Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 14, 1993 TAG: 9302140266
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JEAN CRAMER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
OLD, NEW MEET IN PUERTO RICO/ PRIDE IN THIS WARM, FRIENDLY ISLAND RUNS DEEP
FIVE hundred years after its "discovery," the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which now flies its own flag beside the Stars and Stripes, is celebrating its rich heritage. The Quincentennial gives Puerto Ricans a chance to shed their "West Side Story" image and show off their island.The cultural mix runs deep here, includ- ing descendants of pre-Columbian Indians (though they are few), of Spanish dons, African slaves and European sugar cane and coffee plantation owners. We gringos (Americanos) are late arrivals.
Situated midway between North and South America, about 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, Puerto Rico faces the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Increasing air service to San Juan has propelled this popular port-of-call, the largest home-based cruise port in the world, into a sophisticated, friendly destination resort. Even the cab drivers compete to win prizes for "San Juan nice."
Honeymooners and ageless romantics come to bask in a tropical climate freshened by gentle trade winds. If exotic fruits, scented gardens, Latin rhythms and palm-fringed beaches are not enough, visitors can check out the international and local gourmet cuisine, casinos, nightclubs, courses, tennis courts or historic sites.
Everyone should spend a few hours - better yet a few days - following the blue-gray cobbled streets through Old San Juan, the oldest capital city under the U.S. flag and one of two walled cities surviving in the Western Hemisphere (the other is Cartagena, Colombia).
Puerto Rico is a link between the old and the new worlds. In 1493, on his second voyage, Columbus came ashore on this island that the Taino Indian inhabitants called Borinquen, "land of the proud lord." A soldier named Ponce de Leon sailed with him. De Leon returned in 1508 to establish a Christian colony, which could be mined for gold, and he became the first governor of the island that finally became known as Puerto Rico (Rich Port). The seeker of the fountain of youth is better known to Norte Americanos as the discoverer of Florida, where he was fatally wounded by natives less friendly than the Taino. He is entombed, however, in San Juan Cathedral, and his descendants have played a proud role on the island.
The old city is on an islet, insulated from the busy metropolis of new San Juan, so it seems enshrined in the past. This seven-square block area, a National Historic Zone, is densely packed with 16th and 17th century dwellings, neoclassical mansions and Spanish Colonial Monuments. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture has polished up elegant old neighborhoods - "barrios," even the word sounds sweeter here.
By free trolley or by foot, visitors can climb hilly streets lined with pastel, balconied town houses, many of them meticulously restored. Clustered around centuries-old plazas are art galleries, boutiques, homey restaurants and small museums, including the Pablo Casals Museum. Historic churches still offering Mass include gothic San Juan Church, founded in 1532, and San Juan Cathedral.
Along the waterfront, Spanish military architecture shows how strategically important Puerto Rico once was to the empire. During the conquest of the New World, the island guarded the entrance to the Caribbean, providing a fortified harbor for galleons carrying supplies to the colonies and gold (and later rum) back across the Atlantic.
San Juan is guarded by two fortresses, San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal, both World Heritage Sites. El Morro, begun in 1539, dominates a headland 140 feet above the Atlantic, guarding the bay. The U.S. National Park Service provides orientation tapes and slide programs in Spanish and English, and you can almost see the Old World from these walls.
Nearby stands Casa Blanca, the family home of Ponce de Leon (though he never lived in Old San Juan). This fortified villa was the city's first defense against raiding Carib Indians. It has been restored as a museum of 16th-17th century family life and contains a museum of Indian culture upstairs.
La Forteleza, the city's official fort before El Morro, has served as the governor's residence and office since 1822. Visitors may tour this elegant "palace" furnished in the high style of Isabella II.
To entice cruise passengers to stay ashore, a $90 million-plus waterfront renewal project is under way. Cuartel Ballaja, originally the Caribbean headquarters of the Spanish Army and occupied after 1898 by the U.S. Army, makes a grand centerpiece. The renovated barracks, Asilo de Beneficencia (welfare hospital), Dominican Convent and several other spacious structures will reopen as cultural and arts centers.
Quincentennial Plaza features a 40-foot high totemic sculpture by Puerto Rican artist Jaime Suarez. The plaza's two needle-shaped columns point to the explorers' North Star, and a fountain of 100 streams commemorates their first hundred years in the Western Hemisphere.
On Paseo de La Princesa, a sculpted fountain titled "Raices" ("Roots") symbolizes the Indian, African and Spanish origins of the Puerto Rican people. The historic esplanade leads from the cruise piers past La Princesa, a restored, massive 19th century prison, now headquarters of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. The Paseo has been relandscaped with the addition of fountains, parks and open vistas to encourage promenading by both residents and visitors.
San Juan's harborside development plan won an award for excellence in 1991 from the American Institute of Architects.
Puertorriquenos' vision for their island reaches beyond the Quincentennial. Many say they have returned from the mainland for the quality of life, and the welcome they offer their guests is warm and proud.
Jean Cramer is a free-lance travel writer who lives in Denver.