Saturday, December 9, 2023

West Indies Adventure: More Old San Juan (12/9/2023)

Saturday, December 9, 2023 (continued)
Continuing through Old San Juan on our own:
Inside the Catedral de San Juan Bautista/
Cathedral of St John the Baptist
Fresh floral arrangement
The cathedral still shows damage from Hurricane Maria
Side altar dedicated to Carlos Manuel Rodríguez
Santiago, the first Puerto Rican and first
Caribbean-born layperson in history to be beatified
Palanquin with a figure of Our Lady of
El Rocío (a pilgrimage site in Spain) 
Sanctuary of the cathedral
Trompe l'oeil painting in the dome
The wax-coated mummified remains of San Pio/St Pius
arrived c 1862 from the Vatican upon the request of
the local bishop; Pius was a Roman soldier who was
martyred for his faith in the first century
Side altar for Nuestra Señora de la Divina
Providencia
/Our Lady of Divine Providence,
the patroness of Puerto Rico
The tomb of Juan Ponce de León, who died
in Cuba in 1521, but was buried here in 1836
The former chapel in El Convento/
The Convent Hotel was set up for a wedding
Casa Blanca (1521, as the first governor's
residence for Ponce de León; however, he
died that year in Cuba) remained in the
family of Ponce de León until the Spanish
military took over in 1779, then it was the
residence of US Military Commanders 1898-1966
Casa Blanca is now a museum showing life in the
16th to 18th centuries
A full-length portrait of Juan Ponce de León
Casa Blanca dining room
Casa Blanca kitchen
Casa Blanca chapel
Casa Blanca bedroom
Casa Blanca escape hatch?
La Ballajá (1992, by Victor Ochoa)
depicts the district of La Ballajá
being rescued by the Puerto Ricans
View of Castillo San Felipe del Morro/Fort El Morro
(1539-1790), which was designed to defend San Juan Bay
El Ciudadano de América/The Citizen of the
Americas (1998, by José Buscaglia Guillermety)
commemorates Eugenio María de Hostos, 
an advocate for the independence of
Puerto Rico and Cuba
Tótem Telúrico/Teluric Totem (1992-1993,
by Jaime Suárez) is a ceramic sculpture
featuring broken shards of vases in 
reference to archaeological findings
Iglesia de San José/St Joseph Church (1528-1735,
in Spanish Gothic style) once housed the remains
of Juan Ponce de León
We stopped at the ChocBar for cold drinks
A mocha milkshake
Medalla beer
Display of chocolates
Why is Santa standing on the street?
Former La Bombonera, a café known for stained glass
and Moorish tile work
A young man with four macaws was
standing near the mailbox I used
Next: Marigot, St Martin.

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