1995
Old San Juan
San Juan Cemetery
The red-domed neoclassical chapel, which dates back to the late 19th century, is dedicated to Mary Magdalen.
Polo Norte Sodas
The store was founded by Captain Angel Rivero Méndez around 1900.
Plazuela de la Rogativa
Plazuela de la Rogativa ("Plaza of the Procession")
built in 1971,
features a modern sculpture by Lindsay
Daen (1923-2001) depicting a procession of religious
women, and commemorates an event that took place on the site in 1797.
During the spring of that year, a fleet of British ships led by
under Sir
Ralph Abercrombie sailed into San Juan Bay, meaning to launch an assault on
the city and take control of the colony. When
the attack was foiled, they undertook a naval blockade of San Juan, hoping to
starve the residents into submission. As the towns people
began to despair of any help from soldiers garrisoned in the inland towns, the
governor ordered a rogativa, or divine entreaty, to ask
the saints for assistance. The women of the town formed a procession
through the streets, carrying torches and ringing bells. The
British, hearing the commotion and seeing the moving lights, decided that
reinforcements had arrived and quickly sailed off.