This is a list of events in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ponce is Puerto Rico's second largest city outside the San Juan metropolitan area. It is located in the southern coast of Puerto Rico, about a 75-minute drive via Autopista Las Americas or reachable via plane as a destination at the Mercedita International Airport or by cruise line at the Port of the Americas. Ponce holds numerous annual events. Only the most prominent and popular ones are listed below.
The following table lists recurring events in Ponce by their month of occurrence. A listing sorted by any of the other fields can be obtained by clicking on the header of the field. For example, clicking on "Year Established" will sort events by the year when the event started.
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~ = Date is approximate
Ponce is a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on August 12, 1692 and is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur, La Ciudad Señorial, and La Ciudad de las Quenepas.
Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, better known as "Isabel la Negra", was a Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Her name and her brothel, Elizabeth's Dancing Club, became part of Puerto Rican folklore both during her life and posthumously.
The Music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have primarily included African, Taino Indigenous, and European influences. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially native genres such as bomba, jíbaro, seis, danza, and plena to more recent hybrid genres such as salsa, Latin trap and reggaeton. Broadly conceived, the realm of "Puerto Rican music" should naturally comprise the music culture of the millions of people of Puerto Rican descent who have lived in the United States, especially in New York City. Their music, from salsa to the boleros of Rafael Hernández, cannot be separated from the music culture of Puerto Rico itself.
Rafael Cordero Santiago, better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor", an allusion to the city's official symbol, the lion. Mayor Cordero was a firm believer in the government decentralization process.
Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico.
Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians, namely Monserrate Rivera Alers and his oldest son, Efraín Rivera Castillo, . This article refers mainly to Efraín Rivera Castillo, a popular band leader known in salsa, plena and Latin jazz circles.
Cañas River, also known as Río Cañas, is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is also known as Río Magueyes in the area where it flows through Barrio Magueyes, also in the municipality of Ponce. This river is one of the 14 rivers in the municipality.
San Antón is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Canas Urbano, Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, and Portugués Urbano, San Antón is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of Ponce. It is totally enclosed within the Ponce city limits. It was founded in 1818.
Tercero is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Primero, Segundo, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto, Tercero is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios. It was organized in 1878.
Segundo is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Primero, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto, Segundo is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios. It was organized in 1878. Barrio Segundo has 3 subbarrios: Baldority de Castro, Clausells, and Reparada.
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico, consisting of buildings, plazas and structures with distinctive architectures such as Neoclásico Isabelino and the Ponce Creole, a local architectural style developed between the 19th- and early 20th-centuries. The zone goes by various names, including Traditional Ponce, Central Ponce, Historic Ponce, and Ponce Historic District.
The Feria de Artesanías de Ponce, formally, Feria de Artesanías y Muestra de Arte de Ponce, is an event that takes place every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where artists, craftspeople and artisans showcase their products. The products showcased are traditionally hand-made and in small quantities. The fair centers around crafts that highlight the traditional cultural background of Puerto Rico, including Taino, African, and Spanish traditions. The event started in 1974 and is reported to draw "thousands of visitors". It lasts three days and is held over a weekend during the month of April.
Museo Parque de Bombas is a museum located inside the historic Parque de Bombas in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Fundación Biblioteca Rafael Hernández Colón is a gubernatorial library and museum that records the political life of three-term governor of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernández Colón. It was founded in 1992 and in September 2015 it moved to its current location at the southeast corner of Calle Mayor and Calle Castillo in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in the Ponce Historic Zone.
Nightlife in Ponce, Puerto Rico includes government and regulatory aspects, societal and cultural attitudes, and age- and gender-centric issues relative to adult and family life after dark in the city of Ponce. It focuses on all entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes activities like parties, bands and live music, concerts, and stand-up comedies, and venues such as pubs, bars, cabarets, nightclubs, cinemas and theaters. These venues and activities are often accompanied by the serving and drinking of alcoholic beverages in addition to non-alcoholic drinks for the family. Nightlife venues often require a cover charge for admission.
The Festival de Bomba y Plena de San Antón, is an annual celebration held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as an extravaganza celebration of Bomba and Plena music genres and the traditions of Ponce's barrio San Antón. The celebration lasts 10 days and it ends on a Sunday. It is generally held in July but sometimes in November.
The Carnaval de Vejigantes, officially Carnaval de Vejigantes de La Playa de Ponce, is an annual celebration held at Barrio Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three to five days, generally takes place in late January or early February. It started in 1991. It takes place at Parque Lucy Grillasca on PR-585 in Barrio Playa. The parade, one of the highlights of the carnival, usually takes off from Cancha Salvador Dijols on Avenida Hostos (PR-123) and ends at Parque Lucy Grillasca (PR-585). Attendance is estimated at over 15,000 people. It is attended by people from all over Puerto Rico, and some attendees are from as far as the United States. It is organized and operated by a community, civic, NGO group, not by any government or government agency.
Fiestas patronales de Ponce is an annual cultural celebration held at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three days, takes place in late December. Ponce's Fiestas patronales are heavily influenced by Spanish culture and religion, and are a tradition held in honor of the city's patron saint, the Virgen of Guadalupe. As such the celebration may be as old as the town itself (1692). The festivities usually include religious processions honoring its Catholic heritage. However, elements of African and local culture have been incorporated as well. They also feature parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. It is attended mostly by people from the city of Ponce and its 18 surrounding barrios, but also people from all over Puerto Rico. The free event's attendance is estimated in the hundreds every day.
Festival Nacional Afrocaribeño is an annual cultural celebration held at Ángel "Cuqui" Mangual baseball field in the La Cuarta neighborhood of Barrio Capitanejo in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration, which commonly lasts three days, takes place in late June. It has been called "a world-class" event that brings together "the best exponents of salsa, bomba, plena and merengue music". It is attended by some 30,000 people. The festival's purpose is to positively impact the region by creating a cultural space to help preserve traditions. It aims to highlight the contributions to Puerto Rico culture and society by Puerto Ricans of African heritage. The festivities are highlighted by bands playing salsa, bomba and plena music.
