The 4th of July, or America’s Independence Day, is not very celebrated in Puerto Rico. In spite of Puerto Rico being part of the U.S., Puerto Rico is very much her own in terms of culture. In all the days leading up to the 4th in Greeley we would hear and see lots of fireworks going off around town (legal or not). We didn’t hear a peep in our neighborhood in Puerto Rico. None-the-less a few people from the states thought it would be fun to celebrate the 4th Rincon style: on the beach! Add in some fireworks, a couple of frisbees, some music, a bonfire, and a potluck BBQ and we were in for a good time!
The Landing
Some friends had a connection that let everyone have access to park at the Landing, an old abandoned restaurant right on the beach. We had never been on this beach though it is just an extension of Sandy Beach, really. It was a great spot for a party!
Ready for a bonfire
It was large enough that a lot of people could hang out, swim, socialize, play etc but also a little hidden away. Once the sun went down they set the fireworks off. We could also see far off in the distance the firework display at the Coast Guard Base in Aguadilla.
Sun beginning its descent
Watching fireworks beneath palm fronds
It was a great night with a great bunch of people. We love our community. People always have awesome ideas (and parties) here. Hope you all had a nice 4th as well.
The topic of the 4th of July in Puerto Rico is interesting, to say the least… so I’ll talk about The Landing instead.
The Landing was the go-to place in Rincón. It attracted people from all over the area and some people from San Juan too. It was technically a restaurant but most people saw it as an entertainment venue. I went there a bunch of times but I never ate a proper meal there. An empty lot across the street was used as an overflow parking lot but sometimes it wasn’t enough and that made traffic problematic. I felt bad for the neighbors. I don’t know why the place shut down, it wasn’t because of a lack of customers, but there were many rumors floating around. If you ever find out why it shut down let us know!
Happy 4th-ish of July!
Adolfo, I have missed your comments lately! That’s really interesting about The Landing. I really don’t know the story of what went down. I will let you know if I find out though.
Do you have local friends as well? I mean real Puertoricians, or are all your friends people that moved to PR at some point like you did?
Hi Just me,
Yep, we have friends of many sorts and various backgrounds including (of course!) local Puerto Ricans.