As every year, the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián will offer a wide variety of crafts at different points throughout Old San Juan.
These are the key spots to find your Puerto Rican crafts:
Feria de Artesanías y Artes Plásticas del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
Where: 📍Cuartel de Ballajá, 📍Sede del ICP
Hours: Thursday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) will hold its Feria de Artesanías y Artes Plásticas in two spaces: the Cuartel de Ballajá and the ICP headquarters, with more than 400 vendors selling crafts such as carved santos, jewelry, handbags, handmade soaps, musical instruments, mundillo, artwork and even handmade organic makeup.
The Feria de Artesanías is dedicated to Iris Torres, a 70-year-old artisan from Orocovis who has spent more than 40 years carving santos in wood and bone and making items from corozo.
The ICP will also hold the Gran Final del 57mo Concurso Nacional de Trova at its headquarters on Saturday (Jan. 17) at 11:00 a.m., featuring the 10 winners of competitions held around the Island over the past three months.
Cuartel de Ballajá: There will be 216 artisans and 70 visual artists distributed throughout the courtyard and hallways.
Sede del ICP: There will be 36 artisans, 30 visual artists, five booksellers and six nonprofit organizations. There will also be:
Live music programming, including the 57mo Concurso Nacional de Trova.
Workshops for children on making musical instruments from recycled materials and on making masks (Saturday and Sunday).
Special exhibitions: Talladoras de Santos and Mundilleras.
An exhibition of the sculpture Mi Terruño, by artist Osiel Hernández. It measures 9 feet by 9 feet and features more than 30 images of Puerto Rico on the root of a mahogany tree found after Hurricane María.
Feria Municipal de Artistas Plásticos
Where: 📍Calle San Sebastián (from the intersection with Calle del Mercado to Calle de la Cruz)
Hours: Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Municipio de San Juan presents its Feria Municipal de Artistas Plásticos, with 16 participants, 10 of whom are residents of Old San Juan, two from the capital and four from other parts of Puerto Rico. Their works will be on display at various points along Calle San Sebastián in Old San Juan.
Artisans at various plazas in Old San Juan
Where: 📍Plaza de la Beneficencia, 📍Plaza San José, 📍Plaza del Quinto Centenario (corner of Calle del Cristo), 📍Plaza Arturo Somohano
Hours: within the SanSe schedule, Thursday through Sunday
The municipality will have 90 artisans and 30 micro-entrepreneurs spread across various plazas throughout Old San Juan.
"Selling crafts has an element that goes beyond a purchase or a transaction. Whoever takes home a craft takes home a small piece of our tradition. So the artisan is a central pillar of the event."
Miguel Romero, mayor of San Juan
Artisans at Paseo de la Princesa
Where: 📍Paseo de la Princesa (in front of the Compañía de Turismo headquarters), 📍Plaza Dársena
Hours: (To be confirmed)
Various artisans will present their work at Paseo de la Princesa, an event organized by the Compañía de Turismo.
Artisans in Cataño: "Del Malecón pa' las Fiestas"
Where: 📍Malecón de Cataño
Hours: Friday through Sunday
Taking advantage of the wave of people who take the Cataño ferry to reach the SanSe, the municipality will hold its "Del Malecón pa' las Fiestas" event from Friday through Sunday, where various artisans will also be showing their work.
The event will also feature live music on Friday and Saturday starting at 7:00 p.m., and on Sunday starting at 4:00 p.m.
More about SanSe 2026
Cover photo: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
