In San Juan, Creatives Are Spinning New Takes on Tradition

Vintage boutique owner Monica Oquendo says that for a fresh crop of Puerto Rican designers in and around the capital, “the island factor is always present.”

Text by

Jesse Dorris

Illustrations by

Salini Perera

This story is part of our annual look at the state of American design. This year, we’re highlighting work that shines through an acrimonious moment—and makes the case for optimism.

For the last 13 years, Monica Oquendo has owned a vintage boutique in San Juan that aims to cultivate local appreciation for Puerto Rican design and art in addition to fostering new generations of jewelry, apparel, and ceramic designers. Born and raised in the city, she graduated from the University of Puerto Rico and worked in advertising before opening her shop, Electroshock, in the Santurce neighborhood.

Oquendo believes the past is inextricable from the future of Puerto Rican design. "Our colony status influences our aesthetic," she says, "from the Spanish Revival themes to the actual uses of resources and the availability of material." She points to the prevalence of wicker and wood furniture. "Many artists and workers are also redefining traditional pieces," she says. Take, for example, losas criollas. The eye-popping, patterned tiles made of compressed cement and pigment have been popular for many moons. But in the hands of contemporary designers, they look fresh and undeniably Puerto Rican.

There are also numerous artisans offering contemporary takes on Isla Del Sol pottery, which emerged in the middle of the 20th century, full of joyful and jaunty embraces of geometry and repetition. "From knitwork like mundillo to the ironwork that was very famous in patio furniture," Oquendo says, "we’re always celebrating our roots." That doesn’t mean living in the past, though. "It’s a new take, but the island factor is always present."