The Fourth | Festival de las Flores

In Puerto Rico, on Independence Day, many people go to the beach. Or so I'm told.

One thing that I do know for sure is that although Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory, the Fourth of July isn't such a big deal here as, say, Three Kings Day is. If not fireworks or a parade, I still wanted to do something out of the ordinary, and googling I came across the Flower Festival in Aibonito. They have it every year, and we missed it last July so we were so happy to have caught it in its last weekend.

This is some sort of lottery. The gentleman was very obliging and even made it spin for me when I asked if I could photograph him!

These are adorable succulent fridge magnets that made me think of my Aunt J!

My mom used to have a big framed Mary Engelbreit poster in our kitchen that said_

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

One does need sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. How wonderful that we could celebrate our freedom this Fourth by appreciating flowers haha. I found out today that it comes from a story by Hans Christian Andersen called "The Butterfly."

At one time, my mom had a different Mary Engelbreit decoration that said_

Bloom where you're planted.

I don't either one of us imagined that I would be moving quite as often as I have, but that is some solid advice.

The passage of the Bible where Jesus reminds us to "consider the lilies" kept coming to mind, too.

Consider the lilies how they grow_ they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

So. true. I love flowers. They are so beautiful!

This is a group of Venus Flytraps!

And some colorful bananas.

In the center of the Festival was a band from Colombia, I believe, playing salsa. I love watching Puerto Ricans dance. The joy radiates from them! More than a few little old ladies were swinging their hips, singing-along, and moving their feet as the band played.

Boricua and a gigantic bacalao, which is basically a deep-fried batter of codfish.

These two little boys and their dad are about to get a helicopter tour of Aibonito.

On our way back down the mountain out of Aibonito, many families were taking advantage of the crowds and selling fruit and some flowers of their own.