Including tour guides, hoteliers, bomba dance teachers, restaurateurs and more – meet the Puerto Rican women in tourism who are disrupting the industry.
After a late-night arrival into San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by a long sleep at Aire De O:live hotel, I woke to yellow sands sparkling at the edge of my window, trailing down towards a teal blue sea.
Besides an early morning jogger trotting along the beach nothing else moved in this postcard scenery.
I wandered to the hotel’s lobby where I met the founder of Sofrito Tours, Laura Ortiz, and set off to see the city. As we walked around San Juan’s Old Town, bonding over coffee, architecture and history, Laura explained that by 1493, when Europeans came to Puerto Rico, the indigenous Tainos had already navigated the sea from Venezuela, and formed matrilineal societies where women had extensive control over land, agriculture and society; an imprint that remains.
Laura explains that when Europeans came to Puerto Rico, the indigenous Tainos had already formed matrilineal societies where women had extensive control over land, agriculture and society; an imprint that remains.
Sheila Osorio: The Bomba Teacher in Loíza
Laura had arranged for me to meet Sheila Osorio in Loíza; the heart of Puerto Rico’s African heritage and located 27 kilometres east of San Juan. In the 16th century, the Yoruba tribe settled here after being brought to the island as enslaved West Africans. Centuries later, their customs are the foundation of Afro-Puerto Rican identity.
In bomba, the dancer acknowledges the drummer, and begins to dance. The drummer improvises, following the dancer’s every move. Together, they tell stories of broken hearts, of loss, of good news.
We arrived at a narrow stretch of sand to a structure-cum-doorway – red fabric twisted around a black frame and the large head of a horned devil, tongue sticking out, resting on top of it – the Vejigante. Nearby, coconut palms sway in the wind and the clear water of River Herrera trickles into the sea. Beyond the doorway, small huts circled the sand. They were painted in the colours of Africa and Loíza: green, yellow and red. Sheila met us here; it’s where she has been teaching Loíza’s iconic dance, bomba, to tourists and locals, for 14 years.
“Everyone comes to learn bomba,” says Sheila in Puerto-Rican Spanish, which Laura translates. “I chose this place because in Yoruba, Yemaya is the Goddess of the sea and Oshun is the deity of the river. They’re both present here.”
The circular space where bomba takes place is referred to as the batey and the dance is accompanied by drums. The dancer, dressed in a long ruffled skirt, enters the batey, acknowledges the drummer, and begins to dance. The drummer improvises, following the dancer’s every move. Together, they tell stories of broken hearts, of loss, of good news.
“Bomba is not religious,” says Sheila. “It was created to communicate. It’s in our blood.”
Melina Aguilar: The Tour Operator Sharing Women’s History in Ponce
The following morning, I headed to Ponce, 116 kilometres south of San Juan, with Isla Caribe. The company, founded by Melina Aguilar, focuses on cultural tourism. I was booked on the Ruta de las Mujeres (women’s route) walking tour. As we walked, I learned about some of the women celebrated in Ponce: singer and dancer, Isabel Albizu-Dávila; the ‘dame of salsa’, Yolanda Rivera; and Puerto Rico’s first female lawyer, Herminia Tormes García.
I booked a Ruta de las Mujeres walking tour with Melina Aguilar of Isla Caribe. As we walked, I learned about some of the women celebrated in Ponce: singers, dancers and lawyers.
This was a small town that felt like a big village. Pretty pastel-coloured buildings lined every street. The most striking of all was Parque de Bombas in the town square. The red and black building, now a museum, was Puerto Rico’s first fire station, opened in 1883. It’s now where everyone gathers outside on Sundays to hear the Caribbean’s oldest orchestra play for free; a tradition started in the mid-19th century by Juan Morel Campos who’s buried in the plaza.
Loyda Rosa: The Farm-To-Table Innovator In Old San Juan
That evening, I returned to Old San Juan to meet Loyda Rosa at her restaurant, Verde Mesa. It was Valentine’s Day. String lights lit up narrow lanes and the sound of people’s chatter could be heard at every turn. The dimly-lit restaurant was packed.
Loyda Rosa. Photo credit: La Mafia PR and Discover Puerto Rico
When Loyda Rosa started her restaurant 16 years ago, there was no way for small farmers in the countryside to deliver produce to San Juan. She forged the way for it to happen.
“Before Verde Mesa, I worked as a counsellor supporting women suffering domestic violence,” Loyda tells me. “But I realised that it was not where I could effect change.” She now employs anyone with a past or without experience. “I don’t have managers. Everyone manages themselves. It’s the only way for them to understand their potential.”
Our deep conversation was occasionally interrupted by beautifully plated dishes: tuna sashimi with amazake cream, caviar and soy glaze, sauteed mushrooms with beurre blanc and trout roe, and strawberries macerated in pink peppercorn. When Loyda started her restaurant 16 years ago, far ahead of the farm-to-table movement, there was no way for small farmers in the countryside to deliver produce to San Juan. She forged the way for it to happen.
I ranked the evening as the best Valentine’s date I’ve had: I had not expected this kind of connection, and felt a profound sense of belonging.
Lucía Merino. Photo credit: La Mafia PR and Discover Puerto Rico
So popular were Lucía Merino's baked goods that within 18 months of opening, she needed a bigger space. But, Lucía’s vision was bigger than selling cakes.
The next day, I went to Lucía Pâtisserie & Café in San Juan before it opened. I knocked on the door and a smiling face let me in. Inside, all the staff were enjoying breakfast together.
Lucía Merino, a pastry chef with over two decades’ experience, opened the patisserie, with her partner Johan, in 2017. So popular were their cakes that within 18 months, they needed a bigger space. But, Lucía’s vision was bigger than selling cakes. Having worked around the world she chose to be here.
“I wanted to show my community what was possible,” she tells me as we sip coffee together. “I have seven staff in the kitchen and seven outside. They don’t just work here. They learn to bake, work in teams, lead, and use their voice.”
Lucía Pâtisserie & Café. Photo credit: La Mafia PR and Discover Puerto Rico
So staunch is her commitment to their success that she hired a voice coach to train her staff on how to project their voices.
“This is a male-dominated industry. They have to know how to navigate it,” she adds.
Coffee, conversation and pastries with Lucía will forever remain hard to beat. On an island where guava is consumed in everything from cakes, pastries and dips to biscuits, it was no surprise to learn that anything with guava and cheese was a bestseller here.
Karla López Rivera: The Footwear Brand Founder in San Juan
With each pair of espadrilles taking six hours to make, Isleñas produces no more than 100 pairs each month - and Karla’s team learn all the skills required in the process.
My hands heavy with a box of pastries, I made my way to Isleñas Shoes to meet Karla López Rivera. At her studio in San Juan, Karla works with her team to make espadrilles. With each pair taking six hours to make, Isleñas produces no more than 100 pairs each month.
“We move commercially in the fashion space but that’s not what I focus on. It’s about crafting a product,” says Karla. Most of the brand’s sales come directly via the website and social media and it also collaborates with stores such as Muns in San Juan.
Pattern making at Isleñas Shoes. Image credit: Jamie Chung
Karla’s team learn all the skills in the process of crafting the shoes. This includes working with expensive materials like Italian lambskin leather and digital pattern cutting.
“It would be easier to get someone to sit at a machine and do a single thing all day. That would make my process more efficient. But it wouldn’t be human,” notes Karla. It’s unheard of in the fast-moving fashion industry.
Crystal Diaz: The Owner of a Culinary Farm Lodge in Cayey
It was almost the end of my stay in Puerto Rico, and Cayey seemed a good place to spend the last day. Crystal Diaz lives in the mountains of Cayey with her rooster Santiago, parrot Pitufina, and a family unit of ducks and hens at her home El Pretexto. In between, she also finds the time to grow coffee, create culinary experiences and host guests in four nearby villas.
Crystal Diaz lives in the mountains of Cayey with her rooster, parrot, ducks and hens. In between, she grows coffee, creates culinary experiences and hosts guests in four nearby villas.
Crystal met me with the familiarity of an old friend. We walked much of the space together. “I can have six more rooms if I want. But that’s not the message here. I want people to connect with the landscape,” she shared. After the walk, she prepared lunch in her outdoor kitchen. Instead of pork or beef, she served rabbit. “It’s the most sustainable meat,” she said.
Almost everything served at El Pretexto is Puerto Rican. It’s an example which has inspired others. “A couple I know gave up their jobs, bought a farm, did a course on farming and now it occupies all their time,” Crystal tells me.
I stayed here until sunset. As if on cue, a chorus of crickets wrapped around us just as the sun dipped behind the mountains.
“Perfect,” whispered Crystal. I couldn’t disagree.
I returned from Puerto Rico awakened. Each encounter on the island has led me to understand that purposeful journeys, ones that contribute towards something meaningful, is the only kind of wellness I want. The values-driven experiences and people I encountered here enriched my mind and etched a profound memory of this tiny place. I didn’t buy souvenirs before I left. I came back with something better; clarity that none of us need fixing, we just need to reconnect.
Lead image: Sheila Osorio dancing bomba in Loíza
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