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Looking for this year’s festival? This is the 2023 recap. For the full history and what the festival is about, see our complete guide: Festival Nacional Indígena: The Complete Guide. For the current edition, see our 2026 post, or look back at 2024 and 2025.
The 53rd Festival Nacional Indígena ran Friday, November 17 through Sunday, November 19, 2023, at the Plaza Pública Nemesio R. Canales in Jayuya. The theme honored the Taíno woman, built around the Taíno creation myth of woman, “Mito Taíno de la Creación de la Mujer.” The organizers billed it as the richest cultural event in all of Puerto Rico, promising kiosks, the Banda Indígena, artisans, música típica, the juego del batey, the Reinado Indígena, and exhibitions. Organized as always by the Centro Cultural Jayuyano Alberto Suárez Martínez.
The 2023 festival at a glance
- What: 53rd Festival Nacional Indígena de Jayuya
- When: November 17 to 19, 2023
- Theme: “Honrando la Mujer Taína,” drawn from the Taíno creation myth of woman
- Where: Plaza Pública Nemesio R. Canales, Jayuya
- Admission: Free
- Organized by: Centro Cultural Jayuyano Alberto Suárez Martínez
- Festival poster design: Verónica Domínguez Carrero
The 2023 program
Here is how the 53rd edition unfolded, day by day.
Friday, November 17
- 7:00 PM · Encendido del Fuego Taíno (lighting of the Taíno fire) and Banda Indígena de Jayuya, with protocol acts: the Orden del Cacique Hayuya to Grupo Ausuba, and the Orden de la Jutía to La Colmena Cimarrona
- 9:00 PM · Grupo Ausuba
- 10:15 PM · Luis Berdecía y su Grupo Patria Amada
Saturday, November 18
- 10:00 AM · Artisan fair and exhibition hall
- 12:00 PM · Atabal, sponsored by the Compañía de Turismo and Voy Turisteando
- 1:00 PM · Grupo de Baile Folklórico Citlalli de México, sponsored by Luis Casino
- 2:30 PM · Edgar Zayas Colón
- 3:45 PM · Banda Indígena / Danzantes de la Tierra Alta
- 5:00 PM · Gíbaros de Altura
- 8:30 PM · Reinado Indígena (Indigenous pageant)
- 9:30 PM · Premios de Certámenes (competition awards)
- 9:45 PM · El Caminero y Los Caminantes
- 11:00 PM · Mikie Rivera y La Brigada
Sunday, November 19
- 10:00 AM · Artisan fair and exhibition hall
- 12:00 PM · Inarü
- 1:00 PM · Ballet Folklórico Nacional Guateque, sponsored by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and Artes Populares
- 2:30 PM · Tepeu
- 3:45 PM · Banda Indígena / Danzantes de la Tierra Alta
- 5:15 PM · Hermanos de la Cultura
What the 2023 edition tells you about the festival
A few things stand out from the program, and they are useful if you are planning a future visit.
The theme centered Taíno women. Where 2024 honored Indigenous crops and 2025 explored Taíno spirits, 2023 took up the creation myth of woman. Across three consecutive editions the festival worked through the food, the cosmology, and the origin stories of the same people, which tells you the programming is thought through rather than recycled.
The honors went to working cultural groups. The Orden del Cacique Hayuya went to Grupo Ausuba and the Orden de la Jutía to La Colmena Cimarrona. In other years the ceremonial orders have gone to archaeologists and professors; here they recognized performers keeping the traditions alive on stage.
It reached beyond the island. The Saturday program included the Grupo de Baile Folklórico Citlalli de México, and Sunday brought the Ballet Folklórico Nacional Guateque. One of the festival’s stated objectives is to give relevance to the Indigenous population of the Americas broadly, and inviting a Mexican folkloric group is that objective in practice.
The music runs late. Saturday closed with Mikie Rivera y La Brigada at 11:00 PM. If you are coming from San Juan, plan an overnight rather than a mountain drive at midnight.
Planning for the next edition
The festival returns each November around the 19th. Our 2026 post covers the current edition as details are confirmed, and our 2024 and 2025 recaps have those years’ full programs. For the full story of the festival, its 1970 origins, and what to expect, see our complete guide.
Coming up into the mountains? Pair it with our Puerto Rico travel guide and our Central Mountains guide. To understand the people the festival honors, read our piece on the Taíno Indians of Puerto Rico.
Follow along for updates
- Facebook: Festival Nacional Indígena de Jayuya
- Facebook: Centro Cultural Jayuyano
Were you at the 53rd edition? Tell us in the comments what you saw, what you ate, or which artisan you bought from. We read every one.
This post covers the 2023 edition, which has concluded. Details reflect the program as published by the organizers at the time. For the full story of the festival, see our complete guide to the Festival Nacional Indígena.
