San Juan is investing $1.2 million in an urban music program for high school students. Singer Jowell is driving the initiative.
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*Note updated January 13, 2026
What's happening? The Municipality of San Juan opened the application portal yesterday, Monday, for San Juan Urbano, a music and arts academy developed in partnership with artist Jowell and aimed at high school students. Applicants have until January 23 to complete the process through the portal sjurbano.sanjuan.pr.
The after school program will offer modules in music production, choreography, graphic design, photography, sound engineering and artist management, among other disciplines, from February to June 2026. The initiative will benefit 175 students with a total investment of $1.24 million.
The investment is divided into two phases: $624,387 for specialized equipment (awarded to AVL Group) and $620,156.25 for curriculum development (contracted with Editorial Panamericana Inc.).
To apply, students in ninth through 12th grade who live in San Juan must complete the online application, submit a demo video and participate in a virtual interview.
Who can apply? Students in 9th through 12th grade who are residents of San Juan. To prove residency, applicants must submit a water, electricity or phone bill, or a driver's license in the name of the candidate's guardian. Regarding socioeconomic level, 60% of spots (105 candidates) will be reserved for students below the poverty line and 40% (70 candidates) for students above it.
Why does it matter? The initiative aims to combat school dropout while developing talent in the creative economy, offering structured training in areas that have traditionally lacked formal education in Puerto Rico.
"When I started in music, programs like this didn't exist. We learned on the street, through trial and error. Today San Juan is giving young people an opportunity we never had: to learn in a structured way, with the right tools and with the support of their city," Jowell said.
Zoom in. The program will offer seven specialized modules of 45 hours each:
Music Production, Pre-production and Post-production
Performance and Composition
Graphic and Urban Art
Artist Management and Representation
Photography and Editing
Filming and Audiovisual Production
Choreography
Each module aims not only to provide technical skills but also to build self-esteem, discipline and motivation so that students continue their studies and find opportunities within the creative economy.
The municipal commitment. "With this project we reaffirm our commitment to opening doors for San Juan's young people so they have access to real opportunities that inspire them to keep studying and to develop as leaders of the creative economy," Romero Lugo said.
The mayor added that the program will be "a safe space where they can express themselves, grow and discover that their talent can become a career and a promising future."
Jowell and the vision behind San Juan Urbano
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
