Parranda: The Puerto Rican Tradition Keeps Going Strong
By Rocio Gonzalez, Voxxi
¡Asalto! But don’t be alarmed—it only means that a Puerto Rican holiday tradition has just made its way to your door. The parranda.
‘Saludos, saludos, vengo a saludar…’
To the sound of the guitar, the güiro, and the cuatro —which is Puerto Rico’s national instrument—the parranda is the Puerto Rican equivalent of Christmas caroling in the United States. Groups of friends get together to visit friends’ houses and bring a bit of holiday cheer into their lives.
Sometimes the parranda is planned, with the host preparing a good asopao and lechón ahead of the parranda, and other times, it can be a bit of an ambush. Some parrandas can take place in the evening, or arrive after the host is in bed already, and yet others can start after midnight and go well into the wee hours of the morning. That is probably why some call it an asalto.
The parranda, Puerto Ricans know how to party
Perhaps the greatest part of the Puerto Rican Christmas celebrations is that they don’t stop after December 25. Or after New Year’s Eve. No, the Puerto Rican Christmas season comes to an end after January 6, when kids wake up to presents from the Three Wise Men on the day of the Epiphany.
Up until that point, parrandas take place all over the island, but that is especially true for the days leading up to Christmas Day. Everyone brings an instrument, everyone must sing.
The traditional songs sung during a parranda are not quite like the old “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” or “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” though. Instead, the aguinaldos have lyrics such as “It’s here, it’s here, Christmas time is here,” “If I’m not given a drink I’ll cry,” and “Open the door, open the door, ’cause I’m on the street and people will say that this is a snub.”
The parranda doesn’t end after that visit, however—it moves on to another house. That continues until it’s time for everyone to go home, closer to dawn.
Add a little coquito—the equivalent of eggnog—and it’s pure Christmas, the Puerto Rican way.
This article was first published in Voxxi.
Rocio Gonzalez is a writer in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she is an avid reader, amateur baker and recent journalism graduate from American University in Washington. She was managing copy editor for the university’s student run newspaper, The Eagle, as well as staff writer. Most recently she served as a congressional correspondent for Colorado-based newspaper The Durango Herald.
[Photo by Mataparda]Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/parranda-puerto-rican-tradition-strong/#ixzz2FzG6MuPD
