6 Puerto Rican Christmas Carols to Play This Noche Buena
There's nothing quite like Christmas in Puerto Rico. The tiny Caribbean island is known for having the longest holiday season in the world, which lasts from late November to mid-January. The Boricuas celebrate the season like no one else. We love all festive occasions because we love spending time with our family and friends. We're also obsessed with good food and great music.
A highlight of Puerto Rican Christmas festivities are the parrandas, which are essentially nighttime parades of Christmas carols that take place in individual neighborhoods throughout the Christmas season, and the star of these parrandas are the aguinaldos Puerto Ricans aka Christmas carols. While most mainland Americans are familiar with José Feliciano's beloved song "Feliz Navidad," it's far from the only original Christmas song on the island.
Aguinaldos - the word means "gifts" - is in itself a cultural tradition in Puerto Rico. In fact, it is a tradition that has turned into a form of resistance and a symbol of unity among Puerto Ricans. We own our Christmas traditions and largely put aside our differences to come together and sing and dance happily to the songs we all remember from our childhoods. These nostalgic songs are like an annual reminder that no matter what the government does or doesn't do or how dire and unbalanced the economy is, we are all Boricua.
Puerto Ricans refuse to let American and Eurocentric symbols of Christmas overshadow our own holiday traditions, and just like celebrating on Noche Buena with pernil, pitorro, arroz con gandules, and coquito, aguinaldos have become a symbol of our common heritage. Aguinaldos are still played with traditional Puerto Rican instruments like cuatros, güiros, and panderas. And while some are religious, many are executed in the criollo style, representing our diverse ancestry. Far from generic Christmas carols, aguinaldos often refer to principles of Puerto Rican culture and recall our vast and complicated history. Like so much Puerto Rican music, the songs are sung with pride and raw emotion. As we end each year and start another, the aguinaldos remind us of who we are, where we come from and what really matters in life.
This Noche Buena, we're blasting our favorite aguinaldos even more consciously than ever before, because, well, . . . there is so much going on in the world that is uncertain, but what is not is how strong and resilient we are as a people. To get you in the Christmas spirit, we recommend practicing these Puerto Rican Christmas carols.
There's nothing quite like Christmas in Puerto Rico. The tiny Caribbean island is known for having the longest holiday season in the world, which lasts from late November to mid-January. The Boricuas celebrate the season like no one else. We love all festive occasions because we love spending time with our family and friends. We're also obsessed with good food and great music.
A highlight of Puerto Rican Christmas festivities are the parrandas, which are essentially nighttime parades of Christmas carols that take place in individual neighborhoods throughout the Christmas season, and the star of these parrandas are the aguinaldos Puerto Ricans aka Christmas carols. While most mainland Americans are familiar with José Feliciano's beloved song "Feliz Navidad," it's far from the only original Christmas song on the island.
Aguinaldos - the word means "gifts" - is in itself a cultural tradition in Puerto Rico. In fact, it is a tradition that has turned into a form of resistance and a symbol of unity among Puerto Ricans. We own our Christmas traditions and largely put aside our differences to come together and sing and dance happily to the songs we all remember from our childhoods. These nostalgic songs are like an annual reminder that no matter what the government does or doesn't do or how dire and unbalanced the economy is, we are all Boricua.
Puerto Ricans refuse to let American and Eurocentric symbols of Christmas overshadow our own holiday traditions, and just like celebrating on Noche Buena with pernil, pitorro, arroz con gandules, and coquito, aguinaldos have become a symbol of our common heritage. Aguinaldos are still played with traditional Puerto Rican instruments like cuatros, güiros, and panderas. And while some are religious, many are executed in the criollo style, representing our diverse ancestry. Far from generic Christmas carols, aguinaldos often refer to principles of Puerto Rican culture and recall our vast and complicated history. Like so much Puerto Rican music, the songs are sung with pride and raw emotion. As we end each year and start another, the aguinaldos remind us of who we are, where we come from and what really matters in life.
This Noche Buena, we're blasting our favorite aguinaldos even more consciously than ever before, because, well, . . . there is so much going on in the world that is uncertain, but what is not is how strong and resilient we are as a people. To get you in the Christmas spirit, we recommend practicing these Puerto Rican Christmas carols.
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