•HRES 343 IH 
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 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 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, 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 Cristo´bal, con-
sidered 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 Teo´filo Marxuach, officer 
at El Morro Castle, ordered fire upon the German armed 
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•HRES 343 IH 
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— 
(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 indus-
try, commerce, and culture and a touchstone of the cul-
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•HRES 343 IH 
ture of the Puerto Rican community across the United 
States and the world; and 
Whereas the city of San Juan will celebrate the quincenten-
nial 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 anniver-
sary of the city of San Juan. 
Æ 
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