Although the custom of parranda has been largely lost in the shuffle of modern-day urban life, Old San Juan sends organized groups of strolling singers, or trullas , to perform for their neighbors during the weeks surrounding Christmas and Three Kings Day. The sounds are infectious and decidedly upbeat, reflecting the joy of the season. Calif. She visits Puerto Rico frequently at the holidays. IF YOU GO Stop in at La Fortaleza, the governor's official residence, which dresses up for the holidays with a Christmas tree and Nativity scene in the interior patio. Stroll through Old San Juan in the early evening along attractive Cristo Street, with its upscale restaurants, bars, and shops and the newly refurbished Hotel El Convento.
Many stores stay open late.
Mass on one of the nine days preceding Christmas in historic San Juan Cathedral on Cristo Street. With its vaulted Gothic ceilings, this centuries-old structure provides an inspired setting for the special misas de aguinaldo , or Christmas carol Masses, which are an island tradition. The series culminates on Christmas with the misa de gallo , or Rooster Mass, so named because of its early hour. Window-shop along Cristo and adjacent Fortaleza streets, where the stores have Nativity scenes and carved wooden statues of the beloved Three Kings, always depicted bearing gifts and often seated astride horses instead of camels. In addition to statues of the Holy Family, other hand-fashioned wooden saints, or santos , adorn window displays.