Centro Cultural Baudilio Vega Berríos
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The Centro Cultural Baudilio Vega Berríos is a
cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Ce ...
located in
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...
. Located in the heart of the city, aside the
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and the
Teatro Yagüez The Teatro Yagüez in Puerto Rico is a historic building that today is a performing arts theater. It is located at Calle de la Candelaria (Mayagüez), Candelaria Street, (formerly ''Calle McKinley'') and Dr. Basora Streets, in the city of Mayagü ...
, extending between Candelaria Street (former ''McKinley'') at front to the
Ernesto Ramos Antonini Ernesto Ramos Antonini (April 24, 1898 – January 9, 1963) was the President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico). Early yea ...
Street (former ''Eleven of August'') at back.


Architecture

The Cultural Center of Mayagüez is a two-story building with a facade that is dominated by arches, built at a cost of one million dollars under the management of Baudilio Vega Berríos, for whom the building was named. It was built strictly with municipal funds. It has a theater with capacity for seven hundred people, a library, a history museum, reading and conference rooms as well as a modern cafeteria.


History

The Centro Cultural Baudilio Vega Berríos is located in place that for many years occupied the town fire station. The Cultural Center began as an organization founded in 1958 under the presidency of Amador Ramírez Silva as part of a project of the Puerto Rico Institute of Culture. With the cooperation and donations of different institutions and people from Mayaguez, the Center starts to become a reality with a series of activities. Since then the Municipal Administration has become an important column in the organization. With the city's bicentennial approaching in 1960, the Bicentennial Committee proposed the construction of a building that would house the different facets of Mayagüez cultural life. In 1968, the Cultural Center was finally inaugurated. Don Baudilio Vega Berríos, Mayor of the city, said during its inauguration, that: "... in fact, at all classes social-working, artisans, dependents on commerce, businessmen, industrialists, it was notable the concern towards the joy in their cultural recreational field as so many jobs in their daily lives". Therefore, the building was constructed for the Cultural Center of the city of Mayagüez aiming to replace the old municipal theater using modern construction techniques. On September 3, 1983 being mayor of the city Benjamin Cole, the Cultural Center was dedicated in honor of Baudilio Vega. Currently, the Cultural Center of Mayagüez houses a public library, cultural theater and tourist office as well as the Municipal Bomba School.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centro Cultural Baudilio Vega Berrios Buildings and structures completed in 1968 Buildings and structures in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1968 establishments in Puerto Rico Cultural centers in North America Culture of Puerto Rico