Segundo in Ponce in Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico — The Caribbean (The West Indies)
Middle Passage Site of Memory
Photographed by Kaycee Michelle Hailey
1. Middle Passage Site of Memory Marker
Les descendientes de estes hombres y mujeres pasaron a vivir en Ponce y las comunidades aledañas. Su resiliencia, coraje, esperanzas y sueños han perdurado en les muches afrodescendientes de esta ciudad, que han hecho contribuciones que han impactado positivamente en todo el mundo.
En honor a estes antepasades, nos reunimos en comunidad en La Playa de Ponce para recordarles y honrar su memoria. Desde este lugar podemos contemplar el Puerto de Ponce donde llegaron, un lugar designado como Lugar de Historia e Memoria por el Proyecto de las Rutas de las Personas Esclavizadas de la UNESCO.
Visibilizado como Lugar Histórico hoy, 4 de mayo de 2024, por PROPA con la colaboración y el apoyo de Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, La Casa de Arte y Cultura de la Playa de Ponce, El Municipio Autónomo de Ponce, Confederación Unida del Pueblo Taíno, Comité Pro Nuestra Cultura del Barrio La Cuarta de Ponce, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, el programa de radio Negras (Colectivo Ilé), Fundación Rafael Cepeda, Intercessor, Proyecto Kokobalé, CucubaNación, MaHiNi y las comunidades afrodescendientes de Ponce y Puerto Rico.
Dedicado en honor a dos Playeras: Rosa Civico Torres, por su trabajo para preservar las tradiciones afrodescendientes y Carmen María Wiscoviche Rodríguez, cuyo amor por esta histórica comunidad negra sigue vivo en el trabajo de su hijo Diógenes Ballester Rodríguez y en honor a Narcisa Prats, la antepasada nacida en África alrededor de 1813, cuya vida estuvo involuntariamente ligada a la Hacienda Matilde en el Barrio Cañas de Ponce, pero cuyo legado sigue vivo en el trabajo de sanación comunitaria de sus descendientes, los hermanos Ángel "Papote" y Julio Alvarado Aguilera, entre otres.
In 1818, the Portuguese schooner María left the coast of São Tomé and Principe headed for Puerto Rico with the mission to bring captive Africans to this Spanish colony for the purpose of enslavement. The boat initially arrived in the capital city of San Juan in April of that year before making its way to Ponce a few weeks later in May. Early research indicates eight (8) of the captive African men and women were disembarked at each of these stops and sold into slavery.
The descendants of these men and women went on to live in Ponce and the surrounding communities. Their resilience, courage, hopes and dreams have lived on in the many Afrodescendientes from this town who have gone on to make contributions that have made a positive impact worldwide.
In honor of these ancestors, we gather together in community in La Playa de Ponce to remember them and honor their memory. From this place we are able to gaze upon the Port of Ponce where they arrived - a place designated as a Site of Memory and History by the UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project.
Visibilized as a Lugar Histórico today, May 4, 2024 by PROPA with the partnership and support of Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, La Casa de Arte y Cultura de la Playa de Ponce, El Municipio Autónomo de Ponce, United Confederation of Taíno People, Comité Pro Nuestra Cultura del Barrio La Cuarta de Ponce, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, the Negras program of Colectivo Ilé, Fundación Rafael Cepeda, Intercessor, Proyecto Kokobalé, MaHiNi and the Afrodescendant community of Ponce.
Dedicated in honor of the Playeras Rosa Civico Torres for her work to preserve Afrodescendant traditions and Carmen María Wiscoviche Rodriguez whose love of this historic Black community lives on in the work of her son Diógenes Ballester Rodriguez and in honor of Narcisa Prats - the African born ancestor born about 1813 whose life was tied to the Hacienda Matilde in Barrio Canas of Ponce but whose legacy lives on in the community healing work of her descendants, brothers Angel "Papote" and Julio Alvarado Aguilera, among others.
Erected 2024
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1818.
Location. 18° 0.665′ N, 66° 36.844′ W. Marker is in Ponce in Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is in Segundo. It is at the intersection of Calle Plaza Degetau (State Highway 123) and Calle Unión, on the left when traveling east on Calle Plaza Degetau. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: C Ferrocarril 120, Ponce PR 00730, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Puerto Rico’s Southern Coastal Zone. Globally, it is one of the Greater Antilles on the Caribbean Sea, on in the Atlantic Ocean, in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Restauracion Edificio El Cometa (within shouting distance of this marker); Tributo de Gratitud (within shouting distance of this marker); Domingo Cruz (within shouting distance of this marker); Juan Morel Campos (within shouting distance of this marker); Paseo Antonio S. Arias Ventura (within shouting distance of this marker); El Edificio / Cronologica del Cuerpo de Bomberos Municipal de Ponce (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Willie Vincéns Tous (about 300 feet away); Don Julio Stenacher (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ponce.
Also see . . . Lugar de Historia e Memoria por el Proyecto de las Rutas de las Personas Esclavizadas de la UNESCO. (Submitted on July 4, 2024.)
Additional keywords. Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project; Middle Passage; human trafficking; UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples (Slave Route Project); Trans-Atlantic Trade; UNESCO Site of Memory; International Coalition Site of Conscience
Credits. This page was last revised on April 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2024, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 329 times since then and 58 times this year. Last updated on April 24, 2026, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo 1. submitted on June 24, 2024, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Clear close-up photos of both sides of the marker. • A wide view photo of the marker in context with the surrounding area. • Can you help?
