| Ponce Jazz Festival | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Ponce Jazz Festival | |
| Official name | Ponce Jazz Festival |
| Also called | The Jazz Festival |
| Observed by | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Type | Local, cultural |
| Celebrations | Music |
| Observances | Yearly |
| Date | Last weekend in April |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | http://www.poncejazzfestival.com/ Website |
The Ponce Jazz Festival is a musical celebration that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. [1]
The festival is one of the newest in the Western Hemisphere. It was inaugurated in 2012. [1] It takes place at the Concha Acustica (English: acoustical shell) Amphitheatre of Parque de la Abolición in Barrio Cuarto. [2]
The festival starts on the last Friday of April, and the 2012 events were as follows:
Friday 27 April 2012
Grupo Zambaríbiri Stage Band (Guayanilla)
Escuela de Música de Guayama
Grupo Sound Jazz y Jazz Jam
Saturday 28 April 2012
Edwin Gutiérrez & Jazz Project
Charlie Sepúlveda & The Turnaround Band
Julito Alvarado and his group Del Sur al Norte
Sunday 29 April 2012
Eugenio Torres & Sol Creciente
Banda Municipal de Ponce, Carlos Juan Colón & Manus, and William Cepeda
The 2013 events were as follows. [3]
Friday, 26 April 2013
Stage Band - Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos
Diversis Quartet
Flautista Joche Caraballo and his Trio
Irvin Cancel and his Band
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Luis Gonzalez & his Orchestra
Joseito Ruiz & Quartet
PuertoSax
Sunday, 29 April 2013
Black Jazz
Master Jazz Big Band
The Carnaval de Ponce, officially Carnaval Ponceño, is an annual celebration held in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration lasts one week and it ends on the day before Ash Wednesday. Thus, it is generally held in February and sometimes in March. It is one of the oldest carnivals of the Western Hemisphere, dating back to 1858. Some authorities, such as the Smithsonian Institution, believe the Ponce Carnaval can be traced to as far back as 250 years ago. The Carnaval coincides with the Mardi Gras of New Orleans, the Carnival of Venice, and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival. The estimated attendance is 100,000. Scenes of the 2011 Carnaval Ponceño were featured in the Travel Channel on 7 August 2011.
Parque de la Abolición is a city park in Barrio Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is the only park in the Caribbean commemorating the abolition of slavery. It was built in 1874 and renovated in 1956.
The Ponce Municipal Band, also known as Centenaria Banda Municipal de Ponce, is the band of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The band is the oldest continuously-performing band in the Caribbean and the oldest music group in Puerto Rico. It has performed its open-air concerts for over 125 years. The current director is Juan García Germaín. It has 42 members between 25 and 83 years old. It operates within the jurisdiction of the Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural of the autonomous municipality of Ponce. Its headquarters are located at the Centro Integrado para el Fortalecimiento de las Artes Musicales, next to Teatro La Perla.
Día Mundial de Ponce is a cultural celebration held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, every year during the month of September. The celebration actually starts the Monday before Labor Day with various evening-time cultural festivities. It then culminates with the grand parade that takes place on the Sunday before Labor Day. The celebration started in 2012 and has an estimated attendance of 4,000 people. The week-long event aims to celebrate the cultural heritage of the city by giving tribute to the organizations, the people and "the great sons and daughters of the city of Ponce." The first year of this celebration, the Grand Parade took place on the last Sunday of the celebration, but starting in 2013, the week-long events ended on a Saturday and the Grand Parade was changed to take place the last Saturday. That year the celebration was also changed to occur the last weekend of September, rather than the weekend before Labor Day.
The Festival Nacional de la Quenepa is a cultural celebration that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The festival centers around the genip fruit, the city's official fruit. The celebration lasts three days and takes place over a weekend. It is generally held on the second weekend of August, but occasionally during a weekend in September. It is sponsored by the Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural of the Ponce Municipal Government.
Cruce a Nado Internacional is a yearly international swimming competition that takes place at Bahía de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is the oldest open water swimming event in the Caribbean. The event generally occurs on the first Sunday of September, to coincide with the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend every year. The event is sponsored by Club Cruce a Nado, Inc. Some 100 athletes compete, swimming 1.5 nautical miles nautical miles. The event started in 1980. The 2020 season's event did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its 40th season took place on 5 September 2021 instead.
Concha Acústica de Ponce is an open-air music and performing arts amphitheater venue in Barrio Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico, owned and managed by the Ponce Municipal Government. It is located on the grounds of Parque de la Abolición. The open-air auditorium-amphitheater is used primarily for cultural events. It is open from Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 4:30PM. Concha Acústica, as it is known today (2017), is the result of a 1956 redesign that also included the adjacent Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud. The original design was augmented by this 1956 redesign/renovation by Francisco Porrata-Doría (1890–1971).
The Fiesta Nacional de la Danza, also known as Semana de la Danza Puertorriqueña, is a cultural celebration that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The festival centers on the danza, a musical genre native from the city of Ponce and oftentimes called "Puerto Rico's classical music" with rhythm, tune, and cadence that are similar to the waltz. The celebration lasts a week and takes place in mid-May. It is sponsored by the Ponce Municipal Government and the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.
The Feria de Artesanías de Ponce, formally, Feria de Artesanías y Muestra de Arte de Ponce, is an event that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where artists, craftsmen and artisans showcase their products. The products showcased are traditionally hand-made and in small quantities. The fair centers around crafts that highlight the traditional cultural background of Puerto Rico, including Taino, African, and Spanish traditions. The event started in 1974 and is reported to draw "thousands of visitors". It lasts three days and is held over a weekend during the month of April.
Bienal de Arte de Ponce is a biennial international art exhibition that takes place in Ponce, Puerto Rico, during the month of November. The event is sponsored by the Commission on the Arts of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce. It has been called "the most important art biennial in Puerto Rico." As a biennial event, it takes place once every two years.
Las Mañanitas is an annual event held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It consists of a pre-dawn popular parade, followed by a Catholic Mass, and a popular town breakfast hosted by the municipal government. It takes place on December 12, and is a traditional event sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce but attended by Catholic leaders from Puerto Rico at large. Widely covered by the press every year, the event is attended by over 10,000 people, including religious and political leaders and the general public. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 celebration will take place in a modified program fashion: there will be no walked procession, as traditionally done, but instead the Eucharist will be televised and would-be attendees can instead celebrate Las Mañanitas from their own homes.
Rubén Colón Tarrats is a Puerto Rican composer, clarinet player and band director from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He also conducted the Banda Municipal de Ponce for ten years. He received his music training at Escuela Libre de Música de Ponce, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, and Temple University College of Music, and was a music professor at Ponce High School, Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos, and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico.
Hilarión Pérez Guerra was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from January 1857 to 11 July 1863. Prior to serving as mayor of Ponce, Perez Guerra had served as mayor of Camuy for 1 year in 1850.
Nightlife in Ponce, Puerto Rico includes government and regulatory aspects, societal and cultural attitudes, and age- and gender-centric issues relative to adult and family life after dark in the city of Ponce. It focuses on all entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes activities like parties, bands and live music, concerts, and stand-up comedies, and venues such as pubs, bars, cabarets, nightclubs, cinemas and theaters. These venues and activities are often accompanied by the serving and drinking of alcoholic beverages in addition to non-alcoholic drinks for the family. Nightlife venues often require a cover charge for admission.
The Festival de Bomba y Plena de San Antón, is an annual celebration held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as an extravaganza celebration of Bomba and Plena music genres and the traditions of Ponce's barrio San Antón. The celebration lasts 10 days and it ends on a Sunday. It is generally held in July but sometimes in November.
The Carnaval de Vejigantes, officially Carnaval de Vejigantes de La Playa de Ponce, is an annual celebration held at Barrio Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three to five days, generally takes place in late January or early February. It started in 1991. It takes place at Parque Lucy Grillasca on PR-585 in Barrio Playa. The parade, one of the highlights of the carnival, usually takes off from Cancha Salvador Dijols on Avenida Hostos (PR-123) and ends at Parque Lucy Grillasca (PR-585). Attendance is estimated at over 15,000 people. It is attended by people from all over Puerto Rico, and some attendees are from as far as the United States. It is organized and operated by a community, civic, NGO group, not by any government or government agency.
Fiestas patronales de Ponce is an annual cultural celebration held at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three days, takes place in late December. Ponce's Fiestas patronales are heavily influenced by Spanish culture and religion, and are a tradition held in honor of the city's patron saint, the Virgen of Guadalupe. As such the celebration may be as old as the town itself (1692). The festivities usually include religious processions honoring its Catholic heritage. However, elements of African and local culture have been incorporated as well. They also feature parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. It is attended mostly by people from the city of Ponce and its 18 surrounding barrios, but also people from all over Puerto Rico. The free event's attendance is estimated in the hundreds every day.
Festival Nacional Afrocaribeño is an annual cultural celebration held at Ángel “Cuqui” Mangual baseball field in the La Cuarta neighborhood of Barrio Capitanejo in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three days, takes place in late June. It has been called "a world-class" event that brings together "the best exponents of salsa, bomba, plena and merengue music". It is attended by some 30,000 people. The festival's purpose is to positively impact the region by creating a cultural space to help preserve traditions. It aims to highlight the contributions to Puerto Rico culture and society by Puerto Ricans of African heritage. The festivities are highlighted by bands playing salsa, bomba and plena music.
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