father juan manuel madrazo, the priest of the san josé church in the 1950s, was the first person who organized the festival. the purpose of this festival was to commemorate the life of this saint and raise money to repair the church. when the father was moved out of san juan, this festival came to an end. it was not until 1970 when a historian and anthropologist named ricardo alegría proposed to rafaela balladares de brito, a resident of san sebastian street, to revive this tradition. balladares de brito with the help of her neighbors began to reorganize the festival and recollect money for an elementary school directed by sisters of charity.