Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
Encyclopedia
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (Spanish
:Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico
responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico. Since October 1992, its headquarters have been located at the site of the old colonial Spanish Welfare House in Old San Juan. The ICP was created by order of Law Number 89, signed June 21, 1955, and it started operating in November of that year. Its first Executive Director was Dr. Ricardo Alegría
.
, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture assembled a 13-member team to research and survey what changes would need to be implemented for the restoration as that zone.
, "There was a need to counteract decades of harmful influences, which at times were openly contradictory to our cultural values, with an effort to promote those values. There was an urgent need to struggle against a psychological conditioning which had become deeply rooted in our colonial society, and which led many Puerto Ricans to systematically diminish anything autochthonous
or anything that seemed autochthonous, while disproportionately valuing everything that was foreign, or that seemed foreign."
It was in this social and sociological environment that the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture was born. The bill provoked fierce debate as, for some whose political views where in favor of the direction Puerto Rican politics had been taking in the several years prior to the debate, the bill touched on the very essence of the political status of Puerto Rico
. Once the bill was signed into law, the controversy created by the new government institution did not end.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
:Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña), or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico. Since October 1992, its headquarters have been located at the site of the old colonial Spanish Welfare House in Old San Juan. The ICP was created by order of Law Number 89, signed June 21, 1955, and it started operating in November of that year. Its first Executive Director was Dr. Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".-Early years:...
.
Mission
In general terms, the organizational structure of the Institute responds to the functions assigned to it by Law. Various programs address to the following aspects of the Puerto Rican culture: promote the arts, archeology, museums, parks, monuments, historic zones, music, teather, dance, and the Archives and the National Library of Puerto Rico. It extends its promotion of these throughout all the municipalities of Puerto Rico through local Cultural Centers. These Cultural Centers are autonomous organizations.Functions
The Institute manages the Puerto Rico General Archive as well as the Puerto Rico National Library, has a program on Puerto Rican archeology, sponsors programs in the visual arts, the popular arts and handcrafts, the theatrical arts, and the musical arts, has a branch that publishes books and periodicals, manages a number of museums and parks, and has restored many historic buildings throughout Puerto Rico as part of its historic zones and monuments program. Many of these buildings have been turned into museums. As an example, as part of a project of restoration of the Ponce Historic ZonePonce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture assembled a 13-member team to research and survey what changes would need to be implemented for the restoration as that zone.
History
In the words of the prominent Puerto Rican sociologist Ricardo AlegríaRicardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".-Early years:...
, "There was a need to counteract decades of harmful influences, which at times were openly contradictory to our cultural values, with an effort to promote those values. There was an urgent need to struggle against a psychological conditioning which had become deeply rooted in our colonial society, and which led many Puerto Ricans to systematically diminish anything autochthonous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
or anything that seemed autochthonous, while disproportionately valuing everything that was foreign, or that seemed foreign."
It was in this social and sociological environment that the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture was born. The bill provoked fierce debate as, for some whose political views where in favor of the direction Puerto Rican politics had been taking in the several years prior to the debate, the bill touched on the very essence of the political status of Puerto Rico
Political status of Puerto Rico
The current political status of Puerto Rico is the result of various political activities both within the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The basic question regarding this issue is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S...
. Once the bill was signed into law, the controversy created by the new government institution did not end.
Museums
The Institute operates a number of museums throughout the island. They include:- Casa Armstrong PoventudArmstrong-Poventud ResidenceResidencia Armstrong-Poventud is a historic building located in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The construction of this home set the stage for the construction of other homes of similar architectural elements, character and opulence in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Ponce...
- PoncePonce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the... - Casa de la Familia Puertorriqueña del Siglo XIX - San JuanSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
- Casa de la Masacre de Ponce - PoncePonce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
- Casa Jesús T. Piñero - CanóvanasCanóvanas, Puerto RicoCanóvanas is a municipality in Puerto Rico, located in the northeastern region, north of Juncos and Las Piedras; south of Loíza; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Canóvanas is spread over 7 wards and Canóvanas Pueblo...
- Casa Luis Muñoz Rivera - BarranquitasBarranquitas, Puerto RicoBarranquitas is a small mountain town located in the central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquitas is spread over 6 wards and Barranquitas Pueblo...
- Casa Wiechers-VillarongaCasa Wiechers-VillarongaThe Casa Wiechers-Villaronga is a Neo-classical style mansion in Ponce, Puerto Rico designed and built in the early twentieth century. The house was acquired and restored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and now operates as the Museum of Puerto Rican Architecture. The house sits in the...
- PoncePonce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the... - Fortín de San Gerónimo del Boquerón - San Juan
- Fuerte Conde Mirasol - Vieques
- Mausoleo Luis Muñoz Rivera - BarranquitasBarranquitas, Puerto RicoBarranquitas is a small mountain town located in the central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquitas is spread over 6 wards and Barranquitas Pueblo...
- Casa CautiñoCasa CautiñoCasa Cautiño is a house museum located in the town of Guayama, Puerto Rico. The museum collection administered by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture include works of art, wood carvings, sculptures and furniture built by Puerto Rican cabinetmakers for the Cautiño family...
- GuayamaGuayama, Puerto RicoGuayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo... - Museo de Arte Religioso Santo Domingo de Porta Coeli - San GermánSan Germán, Puerto RicoSan Germán is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao; north of Lajas; east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo; and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over 18 wards and San Germán Pueblo...
- Museo Casa BlancaCasa Blanca (San Juan)Casa Blanca is a house museum located in Old San Juan within the historic colonial section of the capital of Puerto Rico. Built in 1521 it served as the first fortification of the San Juan islet and residence for Juan Ponce de Leon and his family, although de Leon died in an expedition to Florida...
- San Juan - Museo de la Farmacia - San Juan
- Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña - PoncePonce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
- Museo de Nuestra Raíz Africana - San Juan
- Museo José Celso Barbosa - BayamónBayamón, Puerto RicoBayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...
- Museo y Parque Histórico Ruinas de Caparra - GuaynaboGuaynabo, Puerto RicoGuaynabo is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan...
- Centro Ceremonial Indígena de CaguanaCaguana Ceremonial Ball Courts SiteThe Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site in barrio Caguana, Utuado, Puerto Rico, is considered one of the most important archeological sites in the West Indies. Studies estimate it is over 700 years old, built by the Taíno around 1270 AD. Approximately 30 ball courts have been identified and many...
- UtuadoUtuado, Puerto RicoUtuado is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-western mountainous region of the island known as La Cordillera Central. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west of Ciales and Jayuya. In land area it is the third-largest...