Ybor’s Puerto Rican Festival

On Sunday, we attended the Puerto Rico Festival in Ybor City. The Fiesta Patronates (Puerto Rican Festival) is usually held in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Cultural Parade of Florida. This year, due to the economic crisis, the event was scaled back to a much smaller gathering that focused on the culture and food of Puerto Rico, cutting the parade to cut costs.

The event was held in Ybor’s Centennial Park, home to the Ybor Sunday Market. As we parked and started our walk over, the sounds of traditional Puerto Rican music filled the air. The closer we got, the more the smells of Latin food consumed us as well.

The vendors set up around the perimeter were all selling Puerto Rican themed clothing, jewelry and other items.

Frozen Ice was sold with traditional Latin flavors and also standards such as orange and cherry.

This was truly a family affair, bringing children, adults and everyone in between. Regardless of heritage, all were welcome.

The food looked, smelled and tasted amazing.

We completed our rounds by checking out the band, playing a fusion of traditional Latin favorites with rap vocals.

While this Puerto Rican festival was smaller than events from the previous 20 years, I’m hoping it ramps back up next year. I think with the parade and more vendors involved, this would be an even more fun way to celebrate our self-governing unincorporated U.S. territory.

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