Puerto Rico's newly acquired Latino chic is putting it closer into competition with the very hip South Miami Beach scene in Florida.
There is no hipper venue in San Juan today than the Museo de Arte . It took $55 million to turn this 1920s city hospital in Santurce, an eyesore for decades, into this new home for art. The new museum has become a way of life for some Puerto Ricans, many of whom go here at least once a week -- perhaps to see a production in the 400-seat theater, named for Raúl Juliá, the late Puerto Rican actor, or perhaps to go for a romantic stroll through the museum's 5-acre (2-hectare) garden. Many chic trendsetters return at night for a nuevo criolla meal at Pikayo .
The emerging neighborhood for the chic set is called SoFo, a sector that lies south of Calle Fortaleza in Old Town. This place is becoming so trendy that it is the first of the Old San Juan neighborhoods to be awarded its own acronym, no doubt inspired by New York's SoHo. The Parrot Club is the hot spot of the neighborhood, quickly rivaled by Trois Cent Onze .
Even beaches attract trendsetters. Students, surfers, gay people, and those on the see-and-be-seen circuit avoid the beaches of Condado and Isla Verde, heading for Ocean Park Beach instead.
Tired of chic? To mix with the locals, head for the Mercado de Río Piedras (Paseo José de Diego), with its 4 blocks of shops and cheap restaurants. (You can reach this area by taxi or car. From the Condado or Santurce, take Av. Ponce de León south until you come to the intersection with Rte. 47 going east. The route is also called Paseo José de Diego. The market will soon appear on your right.) This vast outdoor mall is scented with everything from recently caught fish to just-picked citrus. When Sanjuaneros want to buy anything, they head here. Open from early morning to late evening (but not on Sunday), these stores and markets provide a whiff of local life that's unseen anywhere else in San Juan.
When you're tired of museums and shopping, you can head for the boardwalk at Parque Lineal Marti Coli, which stretches for nearly 2 miles (3.2km) along Caño de Martín Peña, from Hato Rey to Parque Central. Eventually this boardwalk will reach a distance of nearly 12 miles (19km), linking Old Town with Río Piedras. Biking, hiking, and jogging pathways are planned; one day bikers will be able to go along the breadth of San Juan without having to encounter traffic. In the meantime, enough trails have been completed for a memorable stroll.
Later you can head for Rumba to dance the night away to the sounds of salsa and a bomba with an African beat.
