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An Evening at Hacienda Siesta Alegre

Sitting alone atop a high hill in the foothill region of the rainforest, overlooking the entire northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, and just a short drive from either San Juan or El Conquistador Hotel, and even shorter from the Westin Rio Mar, one finds Hacienda Siesta Alegre, a beautiful Spanish Colonial Ha-cienda that belongs to a horse ranching baron who moved here from the United States years ago.

Your arrival at the Hacienda, passing traditional white painted horse corral fencing just before coming into a large clearing, is a promise of things to come as you leave your vehicle and follow the short torch-lit path up to the front entrance of the home. A full size suit of Spanish armor stands guard at one of the hallways off of the main entrance. The public areas are quite open to let the soft evening breezes enter. A small mirror pool graces one of the patios. The sun’s soft rays shed their golden light on the rainforest’s foliage as evening settles in. The sound of the Puerto Rican “coquí” frog chirps pleasantly, blending in with the harp, flute and guitar jazz trio playing in the background as wel-come drinks are distributed, and a full open bar stands ready to do service during the cocktail reception.

For dinner, a sumptuous buffet or plated dinner prepared by an outstanding professional chef and his staff awaits, accompanied by a generous supply of red and white wine. A Latin dance trio plays contemporary American and Puerto Rican music in the background and the tropical floral candle lit centerpieces grace each table. And a surprise awaits at the end of dinner – just as the guests feel the evening is coming to an end, as they enjoy their dessert and coffee, there is a commotion heard. . .

A commotion indeed, for one hears strong female voices shouting, a stomping of feet, the staccato clicking of castanets, and the strong arasceados in a minor key from a guitar and – suddenly – three Spanish flamenco dancers come bursting on to the scene in the patio area by the mirror pool, accompanied by a brooding guitarist, intent on matching his music to the speed and cadence of one of Puerto Rico’s finest flamenco groups.

After their performance, which builds to a climax that leaves the guests breathless as well, the dancers bow to the enthusiastic applause of all, then disperse into the group and invite audience participation to some dances with a Salsa beat. The dance trio resumes playing, no longer merely providing pleasant background music for dinner however; they mean serious business now, and the group responds enthusiastically to the strong beat of the Salsa and Merengue that is mixed in with the more familiar American tunes.

On returning to their hotel that night everyone in the group will realize that they have indeed been privileged to have been able to participate in such a lovely and unique evening. If they were not members of the very exclusive gathering of people that they belonged to, it would have been impos-sible for them to experience even a hint of the evening they’ve just enjoyed. But they are special!

Hacienda Siesta Alegre History.

Though born in the United States, Greg Jackson spent most of his young years in Europe, living in Belgium and attending school in England. It was here that he was first introduced to the world of horses. Greg and Linda’s love of horses is deep rooted in each of them. They met one another in high school and at the time both had been riding hunters and jumpers for years already. Greg went on to manage a jockey school and Linda, who was a flight attendant for a local area airline was actu-ally a jockey as well. Greg rode for the U.S. Team in the 1976 Montreal Olympics (the U.S. won).

The two of them married and their lives continued to be centered around their love of horses, with Greg going into the horse transportation business, then buying a farm that Linda managed, and where they started training horses, providing 200 horses a year for El Comandante Race Track right here in Puerto Rico. He owns a Boeing 727 equipped with horse stalls which is used for bringing new horses to the island for the racing and Paso Fino community.

Hurricane Hugo wiped out their farm in 1989, and they slowly began rebuilding it as the Hacienda Si-esta Alegre that is such a well kept secret, and that we are enjoying this evening. Several movies have been filmed here, along with Music Videos. Martha Stewart filmed a Caribbean Cooking feature here over a period of five days, and the Dream Team has filmed an episode here was well.

Their home is a hidden treasure that few residents or visitors to the island will ever be privileged to enjoy. Hacienda Siesta Alegre belongs to you tonight!

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