History

Founding

Ponce, nicknamed Ciudad de los leones (City of the Lions) after Ponce de León, has one of Puerto Rico's richest histories, dating back to the 17th century. It was founded in 1692 by Loíza Ponce de León, Juan Ponce de León's great-grandson.

In 1883, Ponce was ravaged by an enormous fire. The fire threatened to destroy much of the south coast, but thanks to the firemen of Ponce (who operated from Ponce's Parque de Bombas fire station), after a historic and dramatic battle with the fire, Ponce and the South were saved. The Parque de Bombas fire station in the central plaza has since become a museum and tourist attraction to all Puerto Ricans and tourists from abroad. The station continued serving the Ponce community until 1990, when it was closed and the building's activities were entirely dedicated to a museum, which is still open to the general public. Ponce was also the site of the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1993.

In 1937, Ponce was the scene of an incident dubbed the "Ponce Massacre" in which many unarmed Nationalist protesters, peacefully celebrating the 64th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery, were fatally shot by police.

In October 1985, Ponce suffered a great tragedy, when at least 129 people lost their lives to a mudslide in an area known as Mameyes. International help was needed to rescue people and corpses. The United States and many foreign countries, such as Mexico, France, and Venezuela, sent economic, human, and machinery relief. Ponce, and all of Puerto Rico, has always been thankful of the countries that helped.

Ponce's mayor for fifteen years (since 1989), Rafael "Churumba" Cordero, died on the morning of January 17, 2004, after suffering three brain strokes. He was succeeded by Francisco Zayas Seijo, the city's current mayor. Ponce is know as La Ciudad Señorial de Puerto Rico(Majestic city of Puerto Rico).

Flag and Coat of Arms

Above the traditional red and black colors of Ponce the shield of the city. The five tower gold crown indicates that Ponce is a city by royal decree. As an exterior frame to shield, we have interlaced, a sugar cane plant on the right and to the left a coffee tree branch.

The shield of Ponce is divided by a diagonal line that crosses straight from the superior end to the left inferior end. In this divided field is the color red, that covers the superior right portion. On that black and red background is a yellow lion with black mane, walking towards the left of the shield, facing - looking - towards the right. The lion is on a bridge. The shield is bordered by a coffee plant branch and a sugar cane plant.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Anón
• Bucaná
• Canas Capitanejo
• Cerrillo
• Coto Laurel
• Guaraguao
• Machuelo
• Magueyes
• Maraguez
• Monte Llano
• Portugués
• Quebrada Limón
• Real
• Sabanetas
• San Patricio
• Tibes
• Vayas

The main urban zone is also composed of several sections.

Tourism

Ponce's tourist appeal has not gone unnoticed, and since the 1970s, the Holiday Inn hotel branch located there has become almost as famous as Ponce's touristic attractions. Newer Hotels include Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort, home to the new Costa Caribe Golf & Country Club, featuring a 27-hole PGA championship golf course.

Some sites worth visiting are the Serralles Castle and the Cruceta El Vigia, a 100-foot observation tower which overlooks the city, as well as the chamfered street corners and well-preserved 19th century domestic architecture in the blocks surrounding the central plaza. The story is that scouts first used El Vigia to scan for attacking ships.

Ponce is the home of the Ponce Museum of Art, which was operated by Puerto Rico's former Governor Luis A. Ferré until his death at the age of 99. Designed by Edward Durrell Stone (Museum of Modern Art, NY), it is the only museum of stature, housing the most extensive art collection in the Caribbean. Visit also the Serralles rum distillery (home of the Don Q and Captain Morgan, and Parrot Bay rums) and the Leones de Ponce, eleven-time national basketball champions. The city also boasts a large auditorium for activities and basketball games named the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium.

The beautiful Plaza de las Delicias is a worthwhile stop, with lovely fountains, a cathedral and a unique red and black, century old wooden firehouse, commonly known as "Parque de Bombas"; a landmark still in use. Originally built in 1882 for an exposition, from 1883 to 1989 it served as headquarters of the Ponce Fire Corps. In 1990, the firehouse was reopened as a museum, there are exhibits on the second floor, and the municipal band plays a free concert every Sunday night.

Other interesting buildings around Ponce's main plaza include Casa Alcaldía (city hall), the oldest colonial building in the city, dating to the 1840s. Nearby sits Casa Armstrong-Poventud a magnificent example of the neoclassical architectural heritage of the island.

Nearby is the Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center discovered in 1975 after hurricane rains uncovered pottery and only a small portion has so far been excavated, is site of the oldest cemetery uncovered up to date in the Antilles, with some 200 skeletons unearthed from AD300, is considered the largest and the most important archaeological finds in the West Indies.

Hacienda Buena Vista was built in 1833 originally devoted to growing fruits, converted into a coffee plantation and corn mill in 1845 and in operation till 1937, and restored by Fideicomiso de Conservación de Puerto Rico. All the machinery works (the metal parts are original), operated by water channeled from the 360m Vives waterfall; the hydraulic turbine which turns the corn mill is unique.

"La Guancha Paseo Tablado", the boardwalk, is a fun stop where you can mingle with lively local Ponceños. A 45 minute boat ride get you to "Caja de Muertos" (Coffin Island or Dead Box Island), a small island of pristine beaches and an old lighthouse built in 1887.

Transportation

International flights were once flown there into Mercedita Airport, coded PSE, by Eastern Air Lines and American Airlines, while intra-island operations were conducted by Prinair. These days Mercedita is strictly a domestic airport, with Cape Air dba Continental Connection flying from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico,JetBlue flying nonstop from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City, and Continental from New York/Newark Liberty Airport(EWR). They fly large A320s, and 737s, respectively, into PSE.

Connections from SJU are easily available. Delta Air Lines will begin service to Atlanta from Mercedita airport on June 3 using Canadair 70 seat jets.

Education

Ponce counts with several public and private schools distributed through several regions. Public education is handled by the State Department of Education.

There are also several colleges and universities located in the city. Some of them are:

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Ponce School of Medicine
It also has several other technical institutions like the Instituto de Banca y Comercio and others.

Sports

Most of Ponce's professional teams are called the Ponce Lions (or Lionesses) regardless of the sport.

The Ponce Lions basketball team is one of the leading teams of the island winning a total of twelve championships during their tenure. The team's venue is the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium.

The teams of baseball and volleyball (male and female) have also been fairly successful. The baseball team venue is the Francisco Montaner Stadium. The stadium is located right next to the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium.

Notable Ponceños

• Alfredo M. Aguayo - Educator & writer
• Antonio S. Luchetti - Public servant, engineer
• Antonio Paoli- world renowned opera singer of the 1900's
• Carlos Ortiz - Three time world boxing champion.
• Cesar Andreu Iglesias - political figure
• Cheo Feliciano - salsa and international singer and member of the Fania
• All-Stars, a popular group of Salsa musicians and singers.
• Denise Marie Quiñones - 4th Puerto Rican winner of the Miss Universe contest.
• Ednita Nazario - international singer
• Elizam Escobar - poet, author and renowned painter
• Federico Degetau - lawyer, writer, author, and the first Resident
• Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States House of Representatives.
• Hector Campos Parsi - composer
• Héctor Lavoe - salsa and international singer and member of the Fania All
• Stars, a popular group of Salsa musicians and singers.
• Javy López - former world champion baseball player
• Lourdes Pamela Pop - teacher
• Luis A. Ferré - former governor, Engineer, pianist, founder of the Partido
• Nuevo Progresista, Senate President & of Puerto Rico.
• Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr. (USN) (May 6, 1910-September 24, 2000, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico), was the first Hispanic to become a four-star Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
• Luis Ernesto Ramos Yordan, - Doctor & Legislator.
• José Julio Henna - Doctor
• José Torres - former world boxing light heavyweight champion
• Juan Morel Campos - Composer & musician
• María Teresa Babí - Professor
• Miguel Pou - painter
• Orlando Cepeda Baseball Hall of Famer
• Pedro Albizu Campos - nationalist leader
• Pedro Pietri - poet
• Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez - salsa and international singer and member of the Fania All-Stars, a popular group of Salsa musicians and singers.
• Rafael Hernández Colón - Lawyer, Secretary of Justice, Senate Presidente and former Governor of Puerto Rico.
• Roberto Alomar Velázquez - former Major League Baseball player
• Rosario Ferre - novelist
• Roy Rosselló - former Menudo
• Ruth Fernández - Singer & Legislator
• Sor Isolina Ferré - Luis A. Ferré's sister and humanitarian icon

Ponce, Puerto Rico. (2006, October 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:52, October 19, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ponce%2C_Puerto_Rico&oldid=8126599