In honor of 2020 being the 50th anniversary of the festival, they are going to have it run through Monday. So, this is just an educated guess….since the event is usually the 3rd weekend of January, I am guessing the festival for 2020 will be Jan 15-Jan 20th. These dates usually don’t get confirmed until October/November. They occasionally fool me and totally change the weekend, so don’t make concrete plans just on my guess.

It is no secret that people in Puerto Rico know how to party, especially around the Christmas holidays. Announce that there will be a parade, music, dancing, libations, food — then add in local artisan crafts for sale — and it all adds up to one crazy celebration!

That is the San Sebastián Street Festival (Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián) in a nutshell. It has been an annual event on Calle San Sebastián in Old San Juan since 1970, and what started as community fund-raiser has become THE festival to go to. Loads of locals and tourists attend this multi-day event.

Early Festivals

San Sebastián (Saint Sebastian) was a Christian who was martyred for his faith. There is a street on the north side of Old San Juan named in his honor.

The original "festival" (in the 1950′s) was organized by a priest at the San Jose Church, which is located on San Sebastián Street, to celebrate the feast day of San Sabastián. The annual feast-day festival lasted only a few years.

In 1970, the festival was restarted and it has been held annually ever since. It always occurs around San Sebastián’s feast day, which is January 20th. The festival is typically held on the third weekend of January, and usually runs from Thursday to Sunday (but it has been running from Wed-Sun the last few years). Double check exact dates before making vacation plans around these dates as things have been known to change from year to year.

San Se Today

The San Se Festival has evolved over time, though it still is full of tradition and Puerto Rican cultural heritage. Mostly, it is a great big party, with people enjoying every aspect of it. It is attended by hundreds of thousands of people, who are very much part of the entertainment scene. Folks lucky enough to have a birds-eye view line the colorful balconies along Calle San Sebastián, and on the rest of the parade route, watching and shouting to the throngs of people in the streets below. Everyone else hits the streets. It’s basically the Puerto Rican version of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, without the beads and breasts.

For 2019, the festival will be held from Wednesday, January 16 through Sunday, January 20.

There are lots of live music shows, both traditional and contemporary. The musicians perform on stages around the Old City , but the main stage is at the Plaza del Quinto Centenario. But also expect music/dance to happen randomly & spontaneously throughout the streets, where people join in the song and dance. There are plenty of dance performances, both folkloric and modern, by professionals and party-goers alike. And all along the parade routes you will find food, drink, and more than 500 artisans displaying/selling their works.

There will be some artisans along Calle San Sebastián, but the main artisan areas are Cuartel de Ballajá. You will find other artisan set-ups throughout the rest of Old San Juan, too.

Things are generally calm, and you will see lots of families, during the day. As the day turns into night, you will see more young people (and fewer families) who are enjoying the lifting of the ban on public drinking in the streets around the Calle San Sebastián area. The police do set up barricades at the limits to contain the on-street drinking. Bars close at 12mn on Thursday- Saturday and 10pm on Sunday.

On Thursday and Friday, the parades and music festivities start at about 5pm. But it starts much earlier on Saturday and Sunday. Music and shows stop at 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 9pm on Sunday. There is a curfew enforced so that the people that live there can get some sleep.

Expect to see extra security around Old San Juan. Security cameras and Police dogs will be all over. You are not allowed to bring in weapons, drugs, liquids in bottles, noisemakers, coolers. Note- NO WHISTLES OR NOISEMAKERS ALLOWED ! Everyone must have a picture ID on them at all times. Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at all times and after 6:00 pm that “adult” accompanying the minors must be over 21 years old.

Itinerary for 2019 Festival

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

•Entertainment Plaza Tarima La Barandilla (Located by calle San Francisco, by the Univeristy Carlos Albizu)

•Entertainment Plaza Colón

•Entertainment Plaza de Armas

Thursday, January 17, 2019

•Entertainment Plaza de Armas

• Entertainment Plaza de La Barandilla

•Entertainment in Plaza Colón

•Entertainment in Plaza de la Comunidad La Perla

Friday, January 18, 2019

• 4pm to 10pm … Over 350 artisans will be displaying works at the Cuartel de Ballajá and and various Plazas and along Calle San Sebastian

• Entertainment Plaza del Quinto Centenario

• 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. – Danny Díaz y su Tripandero,Tributo a Ismael Rivera,
• 7:15 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. – Millie Quezada,
• 9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Pedro Capó

• Entertainment Plaza de Armas

• 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Publixa DJ,
• 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – DJ James,
• 9:30 p.m.- 11:00 p.m. – Gomba Jahbari

• Entertainment Plaza de La Barandilla

• 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Atabal
• 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Tuna Estudiantina de Cayey
• 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – A Son de Guerra
• 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Ilé

• Entertainment in Plaza Colón

• 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. – Bomba con trovadores/ Palenque
• 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Giselle
• 9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Orquesta El Macabeo

•PLAZA DE LA COMUNIDAD LA PERLA

• 8:00 p.m. – Sebastián Otero
• 9:45 p.m. – Ilé

Saturday, January 19, 2019

• 9am to 9pm … Over 350 artisans will be displaying works at the Cuartel de Ballajá and and various Plazas

• Entertainment in Plaza del Quinto Centenario

• 2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Pleneros de la 23
• 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Plenéalo
• 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Oscarito,
• 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Vico C
• 9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Sonora Ponceña

• Entertainment in Plaza de Armas

• 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Boohype
• 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – DJ Velcro
• 7:30-9:30pm … DJ Xtassy
• 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Los Rivera Destino

• Entertainment in Plaza de La Barandilla

• 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Bomba Evolución – Rústico,
• 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – San Juan Habana
• 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Roy Brown
• 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Choco Orta
• 9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Lissette

• Entertainment in Plaza Colón

• 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Imbuyé (Bomba)
• 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Los Oquen2
• 5:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. – Tambores Calientes
• 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Salsa Metro
• 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Los Parranderos de Loíza
• 9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – Manolito Rodríguez y su Orquesta

•PLAZA DE LA COMUNIDAD LA PERLA

• 3:30 p.m. – Andrea Cruz
• 5:30 p.m. – Lizbeth Román
• 8:00 p.m. – Yuba Iré
• 9:45 p.m. – Alegría Rampante

Sunday, January 20, 2019

• 9am to 9pm … Over 350 artisans will be displaying works at the Cuartel de Ballajá and and various Plazas

• Entertainment in Plaza del Quinto Centenario

• 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Plena Libre
• 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Yolandita Monge
• 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. – Iris Chacón
• 6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. – Olga Tañón
• 8:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – La India

• Entertainment in Plaza de Armas

• 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Emil Cedeño
• 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – DJ Joaquín Opio
• 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Misa E Gallo

• Entertainment in Plaza de La Barandilla

• 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – El Cascanueces
• 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Tuna de Segreles
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Manolo Mongil
• 6:15 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. D’Latinos
• 8:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – José Nogueras

• Entertainment in Plaza Colón

• 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Renacer Campesino
• 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Julito Alvarado del Norte al Sur
• 6:15 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. – Grupo Mambo
• 8:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Willie Rosario

•PLAZA DE LA COMUNIDAD LA PERLA

• 3:30 p.m. – Grupo “Fuete”
• 5:30 p.m. – Fofé y los fetiches

• Entertainment Teatro Tapia

• 2:00 p.m. Ismael Miranda y Chucho Avellanet
• 4:00 p.m. El Topo

• Entertainment Parque de las Palomas (for the family)

• 11:00 a.m. – Workshop of masks, flags and elements with Water, Sun and Serenity. Face painting
• 2:00 p.m. – Workshop of Bomba by the youngsters of the Fundación Folclórica Cultura, Rafael Cepeda
• 3:00 p.m. – Los Mocosos
• 4:00 p.m. Mini-fiestas…parade for kids

*Itinerary/schedule from El Nuevo Dia