Day Six: Alex, Chase, Jeremy

 Morning: 

We started the morning promptly at 7:00 am with breakfast at our hotel, Hotel El Guajataca. We then checked out and started our drive to Ponce at 8:00 am. On the way to Ponce, we first stopped at Castillo Labadie. Castillo Labadie started operations as a plantation that cultivated coffee in 1905. However, after the Spanish-American war, the plantation changed to harvesting sugar cane which became the newest cash crop and biggest export from Puerto Rico. The plantation is located on 1,260 plus acres of land in northwest Puerto Rico and has been long since abandoned, only having its gardens taken care of. While it was interesting to see the plantation we were unfortunately unable to go inside the building, and many of us felt a heavy presence on the grounds of Castillo Labadie.     

The next stop on our journey to Ponce was La Guardarraya for lunch. La Guardarraya is located in the southern part of Puerto Rico and is about 30 minutes outside of Ponce. The restaurant was founded in 1947 and quickly became popular for its famous Can Can pork chops. 

We then arrived at the Plaza of Delight in Ponce. Unlike the other bustling plazas with live music and shops that we had seen, this plaza was filled with tall trees used for shade. We learned about one of Ponce’s most famous celebrities, a relative to Señor Campos who is now known to be the “Bad Bunny of the 19th century”. This music invoked a new way of socializing in Ponce, as people went to the plaza to dance and meet potential partners. 

Then we went to the 2nd most photographed building in Puerto Rico, which happens to be a fire station. This fire station is the heart of Puerto Rico, as it is painted in bold red and dark colors. According to our guide, these colors were the inspiration for Ponce's red and black flag. The firehouse is a symbol of pride for the city of Ponce. Its architect was eventually elected as mayor! 

Chase: One of the things I noticed in multiple cities that we have visited is how the church is often directly across the city hall. I asked our tour guide how separated church and state are in Puerto Rico. She responded by saying that ever since US intervention, its government has been secular as to align with the US’ policies. This made me question how this would change if Puerto Rico gained their freedom. 

Since the trip began, I have been leaning towards arguing for the freedom of Puerto Rico, as I have found that its culture and language need to be preserved and free from American influence. 

Alex: I noticed a stark difference in how many for-sale signs there were in the southern part of Puerto Rico. While San Juan and the north of the island have a huge amount of for sale signs and other indicators of gentrification, Ponce does not have as many indications of suffering from large amounts of gentrification. Also, another interesting difference between the north and south of Puerto Rico was pointed out by one of my classmates. It was that in the south, which has less gentrification, there seems to be , more lighter-skinned people, which is another interesting thing to think about when considering the way gentrification in Puerto Rico affects different Puerto Ricans.  

Jeremy: One thing I noticed a lot was the identifiers that made Ponce so unique to the rest of the Island. With such a rich history of love for their land and their inspiration to uphold their land genuinely showed a slow intake of gentrification. I noticed a big difference in the structure of Ponce. That being that they did not allow people from outside the city to take what isn’t there. Like many places we visited, there was a warmth to Ponce that felt like a traditional home of Puerto Rico. Ponce never let go of their values to be all together as a community. We all noticed that everything was also a lot closer, and the designs of the streets represented a rich history of horse carriages that had still been kept up until this day to make a better roadway for driving. Also, murals along the entire area represented different timelines of history that tell stories with their very detailed and graphic color and design. The impact of this tour around the island caused a desire in me to not only look at the negatives of Puerto Rico’s gentrification but about the power to stand ground, and that doesn’t only include the perseverance of Ponce.

 

After we checked out the firehouse turned museum we began our van ride up one of the mountains of Ponce to see a giant cross and the “castle” that belonged to a prominent family within Ponce’s, and Puerto Rico’s rum industry. We learned about how the cross was placed there with the intention of protecting the port from pirates. The cross was also used to hold up the flags of ships that were in Ponce’s port, and currently just holds flags of different countries since not many international ships utilize Ponce’s port.  

Evening: After descending the mountains of Ponce, we went to Chefs Creations, an artisan restaurant in the heart of Ponce. Instead of the typical restaurant experience that we were used to, we arrived at empty tables filled with a mortar and pestle at each seat. After eating delicious Puerto Rican food for the last five days, we finally were going to learn how to make it ourselves. We started with a quick Spanish lesson on the basic tools and ingredients to make Mofongo, a Puerto Rican delicacy made up of fried green plantains. We started by grinding up salt and garlic, eventually adding the main ingredient of plátanos verdes. Next, we molded the ingredients into a bowl-like structure to hold the meats that we were going to stuff the Mofongo with. Our toppings included chicken, beef, rice, and beans, all complementing the plantain base. The result was a messy but delicious self-prepared dinner. We finished with not-so-Puerto Rican ice cream sundaes and headed to the Fox Hotel. 

The Fox Hotel blew us all away with its vibrant pop art theme and an array of restaurants in its lobby, ranging from sushi to hot dogs to protein shakes. We concluded the evening with a visit from Señor Campos’ family and a night out for ice cream.