| Parque de la Abolicion | |
|---|---|
Parque de la Abolicion in Ponce, looking North |
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Created | 1956[1] |
| Operated by | Government of the Municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Open | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance free. Closed on legal holidays, except for scheduled events. |
Parque de la Abolicion (English: Abolition Park) is a city park in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The park is the only park in the Caribbean dedicated to commemorating the abolition of slavery.
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The park is located on Avenida Hostos at the fork of Salud Street and Marina Street. The centerpiece of the park is a monument depicting a black male slave with broken chains depicting he is now a free man. A 100-foot high obelisk raises just behind the black iron sculpture of the freed slave that accentuates and gives instance to the occasion. The monument and obelisk are surrounded by graceful gardens. Immediately north of the obelisk is the outdoors acoustic amphitheater known as La Concha Acustica (English: The Acoustic Shell) which completes the park as a complete triangular city block. La Concha Acustica is an open-air auditorium used as a music venue, including presentations by the Ponce Municipal Band. La Concha Acustica can seat up to 2,000 people. [2] It was remodeled in 1956 by Francisco Porrata Doria, and architect from Ponce.[3]
Slaves were brought to Puerto Rico from Africa during th 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. They were brought to the Island to replace the local Indian slaves who had been desumated. The new slaves worked the coffee, sugar cane, and gold mining industries in Puerto Rico. During the 18th century, as gold mining ceased to be one of the major industries in Puerto Rico, slaves worked mostly in coffee plantations and sugar cane fields. By royal proclamation slavery was abolished on March 22, 1873.
In 1874, a year after the abolition of slavery, a group of citizens built a small park in memory of the historic event. In 1880 Olimpio Otero, Juan Mayoral Barnés, and Román Baldorioty de Castro were instrumental in creating the concept for a park dedicated to the commemorating the abolition of slavery, the only such memorial in the Caribbean.[4] Juan Mayoral Barnés brought the idea for the creation of the park to the Ponce Municipal Assembly on March 14, 1880. It was unanimously approved by the Assembly, and ratified by the Central Government, and confirmed by Royal Decree on March 1, 1881.[5] The park was built and, in 1956, under the administration of Ponce mayor Andrés Grillasca Salas, the statue of the freed slave was placed at the base of the obelisk.[6][7] The sculpture of the freed slave is a work of Victor Colt.[8]