Holiday in Old San Juan

The banners say, “Lomito de los Vientos” (Hill of the Winds), and I wonder if this is something from Lord of the Rings.

“It’s a re-enactment of the nativity scene,” a guy in line tells me. He is holding his daughter’s hand. She’s about three or four. The nativity scene is hidden behind a faux stone wall that looks like it was leftover from an old movie set or maybe a high school play. A guard dressed as a Roman soldier with helmet, cape and breastplate stands at the entrance as people pass through the gate. Instead of a “mysterious light” to guide the magi, two search lights wave across the night sky. More lights illuminate three kings propped up on a hill overlooking the attraction. They must be ten or twelve feet tall. Hundreds of families wait to see the three kings. The line is several blocks long. While they wait, food stalls sell camarones and chorizos and mofongo and empanadilla. Latin music pumps its way across the street to the Capitol building.