Early February 2026

Introduction

The Calle Cerra neighborhood in the Santurce section of San Juan has gone all in for wall art. I’ve documented some of the art there in the past. Here is an update, with occassional comparsions to works now gone.

South of Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon

The artwork begins in the first block, south of Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon. Here are a couple of examples.

This was on the upper story of a building across a narrow street. I do not yet know how to correct the keystone effect caused by pointing the camera up to get the image. Learning how to do that will be next week’s project.

This is on the wall above Cafe Julietta, a nice place to have a meal. The space seems to have been claimed by a particular artist. Here is one of her earlier works in this spot.

This was taken before Cafe Julietta took over and renovated the first floor, part of the continuing gentrification of the neighborhood. By the way, you can see an earlier post about Calle Cerra here.

South of Avenida Fernandez Juncos

Calle Cerra continues south for two or three more short blocks. The heart of the street art is in this area. Here are some examples.

Here is a garage door decorated in the Calle Cerra style. Check out my earlier post featuring shutter art here.

It is unusual to see black and white wall art but here is one example from lower Calle Cerra.

This is actually one short block east of lower Calle Cerra – the wall art has expanded to neighboring streets and businesses.

Planet Pizza PR can be found on lower Calle Cerra. Again, the black and white is unusual.

The two parked cars in front of this wall provide an idea of the size of this mural. Here is an earlier mural from the same spot.

This mural, by Danae Brissonet, was replaced by the one just above. I spent some time with Photoshop and, starting with the image above, created the next image.

The neighborhood feature entire buildings pained in the Calle Cerra style. Here is one.

There was at one time a hjghly regarded Italian restaurant (Grazianos, I think) on the first floor of this building. I did not notice if it is still open.

Speaking of restaurants. there is now a sushi place a block east of lower Calle Cerra. This is a sure sigh of the continuing gentrification of the area.

This is on the outside wall of a sushi restaurtant just east of lower Calle Cerra.

The mural here is on Calle Cerra. Parked cars and trucks are the bane of a wall art photographer.

A vaguely Orintal-looking woman on a mural on lower Calle Cerra.

Now, every neighborhood needs a good hardware store (Ferreteria). The Ferreteria on Calle Cerra is all in with the mural idea.

Here is one nore from the hardware store, on the wall to the right of the image just above.

Again, parked cars are a nusiance for my photography. By the way, here is the Ferreteria in an older scheme.

So there you have it – more evidence of the vibrant art scene on Calle Cerra. If you come visit, I will take you there. All it will cost you is a beer or two – I get thirsty doing all that walking.

Notes and Sources

The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera, and edit my images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop. I crop, adjust levels, resize, and sometimes increase vibrance and/or saturtion levels.

Late February 2025

Introduction

Jeff Bezos may be here in San Juan. I haven’t seen him but his mega-yacht Koru is docked in Old San Juan. So I’m guessing Bezos, if he is not here now, will soon arrive to enjoy some Caribbean sailing.

Bezos is of course the founder of Amazon. He has, according to a recent Forbes article, a net worth of $230 billion. And yes that is billion, not million. That makes him the second richest person in the United States, behind Elon Musk. Musk’s net worth is about $385 billion.

This is the second time I’ve seen the Koru here, She was in port in December for a couple of weeks. I knew then that Jeff Bezos would not be sailing her as he was being feted by Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago. As you might recall, Elon Musk crashed that party. I wonder how the conversation between them went. Perhaps they were discussing Trump’s promise to provide a tax cut for the rich.

It is hard to understand just how rich these two are. For comparison, here are the five poorest countries as ranked by GDP.

These are small island nations with small populations. And note the GDP is listed in millions, not billions.

I wondered how Musk and Bezos compared to larger nations.

and

I think I know why the Republicans want to cut taxes on the rich. There is no way Elon Musk should be poorer than Egypt, or Jeff Bezos poorer than Portugal.

There are better ways to portray a nation’s economic condition. One way to to divide the GDP by the adult population, giving a figure called Personal Purchasing Power. But that is for another time and place.

The Koru

Jeff Bezos’ mega-yacht Koru cost $500 million to build. Here is how that figure compares to the GDP of two countries.

The Koru was built in the Netherlands, at the Oceanco shipyard, starting in 2021. She was delivered in April of 2023. There was some controversy surrounding her launch. The original plan was to partially dismantle the historic De Hef bridge to allow the Koru through. After a public outcry, the plan was changed and the masts were installed downriver of the bridge.

An image of the historic De Hef bridge in the Netherlands.

The Koru is 127 m (417 ft) long with a beam of 17 m (56 ft). She draws 5 m (16 ft) of water. At a gross tonnage of 3,490 tons, the Koru is larger than some warships.

The Koru has a crew of between 35 and 50, and can accommodate 18 passengers.

Note the data receivers on one of the masts. At least, that is what I think it is. If so, it allows Jeff Bezos and guests to watch the latest Prime releases.

When at sea, the Koru is accompanied by its own support vessel, the Abeona. The Abeona itself is 75 m (246 ft) long, has a helipad with enclosed storage space for a helicopter, and carries more crew and relief supplies for the Koru..

I haven’t seen the Abeona here in San Juan. Perhaps they are destined to meet on some other Caribbean island.

Notes and Sources

I used GDP estimates as generated by the World Bank and as listed on Wikipedia. Click here for more information.

The image of the De Hef bridge is from Wikipedia.

Click here for the source of the image of the Koru at sea.

Unless otherwise attributed, the photos are mine. I use a digital point and shoot camera and edit them with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.

Mid February 2025

Introduction

Tourism represents about two percent of the Puerto Rican economy. Manufacturing, at about 43%, is the largest sector. These data come from a recent report of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which is known locally as PROMESA. PROMESA is an acronym of the Board’s name in Spanish. Here is a link to that report.

I don’t know PROMESA’s methodologies but the two percent figure seems low. I’ve read other estimates that suggest tourism accounts for about 15% of the economy.

Even at 15%, most visitors would probably that that was a low estimate. Tourists often stay in the heavily tourist areas of Old San Juan, Condado, and Isla Verde with occasional forays to the rain forest (El Yunque) and other island destinations. But tourists are rarer in other parts of the island.

The government here has a master plan to increase tourism. I have heard of the plan, talked with Puerto Rican friends about it, but have never seen it. As I understand it, there are several components of the plan but two are to: increase cruise ship visits and attract more luxury mega yachts. I see evidence of some changes in the port now in support of these goals.

Port Changes

Past Uses

We can, from our balcony, see Piers 14 and 15 of the Port of San Juan. We used to watch ships carrying steel, cars, and occasionally coal come into Pier 14 and unload. Once we watched as a ship was loaded with chunks of concrete, apparently headed somewhere to be ground up and used as aggregate in new concrete mixes.

Here is a freighter unloading steel at Pier 14. The fork lifts arrive about the same time as the ship and move rebars, rolls of spring steel, and coils of steel wire onto the surface.

The forklift is transporting two rolls of steel wire. After the ship is emptied, the forklifts load a steady stream of flat bed trucks.

These stacks of rebars will be loaded onto flat bed trucks.

This is a vehicle carrying new cars from Korea, Japan or perhaps the assembly plants in Vera Cruz, Mexico.

New cars are being driven off the ship. Drivers deliver cars from the ship to the pier and then are taken by van back onto the ship for more cars. It takes about eight hours to unload s ship this size.

This ship is taking on chunks of concrete. I’m not sure where it will be taken but it will be crushed, graded by size, and used as aggregate in new concrete.

This ship, from Amsterdam, has a deck cargo of new yachts. The stevedores were vary careful as they unloaded some of them and put them directly onto special trailers.

The Future?

We no longer see activities like these at Piers 14 and 15. The activity has moved to the new port area on the other side of the bay, or perhaps to Ponce, on the Caribbean coast.

According to my Puerto Rican friends who have seen the Master Plan, the frontage along piers 14 and 15 and adjoining piers will become a pedestrian-friendly area with walkways, restaurants, sitting areas. Perhaps water taxis will ply the harbor. The idea is to direct visitors from Old San Juan along this part of the port, and perhaps around to District T Mobile, a recently completed area with bars, restaurants,and entertainment venues, located near the Convention Center.

Yachts and Cruise Ships

The Master Plan calls for more cruise ship activity and for more mega-yachts to be homeported here.

Now, mega-yachts have occasionally visited here. For example, the unique Yacht A came a few years ago.

Motor Yacht A belongs to a Russian oligarch and has not been in port for several years. I’ve written about her previously – check out my posts here and here.

Likewise, the mega-yacht Eclipse has not been here for a while.

I also wrote about her in an earlier post.

While visits by these super yachts are undoubtedly welcome, the idea is to make the port available for smaller, but still mega, yachts. And that has already started. Piers 8, 9 and 10 have been converted from freight piers to docking area for large yachts.

Two large yachts moored at Pier 9. Small freighters used to leave from here, carrying 6 or 8 containers to Vieques or Culebra, the two Puerto Rican island east of the large island.

A large yacht moored at Pier 8.

Work has begun to increase cruise ship activity, both in terms of home porting and one day visits. Pier 3 was lengthened to accommodate the largest cruise ships. However, last April the end of the pier was damaged by a cruise ship leaving port. Repairs are continuing but the largest cruise ships cannot be accommodated yet.

The tents house construction equipment to affect repairs on the east side pf Pier 3. Until completed and inspected by the Coast Guard, only smaller cruise ships can dock at this pier.

Summary

Puerto Rico has a master plan to increase tourism. It includes rethinking the current port activities, and attracting more cruise ships and yachts. When will it it be implemented? I suspect no one knows that for sure.

Notes and Sources

The photos are all mine, taken with a digital camera and edited with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop. I learned of discussions of the MAster Plan in informal talks with my Puerto Rican friends.

Mid January 2025

Introduction

The bus lane carrying public transit into and out of Old San Juan passes just south of our building. In the block immediately to the east, one story walls are found on both sides of the street. Over the years, the walls attracted mural artists and they produced a series of colorful works of art.

I use the past tense because in the last day or two the walls have been painted an ugly shade of brown. In this post, i will offer unfounded speculations as to why this happened and celebrate some of the art work that has been painted over.

Idle Speculations

Just down the street from us, an apartment building has been under construction. It is now close to completion. The front of the building is on Avenida de la Constitucion; the back is on the bus lane. I wonder if the building owners, now close to showing the luxury apartments to potential buyers, wanted the walls repainted to ‘tidy up’ the neighborhood.

The new apartment building. I took this image while standing in the bus lane. Our building is visible in the lower left of this image.

There are, by my count, twelve floors. There are perhaps four apartments per floor. And it is in a great location. I don’t know anything about apartment prices but these have to be expensive.

The owners probably had dominion of the wall along the back of their building; that was probably part of the parcel of land the developer bought. But I don’t know how they could extend their influence to the other side of the street, Perhaps the developers, wielding their political clout, convinced the government to paint the walls on both sides of the street. Or maybe the new governor, riding in her motorcade, thought the wall murals an eyesore and ordered the walls painted.

Or it could be some other reason entirely. As I say, these are but idle speculations.

Disappeared Art

So here are some of the murals now gone.

This was one the south side of the street. Actually, it had been painted over, perhaps by the same artist.

This was also on the south side of the street,

Crab Lady was on the wall on the north side of the street,

The Undertaker was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. This too had been painted over. See my earlier post here.

This is what replaced The Undertaker.

A celebration of grass and surf.

I’m guessing this is an anti-hate statement. This was next to the Crab Lady.

A whimsical smiley face.

Another whimsical face.

Today

The walls, once filled with colorful, challenging, sometimes ugly, sometimes celebratory, sometimes whimsical paintings, is now an ugly shade of brown.

I’m glad I had the foresight to capture some of the images while they still existed.

Notes and Sources

The images are all mine. I use a Sony digital point and shoot camera and edit my images using Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.

Early December 2024

Introduction

The other day, as I was searching for new examples of street art, i began to think of the art that I had seen but has since disappeared. Of course, I had thought along these lines before (check out these earlier posts here and here).

When I started photographing and writing about street art, I did not realize I would have an image repository of wall murals that are now gone, for one reason or another. If you’re a regualar reader of this blog, you will have seen some of these before. But I think they are all worth a revisit. I’ll try to arrange them by neighborhood, when I can.

Sagrado Corazon

This mural, on the wall of a three story building, was visible for several years from the platform of the urban train station in Sagrado Corazon. It had faded over the years; it is now gone. I never did figure out the symbolism.

The evocative Woman with Green Face was also near the Sagrado Corazon urban train station. She has long since been painted over.

Domenech

I first noticed this while on the urban train as the train, elevated at that point, rounded a curve near the Domenech station. A few days later, I went back, got off at that station and took this from street level. The mural is still on the wall but it has faded enough to obliterate it.

Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon

The next two were just off Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon, the main street through San Juan, near the intersection with Avenida de Diego. They have since been painted over.

Plaza del Mercado, Santurce

The next four are from the neighborhood around the Plaza del Mercado in Santurce. The house above was on the street leading to the plaza from the south, off Avenida Juan Ponce de Leon. It is rare to see wall murals with red as the dominant color.

These intricate figures were on the bridge pier along Calle Canal, entering the Plaza area from Condado, to the north. They’ve been painted over.

This smiling face greeted visitors to the Plaza as they headed north, along Calle Canal.

Condado

This was not technically in Condado. It was on a side street leading into Condado, from the south. I was and remain intrigued by this work.

Calle Cerra

As I’ve written before, Calle Cerra is a hotbed of wall art. I’ll probably do another post on it later but here are three examples of murals there that have been painted over with new art.

Conclusion

So there are a few examples of wall art that has disappeared. I wonder if copyright protection still pertains to works painted over. I should check that out. Perhaps I can use these and other images in a book to sell to avid tourists pouring off the cruise ships. What do you think – want to send me a few bucks to get me started?

Notes and Sources

The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera and edit my images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop.

Late August 2024

Introduction

Puerto Rico hosts a professional ironman competition every March. The three components – swim, bike, run – all begin and end near my apartment. I wander around with my cameras in hand and try to capture some of the excitement of the day. Here are some of my efforts.

Preparations

It takes three or four days to prepare the course. Traffic barriers have to be put up for the bike race. Inflatable pylons have to be placed to mark the swim course. A paddock has to be constructed to store the bikes.

A worker begins to prepare the ramp by which swimmers will exit the Condado Lagoon and make their way to the paddock to get their bikes and start the bike leg.

The completed ramp awaits the swimmers. The protective tape is presumably to prevent curious tourists from using it.

On Saturday afternoon, a competitor wheels his bike to the paddock. A bike like this has a list price of about $9,000.

More bikes in the paddock. The bikes are assigned places by number; the the athletes will store their running gear by their bikes.

The Start

The event starts Sunday morning. The competitors line up by the times they expect to finish the swim, with the fastest swimmers starting first.

The first cohort of swimmers line up behind the 25 minutes or less sign. Once the event begins, three swimmers will enter the course every five seconds.

After the U.S. and Puerto Rican national anthems, a percussion band serenades the swimmers.

The first group of swimmers await the start.

An athlete anxiously awaits her start. She will swim 1.3 miles, bike for 56 miles, and then run for another 13.1 miles – a total of 70.3 miles.

As you can see, most of the athletes seemed serious, even anxious, before the start.

The Swim

Three swimmers enter the water every five seconds and begin the 1.3 mile swim. They head east and then around the end of the Condado Lagoon. They exit after they pass under the bridge connecting Condado to the Isleta de San Juan, the small island of San Juan.

The swimmers enter the water to the left and head east and then around the east end of the Condado Lagoon. They have to keep the pylons on their right. Volunteers in kayaks and on paddleboats keep an eye on things.

The swimmers pass under a bridge on the way to the ramp. The air and water temperature are both about 80 F.

The Swim-Bike Transition

The swimmers leave the water via the ramp shown earlier, and run about a quarter of a mile to the paddock to don their biking gear and run with their bikes to the start of the bike leg.

Some of the athletes make the swim-bike transition barefoot, others stash a pair of running shows by the ramp.

The athletes enter the paddock, get into their biking gear, and grab their bikes and make their way to the start of the bike leg.

The bikers have to cross the Mount Bike line before they can get get on their bikes and actually start to ride.

The Bike Leg

The riders start in Parc Escambron, in San Juan, and ride to Dorado and back. It is a flat route. They finish at the Dismount line, and then run with their bikes to the paddock, don their running gear, and start the run.

Two riders have just mounted their bikes and are starting the bike leg. The long shadows reveal the early hour; it as about 8 15 AM.

A rider accelerating put of the park.

More riders just starting their bike ride. By this time, the elite athletes are well into the bike leg; these competitors are in it for their personal aggrandizement.

Two more just starting the bike leg.

The fastest riders complete the bike leg in a bit over two hours. I waited for the first riders to return.

An elite rider nearing completion of his bike race.

The riders make their way back into the park, dismount just before the Dismount line, and make their way to the paddock.

There is a tricky S curve just as the riders enter the park.

A short section of the road into the park utilizes these tiles to identify a cross walk. It is good it was a dry day – they are very slippery when wet.

Three elite riders speeding towards the Dismount line.

A rider just at the Dismount line.

The Bike-Run Transition

The athletes run with their bikes to the paddock, change into their running shoes, and start the 13.1 mile run. It is two laps into and out of Old San Juan. The course is hilly,

Three riders just past the Dismount line. The racing bikes identify them as competitive athletes.

Volunteers assist along the way. This one is offering a spray of sunscreen before the run.

The Run

The run,13.1 miles, is two laps into and back from Old San Juan, along a hilly course.

I find the run uninteresting. The runners seem to be in agony, the sun is high and harsh, and I find it difficult to capture a good image. But here are a few.

A runner leaving the paddock as he begins the half-marathon.

The runner to the left is finishing his first lap; the others are just starting theirs.

Results

Matheus Salto Martine of Brazil was the overall winner, with a time of 4:04:46. Javier Figueroa of Puerto Rico was second, at 4:09:33. Kiel Bur of the US was third at 4:11:01.

All in all, it was a beautiful day

The solicitation for the 2025 event is out; click here to see it. If you’re thinking of entering, better start training now. March 16, 2025 will be here before you know it.

Notes

The images are all mine. I use a Sony point and shoot digital camera and an old 35 mm Nikon. I edit the images with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.

August 2024

Introduction

I had occasion to be in San Juan for a week earlier this month. While I spent most of my time working with (or waiting for) workmen to do various tasks in our apartment, I did have time to find new street art. In fact, one of the workmen, knowing my interest in street art, took me on a quick tour of new works in his car. So here are newly discovered works from two parts of the city.

Puerta de Tierra

Calle San Agustin

The walled city of Old San Juan is on a small island, Isleta de San Juan. The walled city once had a gate called Puerta de Tierra, literally gate to the land. The gate in question, once located where the Plaza Colon has since been built, was the walled city’s gate to the rest of the Isleta de San Juan; that part of the island is now known as Puerta de Tierra.

An electric scooter leans against a wall on which a muralist proclaims his love of his neighborhood.

The next four images are from a small square along Calle San Agustin. There is a small kisoco there which sells beer, juices, and empanadillas to patrons sitting at umbrella-shaded tables.

My guide told me the mural depicted a recent Puerto Rican Miss Universe contestant.

I found the next two also on Calle San Agustin, across from a bar I sometimes visit. They are a mini sports hall of fame.

This mural honors Monica Puig and Roberto Clemente. Monica Puig, a professional tennis player, won a Gold Medal at the 2016 Olympics, in the tennis singles event. She was the first Puerto Rican to win a gold. Roberto Clemente was a 21 year Hall of Fame major league baseball player.

Jasmine Camacho Quinn became the second Puerto Rican to win an Olympics gold medal. She won the women’s 100 meter hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

This colorful mural is in a courtyard just off of Avenida de la Constitucion, a block up from Calle San Agustin.

Calle del Tren

The next four are along the Calle del Tren, the bus lanes into and out of Old San Juan.

This is a huge mural, about five stories tall. I don’t know who the artist is but the mural reminds me of one on the Calle Cerra neighborhood. That mural was of a large rabbit.

This mural is much more modestly sized. I like the green face.

These last two are along the bus lanes one block east of our apartment building.

Calle Cerra

The Calle Cerra neighborhood, in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, is noted for its everchanging wall art. I’ve written about it before (click here and here to get caught up). Here are some new murals I found on my recent trip.

The first is on the block between Avenida Ponce de Leon and Avenida Fernandez Juncos. It is a cross from a small Mexican restaurant, one of our favorites.

The others are from a block or two down, south of Avenida Fernandez Juncos.

The above is on a side wall along the sidewalk.

This is by the Puerto Rican artist David Zayas. It replaces an earlier work by the same artist. If I chose to edit this image further, I will remove the louvres. It will take some time but I think it will be worth it.

This is on a wall along the sidewalk, one block east of Calle Cerra.

The two murals above are along the sidewalk.

The last three are along an alley off of lower Calle Cerra.

Notes and Sources

I captured the murals with my digital camera. I edit them with Adobe Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop.

Check Wikipedia for information on the three athletes shown in the murals along Calle San Agustin.

Use Wikipedia to find information about the Puerto Rican artist David Zayas.