Statue toppled in Puerto Rico before Spanish king's visit
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Unknown people toppled a statue of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León in the pre-dawn hours of Monday ahead of a visit of Spain's King Felipe VI to the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico.
Col. José Juan García, police commissioner for San Juan, told The Associated Press that officers patrolling the cobblestone streets of the capital's historic district heard a loud bang at 4:30 a.m. and found the broken statue.
“It sounded like an explosion,” he said.
The statue was made of melted steel from British cannons and featured the Spanish explorer facing south with his left hand on his hip and right finger pointed toward the first settlement he founded, which was the island’s first Spanish capital and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The statue also points in the direction of the nearby San Juan Bautista Cathedral that holds Ponce de León’s remains and is a popular tourist spot.
Crews in Old San Juan reinstalled the 1,000 plus-pound (589-kilogram) statue a couple hours after the king arrived late Monday afternoon.
Read more: https://theeagle.com/entertainment/statue-toppled-in-puerto-rico-before-spanish-kings-visit/article_dbfa743b-7ae5-5b7f-931e-2edb7e41a878.html
(Bryan-College Station Eagle)