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Meet the Artists
of Puerto Rico
Serena Stauffer
Puerto Rico is home to hundreds of local artisans making a living by doing what they love best: creating.
Old San Juan specifically is a city bursting with vibrant and captivating artwork, as well as being home to many of the inspirational artists behind each piece. These artists contribute to the enchanting atmosphere of the small island, painting and weaving and sculpting their love for their home into each work of art.
Some artists may hold onto some of their pieces to be passed on through generations of family, while others may commission pieces to sell in local shops or in the states. Some artists are formally trained in art school, while others are self-taught amateurs, but they all have one trait in common that is undeniable and visible in everything they create: their love for Puerto Rico.
Keep reading for an inside look at some of the best artists on the Caribbean island.
Enid Silvestry, 65
Textiles
“Nothing was filling the empty piece in me. I was happy but there was always a space I needed to fill and the art completed me. I have been very fortunate that I’ve been able to live on my art.”
Enid Silvestry began weaving hammocks in her late-20s and discovered a passion that would fuel the rest of her days. After traveling from Puerto Rico, to England, to Mexico and landing back in Puerto Rico, Silverstry has seen and learned much from her travels - about the arts and herself.
Her work is all about empowering women to discover who they are. She tells stories through each image stitched onto a pillow or tapestry, and drawn on a greeting card or bookmark.
Her artwork was sold in the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico years ago (Museum of Art in Puerto Rico) but she soon realized it wasn’t a priority to have her pieces featured there; she much more enjoys when people come into her own shop, that she shares with two fellow artists, and she’s able to make a connection with them over her artwork.
Price: $$$
Location(s):
3 Mujeres: 63 Caleta de San Juan, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Arts and Crafts: 204 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Dafne Elvira, 55
Painter
“It’s a lifestyle that I wouldn’t change for anything. It’s a lifestyle that I cherish because it gives me the most valuable thing that you can have, and that’s time.”
Dafne Elvira began in the world of jewelry making when she was 15-years-old and her enthusiasm for the arts blossomed from there.
From her jewelry, she dove headfirst into the arts with paper mâché before eventually making her way into painting. She painted her most popular piece, La Primera Cena (The First Supper) in 1994 and to this day it is still one of her most inquired-about pieces.
Her artwork focuses predominantly on images of women, and is both autobiographical and influenced by events that happen to others in her life.
Her art is largely figurative because she enjoys the stories she is able to tell with the vibrant and abstract colors and shapes. Once she has an idea for a piece, she will attack it everyday until it’s done, lit by an urge to do nothing else until her vision is complete.
Price: $$$
Location(s):
3 Mujeres: 63 Caleta de San Juan, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Arts and Crafts: 204 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Yelyn Vivoni, 66
Ceramist
“Art is a breath of fresh air. We’re a small island but San Juan is a big city, and it’s a city that moves but when you hit yourself with something related to art you slow down. You stop and appreciate it. I think it’s that search for an oasis among everything.”
Yelyn Vivoni studied art in college; everything from painting to graphic arts to music, but the moment she put her hands on clay, she knew that was the medium for her.
With dreams of visiting art museums around the world, she went to work for an airline and visited as many as she could and upon returning to Puerto Rico she decided to take a chance on ceramics again and hasn’t looked back since.
Her vision for her pieces involves a search for beauty; she wants people to feel a connection with her art and incorporates many aspects of nature, like flowers and leaves, into her work.
Many interior designers and architects commission pieces from her, and many galleries and museums have featured her work. She believes inspiration comes when you’re working and doesn’t come when you’re not, and for that reason her mind or hands are always at work.
Price: $$$
Location(s):
3 Mujeres: 63 Caleta de San Juan, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Eddie Rosado, 65
Painter
“I’m inspired by Old San Juan. I could paint the same street, but each time I paint it, it’s different.”
Eddie Rosado started painting when he was nine years old. Sitting in front of the TV, he would draw whatever came on screen and his love for the arts grew from there.
Painting mainly in watercolors and acrylics, Rosado is known for the vibrant colors in his paintings of the streets of Old San Juan. He is inspired by the culture of the island, as well as other artists and their work, especially the colors of the vejigante masks.
His paintings have been sold in many galleries and shops across the island but for Rosado, painting is a hobby, his favorite past time, that he’s simply been lucky enough to get to do for the past 55 years.
Price: $$
Location(s):
Puerto Rican Arts and Crafts: 204 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
Elizabeth Gonzalez, 61
Mixed Media
"There’s a lot of talent here. It’s a small island and there’s so much to see. We are full of color here and I think that can have an effect on people. I have seen that after the hurricane, maybe it’s my appreciation, but I’ve seen a lot of creativity more and more since the hurricane. When you live on a small island, then you have to make more to be seen. We have to do more to be seen."
Elizabeth Gonzalez tried her hand at ceramics for fun in the early 1990s, not realizing that it would set her down a path that would change the rest of her life.
Working as a full time industrial engineer professor, part time artist and full time mother was the norm for much of the early 2000s, before Gonzalez realized that art was her true passion. She learned how to draw and paint, and combined with her textile skills, has become a versatile artist with her hands in many different projects at a time.
She most loves the idea that someone will see her art and like it enough to buy it and put in their home. The fact that she will never know who that person is, but that her art makes them smile, inspires her to continue creating every day.
She’s come a long way from her initial pieces; now making everything from pillows, ceramic cats and plates, to greeting cards and purses, but her favorite piece to make remains the ceramic chairs that started it all.
Price: $$
Location(s):
Puerto Rican Arts and Crafts: 204 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
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