Día Mundial de Ponce (Ponce World Day) is a

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

celebration held in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, every year during the month of September. The celebration actually starts the Monday before

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

with various evening-time cultural festivities. It then culminates with the grand

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

that takes place on the Sunday before Labor Day. The celebration started in 2012 and has an estimated attendance of 4,000 people. The week-long event aims to celebrate the cultural heritage of the city by giving tribute to the organizations, the people and "the great sons and daughters of the city of Ponce." The first year of this celebration, the Grand Parade took place on the last Sunday of the celebration, but starting in 2013, the week-long events ended on a Saturday and the Grand Parade was changed to take place the last Saturday. That year the celebration was also changed to occur the last weekend of September, rather than the weekend before Labor Day.

Attributes

The motto of the celebration is "Ponce, Orgullo de Todos" (English: Ponce, Everyone's Pride)

History

The celebration dates back to an idea that Ponce native Rafael Serrano Segarra had while in flight to Ponce from the United States in 2011. While reading a magazine on board the airliner he came across an article about how the residents of

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, held an annual celebration of pride for their city. It occurred to Serrano Segarra that

Ponceños Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publications/reporters have erroneously stated Ponce's dat ...

could do something similar in their city. On 21 June 2011, Serrano presented his ideas to a group of concerned Ponceños at the Antiguo Casino de Ponce. On 28 November 2011 Serrano created the non-profit organization Comité Pro Día Mundial de Ponce (Committee Pro Dia Mundial de Ponce) to set the basis for obtaining approval for the concept. In December 2011, the

Puerto Rico Senate The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

approved the Sunday before Labor Day as Día Mundial de Ponce, and the celebrations started. The first celebration took place on 2 September 2012. The first year of this celebration, the Grand Parade took place on the last Sunday of the celebration, but starting in 2013, the week-long events ended on a Saturday and the Grand Parade was changed to take place that day. Rafael Serrano, president and founder of the event, September was chosen for the event because, according to him, there are three dates in September associated with the founding of the city.

List of events

The celebration starts on the Monday before the Labor Day weekend, and the 2012 events were as follows. All the celebrations took place in the city of Ponce. ''Monday (Aug 27)'': The “ Tommy Muñiz Theatrical Festival”, featuring the theatrical show “Maten a Borges” at

Teatro La Perla Teatro La Perla is a historic theater in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Inaugurated in 1864, it is the second oldest theater of its kind in Puerto Rico, but "the largest and most historic in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean." The theater was name ...

. ''Tuesday (Aug 28)'': The “ Juan Viguié Film Festival”, featuring the film " The Life of Isabel La Negra (Original film title in English: “Life of Sin”) at Teatro La Perla. ''Wednesday (Aug 29, 7:30pm)'': The “El Canto del León” Lyrical Poetic Reading dedicated to the musical legacy of

Antonio Paoli Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach internat ...

, at the Antonio Paoli Theater,

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Ponce The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Ponce — or Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ponce (UIPR-P) in Spanish, and often referred to as "''La Inter''"— is a Christian co-educational non-sectarian university in Pon ...

. ''Thursday (Aug 30, 7pm)'': The “ Rosario Ferré Book Fair”, featuring the presentation of the book “Los Rostros Rayados”, by Dr. Fernando Picó, regarding the life in Ponce from 1800 to 1830, the years that helped turn the city into Puerto Rico's “Capital Alterna” (Alternative Capital), at Escuela de Bellas Artes de Ponce. Concurrent with the “ Miguel Pou Fine Arts Festival”, featuring “Voces Ponceñas”, an art exposition about Ponce by Ponce artists, also at Escuela de Bellas Artes. ''Friday (Aug 31)'': The “ Ednita Nazario Romantic Music Festival”, featuring “Bohemia Caribeña”, a medley of over 30 musical artists interpreting musical selections, with drinks and

Hors d'oeuvre An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or ...

s, at Plaza del Mercado Isabel II. ''Saturday (Sept 1, 8pm)'': The “ Henry Hutchinson Classical Music Festival”, featuring a classical music concert by Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Pérez, at the Antonio Paoli Theater, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Ponce. ''Sunday (Sept 2)'': Holy Mass at Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe by Ponce Bishop Félix Lázaro Martínez, followed by an open house at

Museo de Arte de Ponce Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Ven al Sur, page 20. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2003. It houses a collection of Art of Eur ...

, and followed by an 11 o'clock minute of citywide cheering and honking throughout the city. This was then followed by the 3pm “Grand Parade” covering over 2 miles of city streets.

2013 Edition

The 2013 edition of the celebration took place on 21 September 2013 with the participation of over 3,500 participants, in addition to the cheering public.''Desfilan en masa para honrar a Ponce.''
Sandra Torres Guzmán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1556. 25 September 2013. Page 24. Retrieved 25 September 2013.

References

External links