Extension Highlights

4-H celebrates the traditional spirit of Puerto Rico in Holyoke with Festival del Jibaro

Sitting in the dappled shade under tall maple trees along the banks of the Connecticut River in on a recent hot July weekend, you could close your eyes and easily imagine the Caribbean Sea and palms rustling in the breeze.

On the Casa del Arbol stage at Holyoke’s Nuestras Raices Farm, young people in colorful costumes danced and waved flags while traditional music of Puerto Rico played on a sound system backstage.

Festival del Jibaro was clearly underway, courtesy of the city’s Cuenta Conmigo (Count-on-Me) 4-H Club.

This was the second year of the Festival, which also featured storytelling, live music, home-cooked island food, local crafts, games, and a petting zoo at the farm. Cuenta Conmigo club leader Julia Riveria is a chief organizer of the festival, which commemorates the cultural heritage of the Jibaro, a powerful icon in Puerto Rican history. The rural Jibarito lived close to the land and are today celebrated for their natural wisdom, honesty, and self-sufficiency.

Riveria and 17 youth from the club spent weeks practicing dances and skits exploring their cultural roots from the island. Talyssa Torres, 17, dressed as a native Taino indian for the opening act, says preparing for the festival taught her a lot about her ancestry while allowing her to have fun dancing.

"I love to dance," she said backstage before the show without a hint of nervousness. Torres performed the Spanish dance Danza, as well as the free-style Bomba dance, a popular choice for the teenagers.

Adneris Rosaria, who recently moved with her family to Holyoke from Puerto Rico, showed off her sparkling red, white, and blue costume designed after the national flag. She said she was proud to wear the flag but was also excited to dance the Bomba with her new 4-H friends. Fourteen-year-old Nate Rodriguez said he was urged to participate in the festival by his mom. "She wanted me to learn more about my culture," he said. "And now my aunt and cousins are here from Puerto Rico to see the show."

Several hundred people–mostly families from the Holyoke community and friends and relatives of performers–crowded around the stage in folding chairs or on the ground, or even lounging island-style in a slinky hammock, to watch the four-hour show on Saturday and Sunday. Through the afternoon the music of Voces de mi Pueblo kept the crowd in a Puerto Rico frame of mind and a fun skit bringing children's folklore legend Juan Bobo to life with a real live squealing pig from the farm entertained young and old alike. Troubadour competitions and poetry readings also made the afternoon a tropical delight.

"We wanted this to be a family event," said Riveria, who collaborated with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Nuestras Raices to pull the festival together. "We wanted to bring back the culture of Puerto Rico and make it educational and entertaining for everyone."

Click here to view a slideshow of Festival del Jibaro. Photography by Ben Barnhart.