San Juan to mark 500th anniversary of founding with roster of events
The San Juan municipal government will celebrate a series of events to mark the 500th anniversary of the founding of Puerto Rico’s capital city, including cultural events, exhibits, concerts, and other shows, Mayor Miguel Romero announced.
“It’s with great pleasure that we share with the people of San Juan and all residents of Puerto Rico the events we have planned and are already part our current itinerary for the long-awaited celebration of the fifth centenary of the City of San Juan” said Romero, while assuring that other important events will be added to the agenda.
“We’re grateful to have the collaboration and count with the contributions of different promoters of the Puerto Rican culture, therefore we’re also experimenting a particular enthusiasm while seeing this year of events taking form on a daily basis,” he said.
The public events will formally kick off Sept. 9th with an exhibit that showcases the importance of this anniversary. The “Image, Art and Devotion: San Juan 500 years” and “The City in Time: Five Centuries of Artistic Exemplification” will be the first two exhibits at the Museum of San Juan.
The “San Juan, 500 Years Route” will be inaugurated Sept. 10th while on Sept. 11th Old San Juan will be the site of cultural events, a presentation by Tata Cepeda & Tamboricua that evening.
San Juan will also host on Sept. 11 the XXVIII Meeting of Central American, Mexican, and Caribbean mayors of the Iberoamerican Capital Cities Union (UCCI, in Spanish). As part of the meeting, a new regional president will be elected and a road map for the organization’s future will be revealed, as new agreements will be fostered to achieve the common goals of capital cities around the world, Romero said.
A mass, as well as the official events commemorating the 500th anniversary of San Juan will be held Sept. 12th. Activities will include a parade and a carnival showcasing the city’s 500-year history. Artists that have confirmed their participation to the event include Carlos Vives, Andy Montañez, Nydia Caro, Danny Rivera, Glenn Monroig, Milly Quezada, Alberto Carrión, Orquesta Cucco Peña, José Juan Tañón, Victoria Sanabria, Caribbean Tenors, Ballets de San Juan and Gíbaro de Puerto Rico, among others.
On Sept. 13th, Romero and a group of panelists will participate in the Economic Development Forum at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino at the Convention Center District in Miramar.
Other activities include conferences, seminars, documentaries, the city’s Christmas lightning ceremony, concerts, exhibitions, illustrated workshops and the traditional seasonal “parrandas.”
The festivities will include Puerto Rico’s longest Christmas celebration, the “Welcome to 2022” event, and the San Sebastián Street festival in January 2022, leading up to the Old San Juan Regatta as the finale of the activities, Romero said.
