The Parque Pedro Albizu Campos (English: ''Pedro Albizu Campos Park'') is a passive
recreational park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
in the city of
Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was dedicated on 12 September 1991, to the memory of
Puerto Rican Nationalist leader
Pedro Albizu Campos by the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce.
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos was born in Ponce on 12 September 1891. He was raised in Ponce and lived most of his life there as well.
Location
The park is located in sector Tenerias of Barrio
Machuelo Abajo, at the location where the house stood where Albizu Campos spent much of his youth. It sits on a 5-
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
lot bordered by
Rio Bucana on the east end, Puerto Rico route
PR-1
Puerto Rico Highway 1 (PR-1) is a highway in Puerto Rico that connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road heads east and follows a somewhat parallel route along the southern coast of the island heading towards Salinas. At ...
on the south, Pedregal Street on the north, and Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos street on the west. It is near the intersection of Ponce By-pass Road (
PR-2), Miguel Pou Boulevard (
PR-1
Puerto Rico Highway 1 (PR-1) is a highway in Puerto Rico that connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road heads east and follows a somewhat parallel route along the southern coast of the island heading towards Salinas. At ...
), and Comercio Street (
PR-133
Puerto Rico Highway 133 (PR-133) is a major access road in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The road is 1.2 miles long and consists of three segments called (moving eastward) "Calle Comercio" (a.k.a. "Calle Francisco Parra Duperón"), "Avenida Cuatro Calles" ...
). The park is found at N 18.00999 W 66.59377 (18.00999, -66.59377).
There is a
full-body statue of Dr. Albizu Campos as the centerpiece of the park.
The statue is the work of Ponce sculptor Rafael Lopez del Campo.
[Carmelo Rosario Natal. ''Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002.'' Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 374.] The park was built in response to the initiative of the group
Ponceños de Verdad and the support of the general public.
Use
Though a general use passive park, the park is also home to various civic and political activities relating to the ideals of autonomy, self-government and independence for Puerto Rico.
Stones
Among the features of the park is a set of twelve stones set on the ground in a two-by-six vertical formation. The stones contain the names of the last twelve known survivors of the 1937
Ponce massacre. In addition to the name the survivor, the person's date of death is also engraved on each stone. Also engraved are a
Christian cross and the letters "
RIP
Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace.
...
" (Rest in Peace).
The names and dates on some of the stones have faded away due to exposure to the weather elements. The names and dates on the twelve stones are as follows:
* Rafael Soto Moreno, 21-6-74
* Samuel Aponte Morales, 23-10-(77?)
* Pedro L. del Valle Almodovar, (3?)-Nov-80
* America Rivera Jimenez, 26-2-92
* Jovita Nieves, 4-11-72
* Andres Santiago, 27-7-91
* (undecipherable) Irizarry, 1-6-93
* (undecipherable) Santiago, 2-5-93
* Juanita Vega, Feb-9-74
* Jovita Santiago Santiago, Dic-4-78
* Antonia Rodriguez Torres, Dic-2-79
* Nelson Cedeño Ramos, 25-10-82
See also
*
Ponce massacre
References
{{Reflist
Parks in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Urban public parks
Parks established in 1991
1991 establishments in Puerto Rico
Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Barrio Machuelo Abajo