America’s Hidden Hispanic Heritage
A History Lecture at Lehman College:
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Ponce de Leon in Old San Juan
Two blocks away at the nearly deserted Plaza de San Jose, only the pigeons seem to be interested in the imposing statue of the man who, according to the writing on its pedestal, was a "shipmate of Columbus during his second voyage" to the New World, "visited the island (of Puerto Rico) in 1508, came back to populate it in 1509, ended his conquest in 1511" and became the "discoverer of Florida" in 1513 . . .
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — When they take the time to read the writing carved on a marble wall in a particularly dark section of the San Juan Bautista Metropolitan Cathedral here, that's when visitors finally realize they are standing before the gravesite of one of the great Spanish conquistadors. "Is that the Juan Ponce de Leon?" one of them whispered . . .
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