Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira
Encyclopedia
Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira (English: Carmen Solá de Pereira Ponce Cultural Center) is the cultural center of the city of Ponce, and is located at 70 Cristina street in the Ponce Historic Zone
, in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico
. The Center is located in a structure designed in 1870, and it is currently used for educational and cultural activities as well as for art exhibits.
. Its style incorporates elements of Colonial Spanish
and Ponce Creole
architecture. Its courtyard is surrounded by a gallery. The building was originally built as the former home of Ermelindo Salazar, a prominent landowner, merchant, banker from Ponce. In 1959 the building became the first home of the Museo de Arte de Ponce.
, one of Ponce’s most underprivileged communities.
as the first location of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music
. Since 1992 it serves as home to the Ponce Cultural Center, "actively promoting the artistic development on [Ponce]’s rich educational and intellectual environment", including the Noches de Galería, "where renowned as well as promising painters, artisans and sculptors exhibit their works and showcase their talent."
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
, in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. The Center is located in a structure designed in 1870, and it is currently used for educational and cultural activities as well as for art exhibits.
Structure
The structure, located at 18° 0' 44.244" N, 66° 36' 39.9528" W, was designed in 19870 by the Corsician architect Juan Bertoli CalderoniJuan Bertoli Calderoni
Juan Bertoli Calderoni was a nineteenth-century Puerto Rican architect from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He designed Teatro La Perla, Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña and the building currently housing the Centro Cultural de Ponce among various other historic structures.-Legacy:Among Bertoli's most...
. Its style incorporates elements of Colonial Spanish
Colonial Spanish
The Colonial Spanish horse is a foundation type of horse descended from the original Iberian horse stock brought from Spain to the Americas. The ancient form of the breed was once called the jennet or Spanish barb. The term encompasses many strains or breeds now found primarily in North America...
and Ponce Creole
Ponce Creole
Ponce Creole is an architectural style created in Ponce, Puerto Rico in the late 18th and early 19th century. This style of Puerto Rican buildings is found predominantly in residential homes in Ponce that developed between 1895 and 1920...
architecture. Its courtyard is surrounded by a gallery. The building was originally built as the former home of Ermelindo Salazar, a prominent landowner, merchant, banker from Ponce. In 1959 the building became the first home of the Museo de Arte de Ponce.
Carmen Solá de Pereira
The Center was named after Carmen Solá de Pereira, an outstanding educator and lawmarker from Ponce. Solá de Pereira, dedicated her life to the education of disadvantaged children. She was a teacher and school principal in La CanteraSexto (Ponce)
Sexto is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Primero, Segundo, Tercero, Cuarto, and Quinto, Sexto is one the municipality's six core urban barrios.-Location:...
, one of Ponce’s most underprivileged communities.
Current Use
In the 1980s the structure was purchased by the Institute of Puerto Rican CultureInstitute of Puerto Rican Culture
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture , or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico...
as the first location of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music
Museum of Puerto Rican Music
The Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña is a museum in Ponce, Puerto Rico that showcases the development of Puerto Rican music, with displays of Taíno, Spanish, and African musical instruments that were played in the romantic danza genre, the favorite music of 19th-century Puerto Rican society, as...
. Since 1992 it serves as home to the Ponce Cultural Center, "actively promoting the artistic development on [Ponce]’s rich educational and intellectual environment", including the Noches de Galería, "where renowned as well as promising painters, artisans and sculptors exhibit their works and showcase their talent."