[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 343 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 343

 Recognizing the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of San 
                           Juan, Puerto Rico.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 22, 2021

    Miss Gonzalez-Colon (for herself, Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Murphy of 
  Florida, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Gimenez, and Mr. Soto) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight 
                               and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of San 
                           Juan, Puerto Rico.

Whereas, since 1898, after the Spanish-American War and with the ratification of 
        the Treaty of Paris, Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United 
        States;
Whereas the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, is the oldest continuously 
        inhabited city established by Europeans within United States territory, 
        as reference, the city of Saint Augustine, in the State of Florida, was 
        established in 1565, which makes the city of San Juan about 44 years 
        older;
Whereas San Juan is also the third oldest capital city established by Europeans 
        in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1496), and 
        Panama City, Panama (1519);
Whereas San Juan is home to the second oldest church in the Americas, Iglesia 
        San Jose, which started construction in 1532 and has just reopened its 
        doors after more than two decades of restoration work;
Whereas the Palacio de Santa Catalina, also known as La Fortaleza, initially 
        constructed between 1533 and 1540, also located in San Juan, is the 
        oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas;
Whereas, on March 4, 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon, Puerto Rico's first Governor and 
        conquistador, departed from Puerto Rico to lead the first known 
        expedition to what is now the State of Florida;
Whereas Juan Ponce de Leon was interred in San Juan in 1521 and his tomb is now 
        located in the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista;
Whereas the architectural and cultural heritage of San Juan has been recognized 
        by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, and by the United States 
        National Park Service with the establishment of the San Juan National 
        Historic Site, are constituted by the fortifications built between the 
        1500s and 1700s to protect San Juan against invading forces, including 
        Castillo San Felipe del Morro, most of the city walls, the San Juan Gate 
        and Fort San Juan de la Cruz, and Fort San Cristobal, considered the 
        largest fortress built in the Americas;
Whereas these fortifications remained active defenses of the United States 
        Military until the Second World War, and on March 21, 1915, Lieutenant 
        Teofilo Marxuach, officer at El Morro Castle, ordered fire upon the 
        German armed supply ship Odenwald trying to force its way out of San 
        Juan Bay to deliver supplies to German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, 
        in what is considered to be the first shot fired by the regular Armed 
        Forces of the United States against any ship flying the colors of the 
        Central Powers of World War I;
Whereas, in 1946, Felisa Rincon de Gautier was appointed mayor of San Juan, 
        making her the first woman mayor of a capital city in the Americas;
Whereas, in 1959, San Juan was awarded the All-America City Award, an award 
        given by the National Civic League, which recognizes communities that 
        leverage civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation 
        to successfully address local issues;
Whereas the ``Escuelas Maternales'', established in San Juan by mayor Rincon de 
        Gautier would eventually become the model for the Head Start programs in 
        the United States;
Whereas San Juan has hosted several major sporting events including--

    (1) 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games;

    (2) 1979 Pan American Games;

    (3) Baseball Winter League Caribbean World Series: 1950, 1954, 1958, 
1971, 1975, 1979, 1984, 1995, 1999, 2015, and 2020;

    (4) World Baseball Classic: 2006, 2009, and 2013;

    (5) 1974 FIBA World Championship (basketball);

    (6) FIBA Americas Championship: 1980, 1993, 1999, 2003, and 2009; and

    (7) 2010 Latin American Regional Special Olympics;

Whereas the city of San Juan is now a main center of industry, commerce, and 
        culture and a touchstone of the culture of the Puerto Rican community 
        across the United States and the world; and
Whereas the city of San Juan will celebrate the quincentennial anniversary of 
        the city from September 2021 to May 2022: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 500th anniversary of the founding of the 
        city of San Juan, Puerto Rico;
            (2) honors the history of the city of San Juan, Puerto 
        Rico; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        and recognize the quincentennial anniversary of the city of San 
        Juan.
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