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Looking for this year’s festival? This is the 2025 recap. For the full history and what the festival is about, see our complete guide: Yauco National Coffee Festival. For the current edition, see our 2026 post.
The 50th Festival Nacional del Café Freddie León Maldonado ran Sunday, February 23 through Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Yauco. A milestone year for Puerto Rico’s oldest coffee festival, held alongside the 269th anniversary of Yauco’s founding, and closed by Andrés Jiménez on the Sunday night.
The 2025 festival at a glance
- What: Quincuagésimo (50th) Festival Nacional del Café Freddie León Maldonado
- When: February 23 to March 2, 2025
- Milestone: 50th edition
- Anniversary: 269 years of Yauco’s founding
- Where: Plaza Fernando Pacheco, with events split between the town center and rural barrios including Collores
- Admission: Free
- Board president: Aurora Gómez Vélez
- Organizing commission: Yariana Gutiérrez Rodríguez
The 2025 program
The official program details the closing weekend below. The festival opened the previous Sunday, February 23, following the usual pattern of starting in the countryside before moving to the plaza.
Friday, February 28
- 8:30 AM · Día del Niño, with awards for literature, painting, and poster (the dedicated Día del Niño invitation lists 9:00 AM at Plaza Fernando Pacheco)
- 9:00 AM · Apertura de Feria de Artesanía
- 9:30 AM · Show del Mago Hansel Kreutzberger and Payasita Lilin
Celebración 269 años de la fundación de Yauco / Gran Noche Jíbara (Frances Irizarry y las Jóvenes de Edad Dorada)
- 2:00 PM · Tipico-Rengue
- 3:00 PM · Entre Boleros y Son
- 4:00 PM · Saborinquen
- 5:00 PM · Los Pleneros del Callejón
- 6:00 PM · Milton Alicea y su Compañía Jíbara
- 8:30 PM · Son Libre
- 10:00 PM · Celebrando los 50 años del Festival del Café, with Julio César Sanabria
- 11:00 PM · Pleneros de la Cresta
Saturday, March 1
- 9:00 AM · Continuación de la Feria de Artesanía
- 3:00 PM · Grupo Maestro
- 4:30 PM · Grupo Abayarde
- 5:30 PM · Ballet Güaytiao
- 6:00 PM · Harry Fraticelli
- 7:00 PM · Homenaje a Gran Comendador, Sr. Alcides Rodríguez Hernández; Orden del Cafetal to Ricardo Cedeño Muñiz, Félix Caraballo Pagán, and Doris Montes Rodríguez
- 8:30 PM · Algareplena
- 9:30 PM · Los Guardiola
- 11:00 PM · Caobaná
Sunday, March 2
- 10:00 AM · Misa Jíbara, organized by Sra. Arminta Pagán y familia
- 11:00 AM · Bota de Gallos
- 1:00 PM · Desfile de Carrozas
- 4:00 PM · Concurso de Trovadores
- 8:00 PM · Andrés Jiménez
What the 50th tells you about the festival
Fifty years, and the shape has not changed. Compare this program to 2019 or 2023 and the bones are identical: the artisan fair, the Noche Jíbara, the Orden del Cafetal, the Misa Jíbara, the parade, the trova competition. The festival has resisted the drift toward generic concert programming that has flattened a lot of Puerto Rican festivals.
The milestone got its own set. A dedicated 10:00 PM segment on Friday, “Celebrando los 50 años del Festival del Café,” with Julio César Sanabria. They marked the anniversary inside the festival rather than around it.
Andrés Jiménez closing is a statement. “El Jíbaro” headlining the 50th is the festival choosing its own tradition over a bigger commercial draw.
The Orden del Cafetal honored three people in 2025 rather than one. Fifty years generates a lot of people worth honoring.
Watch the festival
Planning a visit
The festival returns every year in late February and early March. Our 2026 post covers the current edition, and the complete guide has the full history. See also our recaps of 2023 and 2024.
Coming to Yauco? Start with our guide to Yauco and our walking guide to the historic houses of Yauco. For what to eat, see our guide to Puerto Rican street food.
Follow along
- Facebook: Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco
Were you at the 50th? Tell us in the comments what the milestone felt like. We read every one.
This post covers the 2025 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 Yauco National Coffee Festival.
