The Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño (English: Museum of Puerto Rican Autonomism) is a small museum in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, that showcases the political history of Puerto Rico with an emphasis on the contributions made by the municipality of Ponce and its residents. The museum was established on 7 September 2006.

History

The museum was established in 2006 under the municipal administration of Mayor

Francisco Zayas Seijo Francisco R. Zayas Seijo, also known as Ico (born 4 October 1951), is a former member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives and mayor of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. During his 4-year mayoral term, Zayas Seijo established the Mariana ...

Location

The museum is located within the grounds of the ''

Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro The Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro (English: Román Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon) is a tract of land in Barrio Segundo of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, originally designed as the city's cemetery, but later converted ...

'' (English: Román Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon). The Panteon is a tract of land in

Barrio Segundo Segundo (''Barrio Segundo'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Primero, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto, Segundo is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios. It was organized in 1878. ...

of the city of

, originally designed as the city's

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, but later converted into what has come to be a famous burial place. Established in 1842, it is

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

's first (and only) national pantheon.The World of 1898: The Spanish–American War
/ref> It is the only cemetery dedicated as a museum in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The pantheon, and its Museum of Puerto Rican Autonomism, is located at Number 1 Calle Torres at Calle Frontispicio in

, Ponce.

Objective

The purpose of the museum is to trace the history of

autonomism Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenc ...

in the Island. In 2009, the municipality also commissioned the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is an institution of higher learning granting degrees in the field of architecture. It is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. It was establ ...

to perform a study to determine the viability and cost for the total reconstruction of the Pantheon.

Collections and displays

The museum has three main permanent collections. The first one portrays Puerto Rico's quest for national autonomy during the 19th century. The second collection displays Puerto Rico's national autonomy during the 20th century, and the third wing is dedicated to the autonomy of the Ponce municipal government. Each display area pinpoints the role of the city of Ponce as the cradle of Puerto Rican autonomism, in particular, the Executive Orders of former governor

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

in the development of national autonomism during the second half of the twentieth century, and his leading role of the establishment of Puerto Rico's Law of Autonomous Municipalities of 1991 and the development of municipal autonomy.

Significance

Tomb of Casimiro Berenguer in Barrio Segundo, Ponce, PR (DSC00228)

The cemetery adjacent to the museum distinguishes itself because various illustrious Puerto Ricans of transcendental importance are buried here. The most important personage buried in this historic cemetery is

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Ramon Baldorioty de Castro, distinguished Puerto Rican patriot, journalist, educator, writer, orator, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. In 1870, he was elected delegate to the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

, where he attacked the slavery system of the time, being responsible for most of the liberty amendments. Afterward, on 23 March 1873, the abolition of slavery was proclaimed, being Baldorioty de Castro responsible for such proclamation. He is known as the father of Puerto Rican autonomism. The late mayor of Ponce,

Churumba Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor ...

, also an autonomist, has a mausoleum here also. The remains of

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

heroe

Casimiro Berenguer Casimiro Berenguer Padilla was a Puerto Rican nationalist. He was the military instructor of the Cadets of the Republic (''Cadetes de la República'') who received permission from Ponce Mayor Tormos Diego to celebrate a parade on March 2 ...

are buried here as well.''Panteon Nacional Roman Baldorioty de Castro.''
Official Website of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved 16 July 2012.

References

External links

{{GeoGroupTemplate Museo Del Autonomismo Puertorriqueno Museums in Ponce, Puerto Rico Museo Del Autonomismo Puertorriqueno Museums established in 2006 History museums in Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico