III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 356 

Recognizing the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of San Juan, 

Puerto Rico. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

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, the capital of Puerto Rico, is 

the oldest continuously inhabited city established by Europeans within United States territory; 

Whereas, 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 DoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Sep 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR356.IS SR356

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•SRES 356 IS 

mingo, 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 2 

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 Leo ́n, 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 Leo ́n 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; 

Whereas the architectural and cultural heritage of San Juan 

includes 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, Fort San Juan de la Cruz, and 

Fort San Cristo ́bal, considered the largest fortress built 

in the Americas; 

Whereas these fortifications remained active defenses of the 

United States Armed Forces until World War II; 


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•SRES 356 IS 

Whereas, on March 21, 1915, Lieutenant Teo ́filo 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 Rinco ́n 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 Rinco ́n 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 the— 

(1) 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games; 

(2) 1979 Pan American Games; 

(3) Baseball Winter League Caribbean World Series 

in 1950, 1954, 1958, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1984, 1995, 

1999, 2015, and 2020; 

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

(5) 1974 FIBA World Championship; 

(6) FIBA Americas Championship in 1980, 1993, 

1999, 2003, and 2009; and 

(7) 2010 Latin American Regional Special Olympics; 


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•SRES 356 IS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the 500th anniversary of the 

3 founding of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico; 

4 (2) honors the history of the city of San Juan, 

5 Puerto Rico; and 

6 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

7 to observe and recognize the quincentennial anniver8 sary of the city of San Juan. 

Æ 


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