page_title: Ponce Municipal Band
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ponce Municipal Band / History
caption_attribution_description: Cary, Brian, transmitter English: Frente del Parque de Bombas y parte trasera de la Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, mirando hacia el noreste, ca. 1960
context_page_description: The Ponce Municipal Band is the band of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The band is the oldest continuously-performing band in the Caribbean. It is the oldest music group in Puerto Rico. It has performed its open-air concerts for over 125 years. The current director is Juan García Germaín. It has 42 members between 25 and 83 years old. It operates within the jurisdiction of the Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural of the autonomous municipality of Ponce. Its headquarters are located at the Centro Integrado para el Fortalecimiento de las Artes Musicales, next to Teatro La Perla.
context_section_description: The history of the Ponce Municipal Band dates to its predecessor, the Ponce Firefighters' Band, a band that was already operational in 1859.  It was founded in September, 1883, by Juan Morel Campos.  In 1953, the Band reorganized and was moved from an organization under the Ponce Firefighters Corps to an organization under the Ponce Municipal Government. The directors of the band after its founder have been Domingo Cruz (Cocolia), Julio Alvarado, Emilio Alvarado, Eduardo Cuevas, Tomás Clavel, and Eustaquio Pujals. The current director is Rubén Colón Tarrats. Master Julio Alvarado was the director of the band at the time of its 1953 reorganization. Gregorio Ledesma was the band conductor in 1859.
  In late 2010, the Ponce Municipal Government provided the Band its own location for its rehearsals. The new location is next to the legendary Teatro La Perla at a structure named Centro Integrado para el Fortalecimiento de las Artes Musicales (Integrated Center for the Development of the Musical Arts).
caption: Image showing the platform on the south side of Parque de Bombas where the Banda presented its concerts during the 1960s.
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