Ponce

The City of Ponce (Autonomous Municipality of Ponce) is, in terms of territory, the largest municipality in Puerto Rico.  In terms of population it is the third largest, after San Juan and Bayamon.  Located in the southern part of the island a few kilometers from the coastline, Ponce is known as Pearl of the South, and as City Senorial.

The city was named in honor of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon’s grandson.  Juan Ponce de Leon was the first governor of Puerto Rico; his grandson was the first native to be governor of Puerto Rico.  The symbol of the city, the lion, also comes from the name.  In 1877, by order of the King of Spain, Ponce was granted the title of City.  It was the first autonomous municipality declared on the island.
It is said that the La Ceiba tree of Ponce has to do with the origin of the early population of what eventually evolved into what is today Ponce.

The legendary Ceiba on the Portuguese River is more than 500 years old.  According to tradition, this is one of the popular places where the first Spanish families to arrive in the region settled.
These original settlers began to show solidarity as a unified community in 1670 when they built a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadeloupe.  The church and a priest were subsidized with contributions from the community. This was the humble beginning of what later, after several transformations and renovations, became the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadeloupe.  It is located in the heart of the city.

Later, Ponce was formally founded in 1692 by neighbors who moved their settlement from the banks of the River Jacaguas.  The River Jacaguas was said to be one of the first places where the Spanish settled; the place is now the Plaza Las Delicias.

Official trade was carried on with Spain to the north in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Ponce, to the south, took an active role in illegal trade that served to strengthen the economy of the region.

Roman Baldorioty Castro was from Ponce and was one of the major figures involved in the political and ideological movement to gain autonomy.  He allegedly suffered abuses under the Spanish regime’s persecution.  Autonomy was granted to Puerto Rico at the end of the Spanish regime.

The Pearl Theater served as a stage not only to give life to the theatrical artistic culture in the region, but it also served as a place of assembly for those who were dedicated to the important social issues in Ponce and in Puerto Rica as a whole.   The Theater served this function both at the end of the Spanish regime and in Puerto Rico’s early years as a United States territory.

There were several outstanding events in Ponce in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that marked the city forever.  One event was the famous fire of January 25, 1899 in which brave firefighters did not hesitate to risk their lives to put an end to it and save the people.

Despite being ordered to desist, as the situation was seen as something that would be futile and very risky, the firefighters took to control of the fire and extinguished it.  The next day the firefighters were condemned, but because of the support of the people they were acquitted and declared heroes.

The second event took place in 1937 during a national demonstration.  There was a confrontation between demonstrators and police, and the U.S. ordered the governor to stop this rally at all costs.

It culminated in a shooting which killed over a dozen nationalists, adding to the atmosphere of tension in Puerto Rico during a time of repression against the Puerto Rican nationalist sentiment.  This is known as the Slaughter of Ponce.  In the following decades, Poncena nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos (1893-1965) has been honored for his fight for this ideal in Ponce and Puerto Rico.

During the twentieth century, Ponce contributed several governors who were active political figures. These include the Poncena Luis A. Ferre (1904 – 2003), defender of the ideal of statehood and founder of the New Progressive Party (PNP).  In the late 1960s and early 1970s he was a key person in Puerto Rican contemporary history.  Another was Ex-governor Rafael Hernandez Colon (1936 -) of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), having ruled the country during the 1970s and 1980s.

With the passing of time we could say that Ponce has somehow maintained its role as the capital of sociopolitical, cultural and economic life of southern Puerto Rico. In this process there have been moments of crisis and those of calm.  It should be noted that the policy at the municipal level, at the time when former mayor Poncena Rafael Cordero “Churumba” SGP died, was one of those phases when Ponce was enjoying the splendor of the late twentieth century.

Francisco “Ico” Zayas (PPD) and Mary E. (Mayito) Melendez (PNP) have led recent city administrations.  Thus, based on the principle of democracy, that the efforts of everyone are for everyone, Ponce looks forward with both wisdom and faith that it will continue with the role it has played in Puerto Rico.

The good of everyone, regardless of who occupies the post of command of the municipality is what matters for Poncena, Ponce and Puerto Rico.  With this perspective, the Poncena people are still waiting, confidant that the mega port proposed by the Churumba administration will soon be a reality.  The region and the country hope for the completion of the port.