La Fortaleza — Attraction in San Juan

La Fortaleza (The Fortress) is the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina(Santa Catalina's Palace). It is the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the New World. It was listed by UNESCO in 1983 as part of the World Heritage Site "La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site".Starting in 1529, Governor La Gama petitioned the emperor on the need to build defensive fortifications, "because the island's defenseless condition caused the people to emigrate." Construction started in 1533, with the use of stone, and concluded by 1540. Yet the fort had no guns, and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés commented "if it had been constructed by blind men could not have been located in a worse location." Yet the structure has served as the governor's residence since 1544.Since the 16th century, La Fortaleza has acted as the residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, making it the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.On November 27, 1822, its traditional status as the executive mansion was made official. The fortress underwent a massive reconstruction in 1846 to change its military appearance into a palatial facade. La Fortaleza has been the residence of more than 170 governors of Puerto Rico and has hosted various dignitaries, including President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy who stayed in La Fortaleza in 1961. King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands are among several heads of state who have stayed in La Fortaleza. In June 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama visited the mansion during a brief trip to the island marking the first visit of an in-office US President to the Fortaleza as well as the Island on official business since Kennedy, 50 years previously to that date. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain also visited La Fortaleza in 2016. La Fortaleza has been captured twice by invaders:

1598, George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, attacked San Juan.1625, General Boudewijn Hendrick (Balduino Enrico) of the Netherlands invaded the city and established himself at La Fortaleza. During the Dutch retreat, the fortress and the city were set ablaze.

In 1834, Colonel George Dawson Flinter described the fortress of Santa Catalina as having a chapel, stables and a cistern as well as an east wing with spacious apartments.

According to tradition, in 1898, just before the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War, the last Spanish governor of the island, Ricardo De Ortega, struck a longcase clock in La Fortaleza with his sword, stopping the clock and marking the time at which Spain lost control over Puerto Rico.

On October 30, 1950, there was an attempt by a few nationalists to enter La Fortaleza in what is known as the San Juan Nationalist revolt, intending to attack then-governor Luis Muñoz Marín. The 5-minute shootout resulted in four Nationalists dead: Domingo Hiraldo Resto, Carlos Hiraldo Resto, Manuel Torres Medina and Raímundo Díaz Pacheco. Three of the guards of the building, among them Lorenzo Ramos, were seriously injured.

On October 9, 1960, La Fortaleza was designated a United States National Historic Landmark.

In 1983, La Fortaleza, along with the San Juan National Historic Site, was declared a World Heritage...

We took a guest with us on her first trip to Puerto Rico, so we were excited to show her the best there is to see. I had been to La Fortaleza twice before, so comparing with prior visits, I was greatly disappointed. Since apparently there were meetings taking place inside, we were only allowed to see the outside of the building and the chapel. The tour guide seemed unprepared, tired, or maybe both, gave only general dates with no context, and repeated the same information at least four times. (You'd think her mind was somewhere else, or she was a last minute substitute.) Some areas had not been dusted in ages, for example the chapel's chandelier was covered in spider webs that glistened under the lights. This was quite embarrassing. Also noticed that there was no safe place to leave belongings, and although they locked them in the souvenir shop, that in itself doesn't give out a good impression. Perhaps this review is helpful to take...

Resido en el municipio de Carolina, Puerto Rico, USA. Soy participante de MEDICAID. Siendo vìctima del crimen ello trajo consecuencias en mi salud, calidad de vida y economìa al perder mi empleo. Como participante del plan de salud gubernamental he sido sometida a maltrato institucional. Desde la denegaciòn de medicamentos, òrdenes mèdicas, referidos y servicios para las mùltiples condiciones incapacitantes que padezco. Se me va la vida esperando por ver al mèdico. He sabido esperar veinte horas en una semana por un referido. Los mèdicos no te escuchan, no hacen contacto visual y te hablan con desdèn cuando saben que eres participante de MEDICAID. En otro asunto; el transporte pùblico es insostenible. He perdido muchas citas mèdicas porque la ruta no brindò el servicio. La espera en las paradas de autobùs es de dos y tres horas. No hay un itinerario definido. Constantemente lo modifican y los partcipantes no tenemos forma de enterarnos. Puedes llamar al Departamento de Transportaciòn y Obras Pùblicas y la informaciòn no es congruente con la realidad. La respuesta de la gerencia es que no hay choferes o las guaguas estàn dañadas. Mientras se alquilaron guaguas para la fiesta de los Reyes Magos a otros se nos iba la vida esperando en las paradas y terminales. Los choferes se toman descansos de dos y tres horas. Forman reuniones y festejos junto los gerentes de los terminales. Nada hacen, solo sentados detràs de sus escritorios. Si presentas una queja formal toman represalias los choferes y te dejan varada en la parada o te agreden verbalmante levantàdote la voz o cerrando las puertas de salida y entrada de los autobuses para burlarse. A mì un chofer de la ruta 43 de Carolina me pillò todo el cuerpo incluyendo la cabeza con la puerta de salida de la guagua. La gerencia hizo caso omiso a la queja. Los choferes usan las guaguas para dormir. Hablan y textean por el celular mientras conducen. Conducen temerariamente excediendo la velocidad sin guardar la distancia adecuada entre los autos. No esperan que te sientes, provocan que una se desbalancee al punto de caerse. Aun sentada por la forma en que conducen. Frenando abrubtamente y haciendo virajes a velocidades no seguras. Espero este foro ayude a denunciar esta situaciòn y le cuestionen al Gobernador què va hacer para mejorar el servicio de transporte de la Isla y los servicios mèdicos de la clase pobre puertorriqueña. Es momento que el Gobernador rinde cuentas de como se implementan los fondos pùblicos del...