Ron Del Barrilito

Ron Del Barrilito.

Three stars.

Dark, smokey and caramel.

Smooth down the throat

For a long and lengthy finish.

You lift the skirts of the women as they are dancing

Showing strong legs

And excellent rhythm

As the Salsa, Cumbia and Reggaeton

Blare from the immense sound system

On top of the small car.

The party started intimately

But between the music and the ‘Ron’

There is a crowd of at least sixty people

Dancing and sweating

In the moonlight

By the beach.

This is how to live!

I am told by the locals

That the same car with the PA speakers

Mounted on top

Is used for funerals

And they decorate other cars

Completely in flowers

And have a procession

Musica blaring

Waking the dead.

Tonight the party is for the living

And a celebration is happening

No entrance fee

No door charge

No flyers or announcements

Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time

Succumbing to the music.

Ron Del Barrilito.

Three stars.

Rich and creamy.

Dark like the brown skin of the native residents.

Hints of island grown coffee.

Warm as the Puerto Rican sun

As I climb down the rocks

To a secluded beach

To surf the waves with my kids

And fall back into the sand

In comfort

Melting into the shoreline

As palms swing in the breeze.

You make the afternoon pass

Slower than real time

And it is valued...per chance rare

Gifted

Stoned.

Carribean blue sky meets the water azul

At the point where the two colors mix

The waves crash and settle

Ocean foam touching our feet.

Everything is alive around us

As we slumber

Untroubled

In island time.

It is true...

Everything runs behind schedule here

And no one gets upset...

For what can you do

While you wait for a ferry with everyone else

And their chicken or rooster or dog

But relax and enjoy life just a little bit more

And talk to those around you

Laugh with them

Listen to them sing...

Ron Del Barrilito.

Three stars.

Aged six to ten years in charred oak barrels

That once held Spanish Sherry

At a distillery in Bayamon

Outside of San Juan.

Ten ingredients are used in making this Rum House’s blend.

While the two star rum

Is preferred by the locals

For long sessions around the domino table...

They mix it with ice and a bit of lemon...

It is the three stars that make the colors explode

In Old San Juan

As I haunt the cobbled streets

With the pretty and elite

Experiencing ghosts, mystery, seductiveness and vigor.

The architecture within the walled city

Is nothing short of stunning

As buildings sit packed and jumbled

Upon the calles and paquita avenidas.

Gated entryways lead to open

Vestibules and common areas...

To life beyond the street.

The nightlife along Calle San Sebastian

Is loud and lively

Mixing in with the hot palatte of colors

Splashed on the facades

Of ancient architecture.

I hear rhumba and salsa

And the people

Are drinking the ‘Ron’

And feeling good and right

And are nice to each other

As they move along the narrow street

Not afraid to be close

Unafraid to dance

To the spirit of life

Outside in the open air.

Ron Del Barrilito.

Three stars.

Nectar paired with a green coconut

By a very skilled woman

That’s not messing around

As she rotates it in the air with one hand

And hacks off the top with a machete

With the other

Then she hands it to me

With a large toothy smile.

A compliment to the

Freshly ground sugar cane juice

That an old man slowly feeds through

A noisey grinder or press

Clamped to the back of his pick up truck

On the side of the road.

Stalks of mashed sugar cane

Piled up on one side of the beat up

Red vehicle...

Business was good that day.

Savory to the ripe mangoes

And pineapple and banana

Passionfruit

And Acerola cherries

That I would purchase from

Roadside vendors

The fruit spread out on folding tables

On blankets

In baskets

On the hood of cars.

The fruit was some of the best

I’ve ever had.

On a stretch of road

Next to the beach

In Luquillo

Stood a few blocks of food stalls

Bars and paquitas tiendas

Where I ate freshly shucked almejas

With the most potent home made hot sauce

That I have ever tasted.

There were taquitos, pasteles, piononos and mofongo

Arranged in glass cases

And we sat on barstools at counters

And tasted everything.

Each vendor took pride in their own savory hot sauce recipe.

At Playa Sun Bay on Vieques

A family befriended us.

They were celebrating their mother’s sixty fifth birthday

With a picnic at the beach.

They shared with us her recipes

Of carrucho, escabeche and ensalada de pulpo

Made fresh from her own

Ancient brown hands.

We all sang Happy Birthday together to her

And after we finished the cake

She broke out the dominoes, cigarettes and ‘Ron’ with a little lemon.

Ron Del Barrilito.

Three stars...

I sip you like a cognac.

The tempo of a beautiful island

Sixteen hundred miles away

Expands within my center

Spirited

And blooming with budding native

Hibiscus flowers.