The jíbaro of yesteryear, who supported the economy of the Island with his hands and the sweat of his brow, is honored in Comerío.
Through 36 prints, imitating the homes of our ancestors who lived during the decade of 1940 to 1950, the residents of the Higüero community enliven the area, every summer, with ancient traditions, emulating our ancestors.
However, after 41 years of celebration and honoring our culture, the collaborators and those who maintain the houses for the first time transformed them to celebrate Christmas, illuminating the field with green, red, blue and white lights, thus exalting the Borincan festivity with the sounds of parties and Christmas bonuses.
“When I saw that mountain light up (with the lights), I got excited,” he confessed to First Hour Jorge Morales, who inherited the organization of the event after his father, Ángel Luis “Wiso” Morales, died in 1997.
“When they turned on those little houses, that (was) a paradise. I was on the stage and when I ordered the lights to be turned on, I started to cry with emotion, with joy, not because they shined so much, but what a community achieved, something so (beautiful) without giving us a damn,” he added.
Since July 20, 1984, Don Wiso has highlighted “jíbaro” customs through the El Jobo Festival. Furthermore, from November 28 to 30, the Christmas edition was held for the first time, leaving an even greater charm among visitors.
The most attractive thing about this festival, whether in summer or Christmas, are the pictures, as they remind visitors of how the mountain jíbaros lived.
“It was a total success. I was surprised. The Christmas season calls for reviving all the customs of Puerto Rico. I liked it more than the summer (festival),” Morales said.
The prints can still be visited, although the festival has already ended. You can enter “Festival El Jobo” in the Google Maps application. On occasion, some visitors have highlighted that the application diverts them to another area. If that happens, you can easily access it by entering “El Higüero Pizza & Rest”, which will take you to the area.
The activity could be repeated in November 2026, if so determined by the community and if the necessary funds are raised, since Morales reiterated that he does not accept donations from the municipality or any government entity; Instead, he sells lunches to raise money to organize and produce the festival.
How it all started
Don Wiso Morales had a dream: to highlight our culture through a festival. The first was in July, but it evolved over the years and, in the 1990s, they chose to celebrate it in the place where it was born: the Higüero community.
As is common in our vernacular, the festival was named El Jobo after a tree that was used as a reference point to reach the place.
“El Jobo in this community is a symbolic site, because this tree was the scene of the generation that has already left and now the generation of now gives life to what that community did in those times,” Morales explained, adding that the topography of the area is “difficult.”
It was in the thirteenth edition, in 1997, that Don Wiso died, precisely during the festival.
The particular thing about the cultural event, which has been maintained for several decades, are the little houses, “which give life to the community.” They all simulate a house of a jíbaro who lived between 1940 and 1950.
“A healthy competition” is held to determine the most curious and creative houses, which were built by the same community.
“That is a delicacy of culture,” he said, pointing out that people from all over the island and even from the diaspora come to participate in the celebration.
In May, Morales brings the El Jobo Festival to the United States.