Review: Puerto Rico – embrace the spirit of Boricua

“Live Boricua” is the call of Puerto Rico. Originally derived from the indigenous Taíno peoples’ name for the Caribbean island, Boricua now stands for the spirit, flavour, rhythm and pride of Puerto Ricans in this lush tropical island, with its food, music and, of course, rum.

It’s the home of piña colada, a blend of rum, pineapple and coconut cream that is believed to have originated from the Caribe Hilton in 1954. Who exactly created it is a point of argument, but you can leave that to the islanders and just enjoy the cocktail.

I remember drinking terrible versions of it as a teenager, but, as I sipped one in the hotel rooftop pool overlooking the beach full of frolicking spring breakers, I finally got it. Whoever came up with it was a genius.

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When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, winds of 155mph devastated the island, ripping up infrastructure and causing widespread flooding and destruction. Eight years later, the island shows little sign of the damage, but the memory of the devastation lives on. It’s testament to the resilience of the people that their response has been to learn the lessons in a positive way.

Despite being a territory of the United States since 1898 and Puerto Ricans US citizens since 1917, the underwhelming support from the US in the aftermath of Maria drove home to them the need to stand on their own feet.

From our taxi driver installing his own solar panels and independent water supply to farm and restaurant groups working together to create sustainable agriculture and pride in local ingredients, the response is inspiring.

At Atelier Cocina Abierta, we met Martin Louzao who established Cincosentidos Culinary Group, dedicated to forging partnerships with chefs, farmers, fishermen and producers championing local food focused on biodiversity and sustainability.

The importance of this hit home during Maria when his main restaurant in San Juan, with its own generator, became an essential food hub as the island’s capital survived two months without power. The island imports 85% of its food from the US and, due to the destruction, supplies just weren’t getting through.

Puerto Ricans realised they had to become less reliant on cheap imports, not least because the quality of their own produce is spectacular. Our bartender for the evening was saddened by locals choosing to drink the truly awful American Minute Maid fruit juices when they have an abundance of tropical fruits, including guava – originally used by the Taínos to help treat the symptoms of dysentery.

Starting with those rum and fresh-fruit cocktails we got stuck into making the local obsession, mofongo. This dish of plantain, mashed in the traditional maceta and pilón, a traditional Taíno tool similar to a pestle and mortar, but taller and thinner and made of local wood.

There are many versions of the dish, where you make a hollow out of the mashed plantain and then fill it with savoury stews, often chicken. But here, we had a rich spiced duck stew. You then turn it out to create an impressive domed tower. To lighten this sturdy dish we had refreshing green papaya salad and a coconut cream desert with fresh fruit.

A food tour is a great way to discover the island

We were staying in Aire de O:live (around £300 a night), a beachfront hotel in the Isla Verde district of San Juan, which is a great location for exploring this small island.

It has a rooftop restaurant overlooking the beach where breakfast is served and then, for lunch and dinner, it becomes a popular and buzzy Japanese-influenced restaurant, called Kumo.

However, if you really want to find out about the island, you need to dive into the local food and drink culture to really experience Boricua. The best way to discover it is through a food tour. Our guide Pablo, a coffee-addicted local university history student, who embodied the ebullient attitude of Boricuans, took us through the old town of San Juan.

His depth of knowledge of the history of the island was impressive, from the original Taínos, Christopher Columbus’ arrival in 1493, to the African slaves and the takeover by the Americans in 1899 after the end of the Spanish-American War.

Our whistle-stop tour of the charming old town started with coffee at Café Cuatro Sombras, a farm-to-table coffee shop. Pablo regaled us with how Puerto Rico became one of the world’s largest coffee producers under American rule.

Although no longer the world’s largest producers, they still grow excellent coffee. We also tried alcapurrias – traditional fritters made with plantains stuffed with beef, mofongo and, of course, the ubiquitous piña coladas.

We finished off the tour at Chocobar Cortés, where we had unusual but delicious cheese and chocolate pastries. Chocobar Cortés is a family owned local company that has been producing chocolate on the island for over 90 years.

In the 1930s, in response to American rule suppressing the language, culture and flag, they produced chocolate bars wrapped in Spanish language comics for children to keep the language alive. Today, they’re still committed to promoting and supporting the island.

Eat like a local…

We took a second food tour with Laura Ortiz-Villamil – a PhD candidate in Puerto Rican studies, who also runs Sofrito Tours, which leads cultural trips focused on the island’s cuisine. She took us to places that are mainly off the beaten track, which most tourists would struggle to find.

A stand-out location was El Burén de Lula, a family run food stand open every Sunday run by six generations of the women overseen by a force of nature that is Vilma, the 90-year-old matriarch dedicated to preserving traditional recipes.

We had crab empanadas, corn arepas and sweet tortillas made from cornmeal with sugar and cinnamon and wrapped up in banana leaf, all cooked on hot plates. There were queues forming behind us as we watched them cook with quiet efficiency, churning out the delicious snacks.

Close by is El Sazón de Sylvia, which is so popular it sells 3,000 meat and 3,000 crab alcapurrias daily – delicious fritters made with a dough of green bananas and cassava, served alongside crab rice and other popular dishes, none of which will do much for your waistline but well worth the calories.

We finished off the tour at Luquillo Beach, a popular area with the spring breakers, who all seem to have come out in a terrible rash of love bites proudly displayed. It’s also full of locals enjoying the many food stands and bars where we finished off with barbecued chicken, plantains and more piña coladas.

…and drink excellent coffee

The central region of Puerto Rico is home to many coffee plantations taking advantage of the relative coolness of the mountains with pristine landscapes encompassing rivers, caves and unspoilt vistas.

Here, we visited Hacienda Tres Ángeles, a coffee plantation set up by a husband-and-wife team along with their three daughters (the three angels in the name) 12 years ago, following the Puerto Rican dream to own land and farm it.

As they set up from scratch they installed solar panels and an independent water supply along with a generator, which meant when Hurricane Maria hit, they were some of the only people in the area with power for the next nine months.

Together, the local community got through the trauma and the coffee plantation has gone from strength to strength producing high-grade coffee in the European style – medium roasted to chocolatey-flavoured perfection rather than the darker roast favoured by the Americans, which leads to a more bitter flavoured coffee.

We also visited Frutos del Guacabo, a family run organic farm and food hub promoting, through agriculture, the economic development and independence of the island. They produce a variety of fresh goats’ cheeses and other products from the milk, including soap.

The cheese was fresh and delicious served alongside a selection of fresh fruit and pickles, including an incredible watermelon-rind pickle, showcasing their zero-waste approach to food.

They also aim to preserve local and underused plants, including a Thai pea flower beloved by bartenders as, when added to drinks, it will turn the liquid from blue to pink with the addition of lime.

To sum up, Puerto Rico is an island of beautiful landscapes, colonial-era architecture and a resilient people bursting with pride in their country. As I sipped yet another piña colada, watching the sun set over the beach, I felt the spirit of Boricua… although that might have been the rum.

Natasha was a guest of Discover Puerto Rico.

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