Critical walking (work)shops of Old San juan and its heritage sites

Puerto Rico welcomes over a million cruise ship tourists every year. The island is but one more stopover on an archipelagic route of Caribbean consumption; tropical pirate fantasies full of rum, cigars, coffee, and Latin sexuality. Visitors inject billions of dollars into the Puerto Rican economy every year, yet there’s a catch. A city whose economy revolves around satisfying the visitor’s need for restaurants, bars, shops, and abundant short-term rentals, is destined to become unsustainable and inhospitable for its long-term residents. Behind the carefully curated travel ads meant to attract tourists to a strangely familiar locale, conveniently located within the United States, lies a provocative history of war, racism, and bloody repression.

Visitors looking for a simple introduction to the history of San Juan along with fun facts about San Juan’s beautiful houses, cobblestoned alleyways, and adventurous conquistadors, should probably look elsewhere. This is a (de)tour from the (de)politicized tropical hospitality of the traditional tourism industry. At (De)colonial Memory we show the visitor what we want them to see and not necessarily what they are expecting to see. (de)tour is not for everyone; it is aimed at those looking to confront and critique the political and economic implications of their visit, and for locals from the Archipelago and the diaspora interested in addressing their heritage and history through a critical lens.

Our curricula has been carefully researched and designed by a team of historians, academics, and community members who wish to share an alternate, critical and nuanced look of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and its heritage sites. Our (de)tours have been made possible by a seed grant from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (City University of New York) in 2022, and the Mellon Foundation in 2024. 

San Juan Anticolonial: A solidarity building detour
Visitor economy (Tourism), Anti-racism, Eurocentrism, English attack of 1797, Conquest and colonization Guest User Visitor economy (Tourism), Anti-racism, Eurocentrism, English attack of 1797, Conquest and colonization Guest User

San Juan Anticolonial: A solidarity building detour

Cruise ships arrive almost daily to the colonial city of Old San Juan to consume its historic Spanish colonial heritage. San Juan (Anti)colonial refuses these appetites, and puts the visitor face-to-face with the implications and legacies of colonial rule. This walking (de)tour doesn’t shy away from Empire; it politicizes the cobblestoned streets and colonial histories of the tropi(fis)cal paradise that attracts visitors, and potential settlers, to the world’s oldest colony.

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San Juan (De</span>)colonial:
Democracy and the right to protest, Visitor economy (Tourism), The summer protests of 2019, The toppling of Juan Ponce de León’s statue, Short-term rentals (Airbnb) and displacement, Law 60 (Law 22) and tax havens, Royal Decree of Graces of 1815, The abolition of slavery and reparations, Anti-racism, Eurocentrism, The Catholic Church and evangelization, “Mestizaje” in Puerto Rico: Indigenism, Afro-descendants, and Hispanophilia, Juan Ponce de León, Guanina, Alonso Manso, Ramón Power, José Campeche, Miguel Enríquez, among others., English attack of 1797, The encomienda system and African slavery, Conquest and colonization Guest User Democracy and the right to protest, Visitor economy (Tourism), The summer protests of 2019, The toppling of Juan Ponce de León’s statue, Short-term rentals (Airbnb) and displacement, Law 60 (Law 22) and tax havens, Royal Decree of Graces of 1815, The abolition of slavery and reparations, Anti-racism, Eurocentrism, The Catholic Church and evangelization, “Mestizaje” in Puerto Rico: Indigenism, Afro-descendants, and Hispanophilia, Juan Ponce de León, Guanina, Alonso Manso, Ramón Power, José Campeche, Miguel Enríquez, among others., English attack of 1797, The encomienda system and African slavery, Conquest and colonization Guest User

San Juan (De)colonial:

This detour explores the colonial history of Puerto Rico, past and present. It traverses the city's most visited spaces and provides critical interventions of its monuments and sites of heritage. The prupose is to interrupt colonial narratives through a decolonial and antiracist lens.

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San Juan (Extra</span>)muros:
Puerto Rican bomba music, Urban horticulture, Afro-descendance and ancestry, Gender roles, Militarization (Spanish and American), Spanish-American War (1898), Bourbon reforms, Indigenous history, Working-class women’s history, Free, enslaved, and maroon black men and women, Heritage sites and National Park Service, Historical and contemporary displacement, Cartography and maps Guest User Puerto Rican bomba music, Urban horticulture, Afro-descendance and ancestry, Gender roles, Militarization (Spanish and American), Spanish-American War (1898), Bourbon reforms, Indigenous history, Working-class women’s history, Free, enslaved, and maroon black men and women, Heritage sites and National Park Service, Historical and contemporary displacement, Cartography and maps Guest User

San Juan (Extra)muros:

This detour explores the legacies of displacement, militarization, and tourism in the defunct community of Ballajá in Old San Juan. We accompany visitors throughout the area to discuss the ways colonialism have shaped the history of this barrio, connecting past and present, and unearthing the story of a community that faced the brunt of Empire.

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