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Immerse yourself in Puerto Rico’s vibrant cultural capital

January 29, 2025

The coastal city of San Juan, one of the oldest European-established capitals in the Americas, symbolizes the diverse cultural influences that have shaped Puerto Rico. This rich tapestry combines elements from Indigenous Taíno traditions, Spanish colonial influences, and African customs. It also serves as the cultural hub where many of the island’s universities, libraries, theaters, and museums are concentrated, several of which are now available on Bloomberg Connects. 

MAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico)

Founded by artists and benefactors in 1984, MAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico) merges a global outlook on contemporary art with a commitment to fostering local creative communities. The museum collects, researches, and displays art from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, documenting the rich cultural diversity of these regions and their international diasporas. With multidisciplinary works from 25 countries, from the 1960s to the present, MAC aims to encourage new modes of aesthetic expression while preserving a sense of history and fostering dialogues between artists and their audiences. The exhibition 10 Años de MAC en el Barrio puts this mission front and center, displaying a record of their cultural equity program via commissioned works that have taken place in numerous communities in Puerto Rico over the last decade. In the exhibition Sunlight on the Sea Floor, the forced depopulation of the Chagos Islands in the 1970s is a focal point for considering histories of colonialism, displacement, and resistance. Artworks by Clément Siatous and Audrey Albert memorialize the Chagossian people, while José Castrellón considers the Watermelon Riot of 1856, and Kelly Sinnapah Mary reflects on her family lineage of indentured laborers brought to the Caribbean from India.  

Courtesy of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico

Andanza

Andanza is Puerto Rico’s leading contemporary dance company. It has promoted awareness and enjoyment of the island’s evolving dance traditions over the past 25 years. They instill artistic excellence through their dance school and professional company, which produces original choreographic and musical pieces. In the solo performance “Eleuther, choreographed by Matias Santiago, music and movements inspired by the Indigenous coquí frog and Caribbean dance convey a sense of Puerto Rican identity. The organization is also an important choreographic archive of performance footage and ephemera, preserving this legacy for future generations of dancers. Their anniversary exhibition offers 25 Years of Memories, celebrating landmark moments from this period. The democratization of dance is central to Andanza’s activities, evident in their social program of dance workshops in public schools and virtual initiatives that make dance available to anyone, anywhere. 

A male dancer leaning backward carries two female dancers who raise their legs forward. We see four legs in the air as if they were one body.
Nathanael Santiago, Miriam López and Adriana Morales, Pesebre, 2024. Choreographer: Carlos Iván Santos. Photo: Robert Villanúa

La Casa del Libro

La Casa del Libro is an independent museum and research library that celebrates the history of books and the creative process of making them. It was founded in 1955, a pivotal time of expansion for the Puerto Rican book-making industry, with the aim of collating the finest examples of books created across the centuries. Alongside a page from the first Latin Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1454), the collection also includes the oldest known documents in America relating to the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the island in 1493. It also offers the unique opportunity to see the 19th-century hand-operated “Stanhope-Coisnè Mécanicien” press, which is still used in some museum workshops. In addition to its historic collection, La Casa del Libro has a contemporary program of artist books, posters, and temporary displays by prominent Puerto Rican artists such as Lorenzo Homar, Irene and Jack Delano, and Imna Arroyo Cora

Courtesy of La Casa del Libro 

Museo de Las Américas 

Puerto Rico’s Museo de Las Américas  is a non-profit institution offering a holistic overview of the history and culture of the Americas, with an emphasis on Puerto Rico. Founded by historian and archaeologist Dr. Ricardo Alegría Gallardo, the museum is committed to conserving and promoting Puerto Rican cultural heritage. Their five thematic permanent exhibitions explore: the preservation of Taíno culture, the development of folk arts, the aesthetics of devotional objects, the legacy of colonization and conquest, and the influence of African heritage through the arrival of enslaved peoples. The building itself is also steeped in history, as the Ballajá Barracks housed the Spanish infantry in the 1860s, who were replaced by the U.S. Army following their victory in 1898. Abandoned after World War II, the building underwent rehabilitation and reopened in 1992 as a museum celebrating the unique history and arts of Puerto Rico. 

Interior façade of the historical building of the Ballajá barracks
Juan Manuel Lombera y Rivera, Antonio María Guitián, Timoteo Lubelza Martínez de San Martín, Cuartel de Ballajá, 1854–1867. Photo: Archivo del Museo de Las Américas.

The rich cultural diversity of Puerto Rico is reflected in the cultural institutions that have recently launched dedicated guides on Bloomberg Connects, making their collections accessible to in-person and virtual visitors from around the world. This builds upon Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support for the arts in Puerto Rico, including the Arts Innovation and Management Puerto Rico program in collaboration with the Flamboyan Arts Fund, which contributes to the flourishing culture and creativity on the island.