Street art in Ponce, Puerto Rico Facts for Kids

Street art is a super cool way for artists to share their creativity right on the streets! In Ponce, Puerto Rico, this kind of art has been around for a long time, even before the 1960s. It got a big boost in 2017 when the city of Ponce started a special project called Ponce es Ley. Since then, many colorful artworks have appeared all over the city and its neighborhoods. These amazing murals can be seen in the Ponce Historic Zone and nearby areas.

One of the main goals of the Ponce es Ley event was to create a "street museum." This means people wouldn't have to go inside a building to see beautiful art. It also helped make old or unused buildings in Ponce's historic streets look much nicer. People often say that Ponce is a big city, and street art fits perfectly in big cities! The city's street art has truly become like a "street museum," making Ponce a great place for art lovers to visit.

Another important street art project happened in January 2018. It was called "Murales para Pensar" (Murals to Make You Think) and was located in Callejón Trujillo. While the Ponce es Ley murals often showed Ponce's history, culture, music, and buildings, "Murales para Pensar" focused on different themes. These murals often show ideas about important social and economic issues, and sometimes even talk about leaders and events that were happening at the time.

History of Street Art in Ponce
Ponce es Ley Project
- Artists and Their Amazing Work
Murales para Pensar
Other Murals Around Ponce
Gallery
See also

History of Street Art in Ponce

Street art was present in Ponce even before 1960. That's when a mural called “La Abnegación” (Selflessness) was first shown. It was created by Rafael Ríos Rey, who is known as Puerto Rico's first street muralist. This mosaic artwork was located where the Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos is today. Sadly, after more than 50 years, the weather in Ponce caused the mural to wear away. By 2016, it was in bad shape.

In early 2016, another cool project started: the "Museo Abierto Playa Ponce" (Ponce Playa Open Museum). This outdoor museum also featured many murals for everyone to enjoy.

Ponce es Ley Project

In 2017, an artist named Alexis Bousquet Rodríguez, also known as Clandestino 797, had a great idea. He suggested an "urban art festival," inspired by his own public art in Santurce, a neighborhood in San Juan. His dream was to create a network of street art all across Puerto Rico. The first place to try out his idea was the island-municipality of Culebra.

After that, Bousquet Rodríguez met with the city leaders in Ponce. They agreed to host a similar festival, and they named it Ponce es Ley. The Museo de Arte de Ponce helped lead this project. The Ponce city government decided that the murals should show themes related to Ponce's history, culture, music, and architecture. The Ponce es Ley project officially began on April 8, 2017. Twenty-two artists from Ponce, other parts of Puerto Rico, and even other countries took part!

The Ponce es Ley street art can be found in many places, like near Plaza Las Delicias, Paseo Amor, Plaza Degetau, and the Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos. The designs often show things important to Ponce culture, like vejigantes (colorful masks), local people, city life, family memories, folklore, farming, and the beautiful countryside around Ponce.

Artists and Their Amazing Work

Many talented artists contributed to Ponce es Ley:

Jean Ortiz Ortiz, from the Bélgica community, created a mural called “Estefanía Rodríguez, the poet.” It's located where Rafael Rios Rey's old mural used to be.
Juan Ramón Gutierrez Rovira (The Stencil Network) from Puerto Rico painted a mural inspired by old advertisements.
David Sepúlveda (Don Rmx), a Puerto Rican artist, created a vejigante mural. It was the very first Ponce es Ley mural to be finished!
Ess Urbain created a mural on the east wall of the Hotel Melia parking lot.
Bordalo II (Bordalo Segundo) from Portugal made a "Manati" mural at an old gas station.
Bik Ismo created a Ponce es Ley mural on the outside of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, near its Jardín Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Garden).
Javier "Javi" Cintrón created “Sangre y Resistencia en Ponce” on Paseo Amor. This mural honors the heroes of the "El Polvorin" fire.
Andrés Cortés, who was only 14 years old, was the youngest artist. He created “Bandera del Puerto Rico Ponceño.”
Miguel Conesa Osuna created a mural at the Museo de la Historia de Ponce.
Sheez Nicole is the artist behind the character “Uvita.”
FISU created a mural at Ponce Servicios.
José Vega painted a mural on Calle Cristina.
Josué Pellot created the "Nothing is True" mural.
Betsy Casanas, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, created "Agua de rio." It's a scene based on a photo of her father milking a cow.
Jesús Ortiz Torres created Hechos in Callejón Comercio (Trujillo).

Murales para Pensar

Other murals, not part of the Ponce es Ley event, also started appearing around the city. The largest collection of these is probably in Callejón Trujillo, sometimes called Callejón Comercio. The murals here are known as "Murales para Pensar" (Murals to Make You Think). Many artists, including José Balay, Edwin Caquías, Miguel Conesa, Antonio Martorell, and Jesús Ortiz Torres, worked on these projects. Jesús Ortiz Torres led the project and named his mural Hechos (Facts).

Murales para Pensar often show important social and economic issues. For example, one mural shows the challenges faced by Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria in September 2017. It also reflects the large number of people who have moved away from Puerto Rico in recent years. Unlike Ponce es Ley, "Murales para Pensar" openly talks about political, social, and economic topics.

Many artists participated in "Murales para Pensar," including José Balay, Edwin Caquías, Miguel Conesa, Juan Luis Cornier Torres (Manwe Uno), Luis Ferdinand, Alí García, Tato González, Violeta Guzmán, Dany Lugo, Antonio Martorell, Ludwig Medina, Paola Olivieri, Jean Ortiz, Duque, Liu A. Pang Feliciano, Emérita Feliciano Vélez, Jorge Romero, Jorge Antonio Romero, Wilfredo Santiago Rosado, Julio César Torres, Wichie Torres, Patrick Urbain, Rafael Enrique Vega Feliciano, and Jesús Ortiz Torres. Some of these artists had also been part of the Ponce es Ley festival the year before.

Other Murals Around Ponce

You can also find murals in several neighborhoods outside the main downtown area. These include Barrio Sexto (Cantera), Barrio Playa, and Barrio Tibes. In Barrio Playa, there are many murals at Calle Salmón and Callejón Ramon Velez. There's also a very large collection of over 20 murals on La Playa's Avenida Los Meros, showing scenes typical of Barrio Playa. This collection is called "Museo Abierto Playa Ponce" (Ponce Playa Open Museum).