But in Loíza (where we stayed), even in a normal week there, we got the unmistakable sense of visiting a place with a deep and thriving tradition of music, dance, and art that is keeping its roots ...

Bomba is a musical tradition developed by West Africans along the coast of Puerto Rico dating back to the 17th Century.

Often called the “capital of traditions,” Loiza is home to Black Puerto Rican music. The high-energy and rhythmic Plena genre originated in Loiza, along with the drum-heavy Bomba music.

Exclusive: Why you should Discover Puerto Rico and its amazing history of bomba, salsa and reggaeton See the island that influenced some of your favorite musicians ...

In Loiza, Afro Casa is the epicenter of Afro-Puerto Rican art. A massive mosaic mural of one of my literary heroes, Arturo Schomberg, is hard to miss.

A woman at the vigil in Loiza dances bomba on June 1. Courtesy of Revista Étnica Next to Floyd’s picture was a sepia image of Adolfina Villanueva-Osorio with one of her children in her arms.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Drummers beat the goatskin covers of rum barrels while a singer led a chorus in call and response. A dancer emerged from the crowd, tipping an imaginary hat to the lead ...

Often called the “capital of traditions,” Loiza is home to Black Puerto Rican music. The high-energy and rhythmic Plena genre originated in Loiza, along with the drum-heavy Bomba music.

Often called the “capital of traditions,” Loiza is home to Black Puerto Rican music. The high-energy and rhythmic Plena genre originated in Loiza, along with the drum-heavy Bomba music.

Often called the “capital of traditions,” Loiza is home to Black Puerto Rican music. The high-energy and rhythmic Plena genre originated in Loiza, along with the drum-heavy Bomba music.