Letras de Ponce
| Letras de Ponce | |
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Letras de P-O-N-C-E in Barrio Sabanetas, Ponce, Puerto Rico
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| Location | Ponce |
| Country | Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates | 18°01′31.51″N 66°34′12.86″W / 18.0254194°N 66.5702389°W |
| Construction started | 2003 |
| Completed | January, 2004 |
| Cost | $430,000 USD |
| Client | Puerto Rico Department of Transportation |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Marina steel |
| Size | 20 ft (6.1 m) high, 18 ft (5.5 m) wide, 12 ft (3.7 m) deep |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Carlos Rivera Villafañe |
The Letras de Ponce (English: Ponce letters) is a famous landmark in Barrio Sabanetas in Ponce, Puerto Rico, located southbound on PR-52 at the intersection with PR-10. The iconic monument consists of five letters that spell the name of the city P-O-N-C-E in 20-foot high (6.1 m) by 18-foot wide (5.5 m) by 12-foot deep (3.7 m) red and black letters. The letters, and its resulting sign, were designed by Carlos Rivera Villafañe, a sculptor from Ponce. The landmark is said to be "known to every Puerto Rican."
In 2002 the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation presented a contest for the design of a monument to be placed on State Route 52 (PR-52), at the entrance of the city of Ponce. The contest was part of what would become 97 projects of public art spread throughout Puerto Rico.
In selecting the work of art, the Government of Puerto Rico considered 318 submissions from hundreds of artists around the world, including Ada Bobonis, Ann Hamilton, Antoni Muntadas, Liliana Porter, and Devorah Sperber. Rivera Villafañe's proposal was one of the winners, and the winner for the Ponce entrance monument.
The letters are built of "marine steel", also known as corteen, the same material used in the construction of ships. Each letter measures 20 feet high by 18 feet wide by 12 feet deep. Together they span an area of half a kilometer. The breadth of the letters is intended to symbolize the extension of the city of Ponce, "heightening Ponce's urban identity and raising it to its territorial extension." The letters cost $430,000 USD. Its design, manufacture and suiting all were done in Puerto Rico.
Carlos Rivera Villafañe was born in Ponce in 1966. He graduated from the Escuela de Artes Graficas de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico with a bachelor's degree in 1989. In addition to the Letras de Ponce, Rivera Villafañe has works in San Juan, Madrid, Lima, Havana, Cuenca, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, New York City, and Miami.
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