Puerto Rico: statue of Spanish explorer toppled before King Felipe's visit
Juan Ponce de León statue came down hours before king arrives on island to mark 500 years since founding of capital San Juan
The Juan Ponce de Leon statue in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The capital’s mayor criticized what he said was an ‘act of vandalism’.
AFP in Miami
Mon 24 Jan 2022 15.00 EST
A statue of the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León has been toppled in Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, hours before a visit to the Caribbean island by Spain’s King Felipe VI.
The capital’s mayor, Miguel Romero, criticized the incident on Monday as an “act of vandalism” in remarks to news outlet El Nuevo Día, but sought to downplay the significance of the incident and the extent of the damage.
“Some individuals approached the statue”, located in a square in the historic center of San Juan, and “caused damage”, according to a police report quoted by local media.
Felipe VI was due later on Monday in Puerto Rico, a US territory, to mark the 500th anniversary of San Juan’s founding.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/24/puerto-rico-statue-spanish-king-juan-ponce-de-leon
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Juan Ponce de León Statue in San Juan Toppled Ahead of Spanish King’s Visit to Puerto Rico
BY ANGELICA VILLA
January 24, 2022 5:17pm
San Jose square in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
VIA TWITTER/PHOTO BY DENNIS LENNOX
A statue of Spanish colonial–era general Juan Ponce de León was toppled in Puerto Rico ahead of a visit from Spanish King Felipe VI to the U.S. territory this week.
Local police discovered the dismantled statue located in San Juan’s Plaza San José in the early morning hours of January 24, just before the Spanish sovereign was scheduled to meet with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi to mark the 500th anniversary of the city’s founding, according to a report by the Associated Press.
A group known as the Boriken Libertarian Forces, which has expressed opposition to the Felipe VI’s visit to his country’s former colony, claimed responsibility for the damage, according to local media reports confirmed by the Guardian. “Faced with the visit of the King of Spain, Felipe VI, to Puerto Rico and the escalation of ‘gringo’ invaders taking over our lands,” the group wrote in a statement, “we want to send a clear message: neither kings nor ‘gringo’ invaders,” referring to the recent real estate speculation on the island.
In an interview with with Telemundo Puerto Rico, San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero said, “What we’re not going to tolerate is vandalism. The Spaniards from 500 years ago are not the same ones of today.” A spokesperson said the statue would be reinstalled this week.
More:
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/juan-ponce-de-leon-statue-toppled-puerto-rico-1234616486/
