SanSe 2019: Dates & Full Stage-by-Stage Schedule

New here? This is the 2019 recap. For the full history, traditions, and what SanSe is about, see our complete guide: SanSe: The Complete Guide to the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián.

SanSe 2019 ran Wednesday, January 16 through Sunday, January 20, 2019, across four plazas of Old San Juan, with additional programming at La Perla, the Teatro Tapia, and the Parque de las Palomas. Five days, seven venues, and a lineup that ran from Pedro Capó and La India to Vico C, Ilé, and Yolandita Monge.

The 2019 festival at a glance

• What: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián 2019
• When: January 16 to 20, 2019
• Where: Old San Juan, four plazas plus La Perla, Teatro Tapia, and Parque de las Palomas
• Admission: Free
• Organized by: Municipio Autónomo de San Juan

The stages of 2019

Plaza V Centenario

Thursday, January 17

• 5:00 PM · Comparsa del Municipio de San Juan
• 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM · Pleneros del Más Allá
• 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM · Victoria Sanabria
• 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM · Pirulo y su Tribu

Friday, January 18

• 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM · Danny Díaz y su Tripandero, Tributo Ismael Rivera
• 7:15 PM to 8:45 PM · Millie Quezada
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Pedro Capó

Saturday, January 19

• 2:15 PM to 3:30 PM · Pleneros de la 23
• 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM · Plenéalo
• 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM · Oscarito
• 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM · Vico C
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Sonora Ponceña

Sunday, January 20

• 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM · Plena Libre
• 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM · Yolandita Monge
• 5:30 PM to 6:15 PM · Iris Chacón
• 6:45 PM to 8:15 PM · Olga Tañón
• 8:45 PM to 10:00 PM · La India

Plaza Colón

Wednesday, January 16

• 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM · Pedro Colón y su Grupo Somos Bomba
• 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM · Mahya y su trauma

Thursday, January 17

• 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM · Yubairé
• 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM · Orquesta La Oferta

Friday, January 18

• 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM · Bomba con trovadores del taller de Palenque
• 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM · Giselle
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Orquesta El Macabeo

Saturday, January 19

• 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM · Imbuyé (Bomba)
• 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM · Los Oquen2
• 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM · Tambores Calientes
• 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM · Salsa Metro
• 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM · Los Parranderos de Loíza
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Manolito Rodríguez y su Orquesta

Sunday, January 20

• 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM · Renacer Campesino
• 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM · Julito Alvarado, del Norte al Sur
• 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM · Grupo Mambo
• 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM · Willie Rosario

Plaza La Barandilla

Wednesday, January 16

• 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM · Tata Cepeda y su grupo Gracimá
• 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM · Los Pleneros del 5to Olivo

Thursday, January 17

• 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM · Conjunto de Bomba y Plena
• 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM · Viento de Agua
• 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM · Juan Vélez

Friday, January 18

• 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM · Atabal
• 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM · Tuna Estudiantina de Cayey
• 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM · A Son De Guerra
• 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM · Ilé

Saturday, January 19

• 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM · Bomba Evolución, Rústico
• 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM · San Juan Habana
• 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM · Roy Brown
• 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM · Choco Orta
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Lissette, Trayectoria

Sunday, January 20

• 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM · El Cascanueces
• 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM · Los Segreles
• 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM · Manolo Mongil
• 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM · D’ Latinos
• 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM · José Nogueras

Plaza de Armas

Wednesday, January 16

• 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM · DJ Metro
• 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM · Carlos Jomar

Thursday, January 17

• 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM · DJ Ment
• 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM · Algarete

Friday, January 18

• 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM · Publixa DJ
• 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM · DJ James
• 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM · Gomba Jahbari

Saturday, January 19

• 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM · Boohype
• 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM · DJ Velcro
• 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM · Xtassy
• 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM · Los Rivera Destino

Sunday, January 20

• 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM · Emil Cedeño
• 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM · DJ Joaquín Opio
• 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM · Misa E Gallo

La Perla

Thursday, January 17

• 8:00 PM · Ultra Criollo
• 9:45 PM · Henry Cole

Friday, January 18

• 8:00 PM · Sebastián Otero
• 9:45 PM · Ilé

Saturday, January 19

• 3:30 PM · Andrea Cruz
• 5:30 PM · Lizbeth Román
• 8:00 PM · Yubá Iré
• 9:45 PM · Alegría Rampante

Sunday, January 20

• 3:30 PM · Grupo “Fuete”
• 5:30 PM · Fofé y los fetiches

Teatro Tapia

• 2:00 PM · Ismael Miranda y Chucho Avellanet
• 4:00 PM · El Topo

Parque de las Palomas

• 11:00 AM · Taller de máscaras, banderas y elementos con Agua, Sol y Sereno; pinta caritas
• 2:00 PM · Taller de bomba con niños y jóvenes de la Fundación Folclórica Cultural Rafael Cepeda
• 3:00 PM · Los Mocosos
• 4:00 PM · Comparsa de niños en las Mini Fiestas

A note on the Teatro Tapia and Parque de las Palomas dates. The official flyer labels both of these blocks “Domingo, 18.” That cannot be right: January 18, 2019 was a Friday, and the Sunday of that festival was January 20. The four plaza schedules run Wednesday the 16th through Sunday the 20th without any ambiguity.

What the 2019 program tells you about SanSe

La Perla was on the official program. This is the detail worth noticing. The neighborhood below the city walls, historically closed off to outsiders, had its own stage with four days of bookings, including Ilé the year after she won a Grammy. The anchor guide notes La Perla has opened up in recent years; here it is in print.

Five days, not four. 2019 started on a Wednesday. The festival’s footprint has grown over the decades, and the “four-day festival” shorthand undersells some editions.

The kids’ programming got its own venue. The Parque de las Palomas ran mask workshops, face painting, a bomba workshop with the Rafael Cepeda folkloric foundation, and a children’s comparsa. SanSe’s daytime family face is a deliberate build, not an accident.

The range in one weekend. Vico C and Sonora Ponceña on the same stage on the same night. Olga Tañón, La India, and Iris Chacón closing Sunday. Roy Brown and Ilé at La Barandilla. Nothing else on the island books like this.

Our video from SanSe

Where it all happens

Planning a visit

SanSe returns every January on the third weekend. For the full history, traditions, the stage-by-stage breakdown, and current transit details, see our complete guide to SanSe. See also our recaps of 2014, 2015, 2020, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Coming to San Juan? Pair it with our Puerto Rico travel guide and our guide to Puerto Rican street food.

Follow along

• Facebook: Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián

Were you at SanSe 2019? Tell us in the comments whether you made it down to La Perla. We read every one.

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This post covers the 2019 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 SanSe.