Congratulations to Marta Vega on the opening of  El Pilón on Rainier Avenue in the South Seattle neighborhood of Columbia City. The 35-seat restaurant serves home-style Puerto Rican cuisine for lunch and dinner and is hosting Caribbean art exhibits from Splash of the Caribbean. The mofongo relleno de camarones is the best!!

We are currently displaying paper-mâché Vejigante masks by artist Juan Alindato of Ponce, Puerto Rico. If you have only seen these colorful masks in photos, be sure to make it to El Pilon in the next two months before the exhibit changes. Also featured are painted calabash gourd masks by Puerto Rican artist, Jacinto Ramirez and the popular hand painted coconut shell butterflies made in the Dominican Republic.

Vejigantes–costumed characters signifying demons–date back to the 17th century in Puerto Rico. They are such a sight for the eyes that Miguel de Cervantes describes them in his classic novel Don Quixote written in 1605. Learn more about Vejigantes.

Exhibits will change every other two months.