After last year’s resounding success, Saborea Puerto Rico returns for a second helping as the Caribbean’s premiere culinary event.  The three-day festival runs from Friday, April 3rd through Sunday, April 5th - at El Escambrón Beach near Old San Juan - and promises an extravagant gastronomic experience to delight even the most meticulous food enthusiast.   The festivities commence on Friday night with the Rums Of Puerto Rico Beach Soireé, a can’t-miss bash featuring an amazing assortment of cocktails and a menu created by chefs Bradford Thompson and Mario Ferro.

The Saborea Puerto Rico Village opens Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm and encompasses the main activities within the event.  At Al Euro Demo Kitchen Theatre, renowned local and international chefs will delight onlookers with cooking presentations.  Among the personalities participating in the event are: Iron Chef Cat Cora, Executive Chef of Bon Appétit magazine; Michael Psilakis, Best New Chef of 2008 for Food & Wine magazine; world-famous chocolatier Jacques Torres, and acclaimed Puerto Rican chef, Wilo Benet.  To see who else will be presenting, click here.

Tastings, seminars and other demonstrations are spread out across two pavilions, where foodies will get a chance to try dishes and sample a wide variety of wines and spirits from some of Puerto Rico’s finest dining places.  Some of the establishments showcasing the flavors of Caribbean and World cuisine include Ajili-Mojili, Trois Cent Onze (311), Morton’s @ Caribe Hilton, Old Harbor Brewery, and many others.  For a complete list of restaurants and exhibitors, click here.

Not to be left out, the Saborea Kid’s Pavilion offers youngsters the opportunity to learn simple and fun recipes through cooking demonstrations and other exhibitions.

With the abundance of activities, a picturesque setting and the exquisite flavors of the cuisine, events such as Saborea are quickly making Puerto Rico the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico’s east coast has developed into an essential vacation spot, beckoning tourists to discover it’s breathtaking natural wonders and numerous world-class accommodations, like El Conquistador Resort and Gran Meliá Puerto Rico.  Several prestigious events - including the Puerto Rico Open golf tournament at Trump International Golf Club - take advantage of the scenic setting provided by the eastern municipalities, while destinations such as Las Croabas highlight the diversity of activities available to visitors.

If you’re staying in the area and want to maximize your enjoyment, don’t miss these spectacular spots:

El Yunque National Forest - Río Grande, PR

Covering over 28,000 acres of land, El Yunque National Forest offers visitors some of the most breathtaking vistas found in the Caribbean.  The forest attracts over a million visitors each year, who come to hike its more than 13 miles of trails while enjoying the lush scenery, rich biodiversity, and fresh mountain air. Guided tours of these trails are available through the USDA Forest Service’s innovative “Forest Adventure Tours” and “Rent-A-Ranger” programs.  A short ten-minute drive through the village of Palmer in Río Grande and up PR Road #191 will lead you to the forest.  On your way up, don’t forget to stop at El Portal Rain Forest Center, an award-wining structure established in 1996 to serve as a gateway into El Yunque National Forest and to provide various recreational and educational opportunities to the general public. VIEW VIDEO

Balneario de Luquillo -  Luquillo, PR

Just a 45 minute ride east from San Juan and a couple of minutes away from the entrance to El Yunque Rainforest lies the Balneario de Luquillo. La Monserrate Beach, as it is also known, is one of the oldest and most visited public beaches on the island. A member of the Blue Flag Program that emphasizes water quality and environmental conservation, the crescent’s tranquil waters are surrounded by spectacular views of the nearby mountains.  Stopping by the strip of kiosks on the road leaving the beach, where you can enjoy a great variety of fritters and other staples of traditional cuisine, should be an essential part of your visit.  VIEW VIDEO

Balneario Seven Seas - Fajardo, PR

The Balneario Seven Seas, located on the northeastern tip of the island, is the municipality of Fajardo’s most popular public beach. Puerto Rico’s Compañía de Parques Nacionales oversees this long stretch of beach, known to draw large crowds on weekends and holidays. Seven Seas features powdery white sands that gently slope towards the shallow, clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Amenities available for visitors include restrooms and showers, lifeguards on duty, security guards, as well as wheelchair access to the beach. Camping is also allowed with proper permit for a fee, or one can rent a gazebo for the night.  VIEW VIDEO

Bahía Bioluminiscente Laguna Grande - Fajardo, PR

Puerto Rico’s eastern coast – host to some of the island’s best known attractions – has been blessed with an extraordinary rare and beautiful natural phenomenon seldom seen anywhere else in the world: the bioluminescent waters of Laguna Grande, where endless amounts of microscopic, single-celled organisms known as dinoflagellates light up like stardust whenever they are activated by movement.  Eco-friendly tours depart regularly from the public dock at the small fishing village of Las Croabas located on route 987. Several private companies are ready to take you on a two-hour night-time kayak adventure through the bay and into the mangrove channels that lead to Laguna Grande.  VIEW VIDEO

Las Cabezas de San Juan - Fajardo, PR

Located on 445 acres of land acquired and maintained by The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve is an incredibly diverse and scientifically important tract of land.  The main tour consist of a two-hour trolley ride that guides you along the reserve with three stops of interest. Among those are the boardwalk trail through a mangrove forest, Playa Lirios, and El Faro de Fajardo. Situated on the highest point of Cape San Juan, the stone building was the second lighthouse erected on the island by the Spanish and offers breathtaking views to enjoy as trade winds gently blow by.  VIEW VIDEO

Photo by Shayan (USA)

Let’s Play Two: PGA TOUR and
World Classic Baseball in Puerto Rico

By Nelson Silverio and Mark Stevens-PGA TOUR

March 4, 2009, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico — A sports fan’s dream is taking place in Puerto Rico next week as the world’s top athletes in golf and baseball converge on the Isle of Enchantment.  On March 7-11, Puerto Rico will host four international teams as a first-round site for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. On Thursday, March 12, the day after the WBC bracket’s championship game, 132 of the world’s finest golfers from 16 countries will begin play in the PGA TOUR’s second annual Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

The crack of the bat leads to the ball in the cup as the stars of the PGA TOUR will tackle the Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico March 12-15. Puerto Rico’s greatest golfer Juan “Chi-Chi” Rodriguez, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, will return as tournament ambassador to hand out the trophy bearing his name.  The economic impact of the Puerto Rico Open on the island is significant. The Puerto Rico Open will be broadcasted in over 589 million households, in 231 countries and translated into 35 languages.  Additionally, the PGA TOUR players and their families, caddies and fans will be traveling to Puerto Rico to experience all the island has to offer, including El Yunque National Forest. Just across the street from Trump International Golf Club, El Yunque is currently in the running to become a New7Wonder of Nature.

The Puerto Rico Open field has combined for more than 100 PGA TOUR victories, including six major championships. U.S Open runner-up Rocco Mediate, Ryder Cup star J.B. Holmes and 18-year-old Tadd Fujikawa will be among those players battling defending champion Greg Kraft.  Mediate was defeated by Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open in a Monday playoff. Despite the loss, Mediate gained a legion of fans from around the world for his role in what has been described in media circles as one of the great major championships of all time.  Holmes, a two-time PGA TOUR champion, played for the United States at last year’s Ryder Cup, and is considered one of the top young stars on the PGA TOUR.

The teenager Fujikawa, a native of Hawaii, received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Puerto Rico Open. Earlier this year, Fujikawa thrilled his hometown fans at the Sony Open in Hawaii with a third-round 8-under 62 to jump into contention at the event.  Fujikawa’s achievements on the course are all the more impressive considering he was born three months premature and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. He weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces and was so small that he could fit in his grandfather’s palm.  Fujikawa, along with Rodriguez, will be hosting a Junior Clinic on Tuesday for local youth.

Hispanic Presence in the Field

Four golfers from Puerto Rico who played in the 2008 Puerto Rico Open are scheduled to participate: Max Alverio, Rafael Campos (amateur), Wilfredo Morales and Miguel Suárez.  Additionally, in an effort to showcase up-and-coming Latin American players, the tournament is extending exemptions to the winners of select Tour de Las Américas events. The four players receiving these exemptions are Manual Villegas, Antti Ahokas, Estanislao Goya and Felipe Aguilar Schuler.

Villegas won the 2008 Colombian and Argentinean Open, and is the brother of PGA TOUR professional Camilo Villegas, both from Colombia. Manuel who followed in Camilo’s footsteps by playing golf at the University of Florida will make his first start on the PGA TOUR.  Ahokas, a member of the PGA European Tour, won the 103° Abierto VISA de la República presentado por Peugeot in Argentina as well as the ECCO Tour Championship in Denmark in 2008.

Goya, a native of Argentina, won the 2008 Tour de las Americas Order of Merit. He posted a course record 61 at Bonaventure Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., besting Johnny Miller’s 32 year record score by one. He won twice more in 2008, at the 77 Abierto VISA del Centro Presentado por Personel, and the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final on the PGA European Tour’s Challenge Tour.  Schuler, a native Chilean, won the 2008 Chilean Open and the 2008 Abierto del Golf Club de los Leones on the Tour de Las Américas before winning his first PGA European Tour event at the 2008 Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open.

Proceeds from the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular will support Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, a charity that allows for the development of initiatives that are benefiting children and young adults who reside in the local community.  Following last year’s inaugural event, the tournament donated more than $200,000 to the local Rio Grande chapter. The Puerto Rico Open is also taking the opportunity to raise awareness about environmental protection and responsibility.  For more information or to buy tickets you may contact:  787-728-8500 or visit www.ticketpop.com.

The World’s Best 10K was held on Sunday, March 1, 2009 on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in Carolina, Puerto Rico.  In the photo above you can see some of this year’s winners, including (from left to right) Sammy Kitawara (1rst - Kenya), Wilson Kipsang (3rd - Kenya), Moses Kipsiro (5th - Uganda), Kiplimo Kimutai (6th - Kenya), and Tilahun Regassa (8th - Ethiopia).  Click on the gallery below to see more event pictures, including some of the wackier runners (like this guy).  For a full list of winners and participants’ results click here.  To see more event pictures and find out how our own EyeTour.com runners did at the event, click here.

Puerto Rico is host to many sporting events each year, but most are not as high profile as the World’s Best 10K marathon, which has become in recent years a cultural phenomenon.  EyeTour decided to let its presence known in 2009’s event (you can see our EyeCandy photo gallery of the WB10K here) and sent our editorial team to follow two local runners ready to cross the WB10K finish line.  Our EyeTour.com ’sponsored’ runners, Alexis Gómez (25 - Trujillo Alto, PR) and Daniel Blanco (27 - San Juan, PR), gave it their all - but in the end could not out-pace this year’s winner, Sammy Kitawara from Kenya who ran an astounding 27:26 official time for the race.  Both however, were able to compete the race admirably, with Danny coming in at 1056 with 52:54 total time and Alexis placing 1919 with 59:42.  We’d like to congratulate them both for reaching their individual goals and thank them for wearing our (super cool and ultra-limited edition) EyeTour.com logo shirts.  Don’t worry guys, we’ll get ‘em next year!

This year the Festival Claridad celebrated its XXXV anniversary with the salsa sounds of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.   The celebration took place at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium’s parking lot area and lasted from Thursday February 26, 2009 through the whole weekend.  El Gran Combo took the stage on the first night and wowed the crowd with their best known hits.  For more information about the Festival Claridad, click here.

Each year the Festival Claridad brings out the crowds for a weekend celebration of Puerto Rican identity full of music, arts & crafts, food, and drink.  This year was no exception as you’ll find in the gallery below.  See you next year!  For more information about the Festival Claridad, click here.

Athletes flock from all around the globe every year to compete in one of Puerto Rico’s premiere road races, The World’s Best 10K (WB10K).  This year’s event starts on Friday, February 27, with a Fitness Festival at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum where participants can pick up their runner’s kit, and ends with the main race on Sunday, March 1st.  Now entering its 11th year, the World’s Best 10K has grown from a few thousand participants in 1998 to more than 11,000 finishers during last year’s competition.  The  starting line is located on the Río Piedras side of the Puente Teodoro Moscoso with the rest of the 10-kilometer course winding its way over the bridge - towards Carolina and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport - and back again through José Barbosa Ave. and the Jesús Piñero Expressway.  For a map of the route, click here.

World-class marathoners - including Olympic gold medalist Dita Constantina-Tomescu, and  6-time defending WB10K champion Lornah Kiplagat - highlight the elite runners competing for the prize.  An exciting finish is expected from both the men’s and women’s divisions as this a certified Gold Label road race by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).  But the event is about much more than an exhilarating, championship-quality competition.  The majority of the inscribed participants are regular folk who enjoy exercise and will jog or walk the route.  Many others use the race as a way to challenge themselves and prove they can establish and meet their goals.  However, you don’t have to compete to participate in the festivities.  The positive, family-friendly atmosphere encourages spectators to join in on the fun by rooting for participants; you will undoubtedly find yourself cheering for complete strangers as they strive to reach the finish line.

Parking is available, for those arriving early, at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus ,where shuttles transport athletes and spectators to the event and back.  Although the main event is scheduled to start at 5:00pm on Sunday, March 1st, several activities are planned throughout the weekend and all along the 10-kilometer route, so be sure to check out the event schedule and official website.

Other links you might be interested in are:

For past winners and race results - click here.
For video streams of the event - click here.
For awards and prizes - click here.

For information about the Festival Claridad, click here. For directions, start

.

Thursday, February 26

(from 7:00 pm)

Main Stage / Tarima Claridad

Héctor Giovanni y su Orquesta
Caribe Gitano
Andrés Jiménez
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
Plenasón

Second Stage / Tarima Estrella (starts at 4pm)

Graffitti 
7:00 pm to 9:30 pm - Live Transmission Fuego cruzado
Sal de tu duda with Luz Nereida Pérez (Mariana Editores)
Book Reading and Signing: Sexo y cura/Carnada de cangrejo by Rafah Acevedo (Editorial Isla Negra)
Performance: El dragón de la playa by Héctor Iván Monclova (Isla Negra)
Book Reading: Breve estadía en el cuerpo by Iván Figueroa Luciano (Isla Negra)
Presentation and Signing: Ensayos para la terraza by Daniel Nina (Isla Negra).
9:30 pm - Rap (Absoluto independiente, Desde el campo , and others)
10:00 pm - Sábana Negra

Friday, February 27

(from 6:00 pm)

Main Stage / Tarima Claridad

Antonio Cabán Vale, El Topo
Andy Montañez y su Orquesta
Plena Libre
Roy Brown
Sammy García y El Sabor de Puerto Rico

Second Stage / Tarima Estrella (starts at 4pm)

4:45 pm - Live Transmission Fuego cruzado
7:00 pm - Kids Happy hour by Tres Monjitas & visit by the Capitán, the Coop. Zeno Gandía mascot
7:30 pm - Child violinists, Conservatorio de Música de P.R.’s Suzuki Program
8:00 pm - Ojo: fábulas cautivas (fragment), Teatro Rodante de la UPR (Rosa Luisa Márquez)
8:30 pm - Salsa Dance lesson with José Iván Carrasquillo
9:30 pm - Guanajibo (Reggae)

Saturday, February 28

(from 2:00 pm)

Main Stage / Tarima Claridad

Child Trovadores Presentation
Peton Place Blues Criollo with Silverio, Sunshine, and Edwin Colón Zayas
Trovadores Meet-Up
El Espectáculo de Chabela
Orquesta La Exclusiva
Haciendo Punto en Otro Son
Así Somos
Orquesta La Experimental
Fiel a la Vega (Rock)

Second Stage / Tarima Estrella

6:00 pm - Bombaeróbicos (Bomba-aerobics) with Elia Cortés and Taller Tamboricua
7:30 pm - Stage play: ¡Qué tostón! - Jóvenes del 98′
8:00 pm - Alí Tapia, Ivania Zayas y el rumbero Vainilla
9:00 pm - Noche de musarañas

Sunday, March 1

(from 1:00 pm)

Main Stage / Tarima Claridad

Plenazo Claridad
Mapeyé
Plenéalo
Tata Cepeda y Gracimá
Atabal
Tacuafán
Julito Alvarado y del Sur al Norte

Second Stage / Tarima Estrella

12:00 pm - Masks Workshop with Lowell Fiet
2:00 pm - Pau, el defensor de la paz - Jóvenes del 98′
2:30 pm - Book Reading with author Tina Casanova
3:00 pm - Ludmilia - Deborah Hunt
3:30 pm - El girasol - Agua, sol y sereno
4:00 pm - Bomba Workshop with Tata Cepeda and the School of Bomba & Plena
5:00 pm - Historia de arroz con habichuelas - Andanza 
6:00 pm - ¡Che! Kes-ke Ce? (humorous) - Compañía M + M
6:30 pm - Grupo Trabuco y Dulce de coco

On Saturday, February 21, EyeTour.com participated in the last outdoor screening of the season for Cinema Eventos’s free biweekly movie events in the Parque Nacional Laguna del Condado Jaime Benítez, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The night’s screening featured Marcos Carnevale’s Elsa and Fred, a film beloved by many Puerto Ricans and famous for having a successful run at the local theaters that ended after 74 weeks.  EyeTour.com videos of some of Puerto Rico’s public parks were screened for audiences on Cinema Eventos’s giant inflatable projection screen, including videos of Isla de Cabras, Balneario Seven Seas, and Boquerón.

The park proves to be the perfect outdoor setting at dusk, when the skies take on purplish and indigo tones - augmenting a magnificent view of the skyline across the waters of the Condado Lagoon.  The event was sponsored by the Compañía de Parques Nacionales de Puerto Rico, which hosts a variety of events across many of the island’s public parks, beaches, and camping sites.

Cinema Eventos’s outdoor movie screenings - which feature classics, modern classics, family friendly films, as well as some premieres - began late last year and have consistently convinced hundreds of people to come out and enjoy the night outdoors in the company of their neighbors and loved ones.  Popcorn and refreshments are also served for free (although donations are greatly appreciated) - you only need to bring your own chair or picnic blanket!  This first run of screenings has been a great success inspiring many to come out and spend time in our public parks.  We hope to provide EyeTour.com visitors with more information about future screenings soon!