Parque del Retiro
Encyclopedia
Parque del Retiro is the only senior citizens-oriented passive park in Ponce, Puerto Rico
. It is located in barrio Canas Urbano
. The park commemorated its 30th anniversary on February 11, 2010. It has a "steady attendance" of some 70 senior citizens. The park's oldest member is 91 years old.
. The area is a mixed residential/commercial area on urban route PR-123. The park sits on an underprivileged sector of the city. The park is a self-contained non-profit entity. It is managed by the Ponce municipal government. It serves exclusively the City’s elderly population. The park is set "in a calming setting among lush mahogany, avocado, almond, lemon and flamboyán trees."
, "for its popular open-air kiosks with 12 game tables".
In view of the need for a clean and safe gathering place for the seniors of the area, the city, fixed the "park", built permanently set poured concrete tables and chairs, added flower gardens with walkways as well as restroom facilities. The park was then inaugurated in 1980, under the administration of mayor José G. Tormos Vega
.
Some of the free services the park offers are:
, Doral Bank and the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce 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...
. It is located in barrio Canas Urbano
Canas Urbano
Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Canas Urbano is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of Ponce...
. The park commemorated its 30th anniversary on February 11, 2010. It has a "steady attendance" of some 70 senior citizens. The park's oldest member is 91 years old.
Location
The park is located on Villa street, between the Clausells and Baldorioty sectors of barrio Canas UrbanoCanas Urbano
Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Canas Urbano is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of Ponce...
. The area is a mixed residential/commercial area on urban route PR-123. The park sits on an underprivileged sector of the city. The park is a self-contained non-profit entity. It is managed by the Ponce municipal government. It serves exclusively the City’s elderly population. The park is set "in a calming setting among lush mahogany, avocado, almond, lemon and flamboyán trees."
History
In the late 1960s, the park was an empty city lot with many tall trees, very few bushes and shrubbery, and some open semi-grassy areas. Senior citizens of the area gravitated to the empty lot in the afternoons for its comfortable shade and for the inevitable conversations with other retired neighborhood seniors. With time, the senior made their way to the park with scrap chairs to make their longer stays more comfortable. It wasn't long before a table or two also found their way there, making it possible for the retired seniors to share in a game of domino. Soon the domino games became a regular feature of the daily gatherings. It was not long before the still-empty government lot had been "appropriated" by the seniors for their daily gatherings and domino games. The daily games gathered popularity and after a few years domino tournaments also took place. At this time the park was locally known as Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, "for its popular open-air kiosks with 12 game tables".
In view of the need for a clean and safe gathering place for the seniors of the area, the city, fixed the "park", built permanently set poured concrete tables and chairs, added flower gardens with walkways as well as restroom facilities. The park was then inaugurated in 1980, under the administration of mayor José G. Tormos Vega
José G. Tormos Vega
José Guillermo Tormos Vega, known as Joselín, was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico from 1976 to 1984.-Political life:...
.
A senior citizens center
The park also serves as the center for an array of community services oriented towards the senior citizens community. Within the park are the offices of the non-profit organization running the park. It has an eight-member staff including a social worker, a nurse, and a recreation leader.Some of the free services the park offers are:
- Health clinics with physicians
- Escorted transportation to medical appointments
- Especially adapted exercises and physical education programs, including strolls at other passive city parks
- Guided cultural day tours to out-of-town attractions
- Summer weekend-long outings to island beaches
- Annual Christmas, Thanksgiving, Holy WeekHoly WeekHoly Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, Mother's and Father's Day celebrations. - Social exchange trips to other similar groups in the island
- Domino tournaments area schoolchildren
- Talent shows and educational lectures oriented to the senior citizen population.
Reforestation effort
In November 2009, Parque del Retiro was selected for green reforestation effort sponsored by TelemundoTelemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, Doral Bank and the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources was created by Law 23 of June 20, 1972, during the governorship of Luis A. Ferré. In 1973, as a gesture of bipartisanship, Ferré's successor, Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón appointed his predecessor's Puerto Rico Environmental Quality...
of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.