‘Fiestas Patronales’ celebrations are held in each town’s plaza to honour the area’s patron saint. These fiestas usually last for ten days and include religious processions, games, local food and dance. For further details, contact the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (see Contact Addresses section). The following is a selection of the special events which take place annually in Puerto Rico:
Feb San Blas Marathon; Coamo. Jun Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival, San Juan; Casals Festival (classical music festival), San Juan; Aibonito Flower Festival; San Juan Bautista Day (begins a week of festivities celebrating San Juan’s patron saint). Oct San Juan Cinema Festival. Dec Bacardi Corporation Artisans’ Fair; Hatillo Mask Fair. Dec-Jan Navidades (island-wide Christmas festivities).
Social Conventions: Handshaking is the customary form of greeting. Casual dress is acceptable, but shorts should not be worn in hotel dining rooms or casinos, where formal dress is required after 2000. Spanish and American manners and conventions exist side by side on the island. Some hotels require formal dress. Tipping: Generally 15-20 per cent if not included on the bill.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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