Welcome to Ponce

The Cuidad de Leones (City of Lions) and La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South) are some of the names used to describe the city of Ponce located on the small island of Puerto Rico. Ponce sits between a Central Mountain Range and the Caribbean Sea and received its name from the island’s first governor, Juan Ponce de León. It’s also the second-largest city on the island after San Juan.

Even though I didn’t grow up in Ponce, it was a place I visited constantly in my younger years and one of the first cities I grew to love on the island. I attended school in Ponce during my formative years, but school wasn’t the reason to love the city. It was its architecture with neoclassical styles, history, and the mix of the old with the new. It even feels like a small slice of Spain.

Ceiba is its symbolic tree associated with the founding of the city, where a 500-year-old Ceiba tree stands in its historic area. For further context, Puerto Rico's discovery happened in 1493, 528 years ago.

The Ceiba tree can reach up to 150 feet in height and its canopy is in the shape of a mushroom. The trunk itself is thick and taínos would use it to carve canoes many moons ago.

The Ceiba tree in Ponce has seen better days. Unfortunately, it suffered damages during the last massive hurricane, Maria. It currently stands with the help of scaffolding. We will have to wait for nature to do its magic and revive this tree.

Ponce’s symbolic animal is the lion, which is found almost everywhere in the historic city along with its red and black banners. Lions statues decorate the downtown area, including Plaza de las Delicias and the young and wise lion greet visitors as they arrive at the city.

The wise lion represents maturity and the old splendor of the city in regards to its art, architecture, medicine, sports, and economic development, to name a few. On the other hand, the young lion represents hope for the future to continue to achieve its splendor.

Plaza de las Delicias

Plaza de las Delicias is the name of Ponce’s downtown area and it houses the Catedral de la Guadalupe (Guadalupe cathedral), the Parque de Bombas (a firehouse), and Teatro La Perla (Pearl Theatre). There’s also multiple fountains, hotel and casinos, stores, and a delicious ice cream shop.

Cathedral and Wooden Firehouse

The cathedral stands in the center and it was built in 1883. Right behind the cathedral, visitors find the wooden firehouse built in 1882 and it has been serving as a museum since 1990. Exhibitions include firetrucks, hoses, and the uniforms of the firefighters along with some painted portraits. The firehouse also shows the symbolic colors of Ponce of red and black.

Pearl Theatre

The theatre stands in the neoclassical style since 1864 and it was designed by Juan Bertoli, an Italian-born resident of the island. The theatre survived an earthquake in 1918, and it reopened in 1941 after rebuilding the structure from the original plans.

I loved this theatre as it was the place where I first performed with the youth orchestra and earned recognition for playing my instrument. I also had the opportunity to perform, as part of the orchestra, the opera Hansel and Gretel. The arts are a central part of Puertorrican culture and, in my opinion, help shape the youth.

Ponce is certainly a must-explore city if visitors have the opportunity. It houses the art, music, and history museums, and there’s also a vivid nightlife that is truly enjoyable. There’s a little bit of everything for every taste.

Photos and story by ©Diana Lotti 2021.

The original story first appeared on Medium.