Primer Centenario del Parque de Bombas, Ponce

Created in 1983 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Parque de Bombas, José Alicea’s silkscreen celebrates one of Puerto Rico’s most iconic architectural and cultural landmarks. Located in the Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, the Parque de Bombas was originally constructed as the main exhibition pavilion for the 1882 Ponce Fair and later transformed into the city’s firehouse. Its striking red-and-black striped façade became a symbol of Ponce’s civic pride, resilience, and artistic identity. By the 1970s and 1980s, as Puerto Rico invested more deeply in cultural heritage preservation, the building became a powerful emblem of the island’s architectural legacy.

Alicea’s poster is part of a long-standing tradition in Puerto Rican printmaking, where artists collaborate with government institutions to celebrate community history and local achievements. His use of crisp architectural lines, vivid colors, and emblematic symbols (such as the Ponce lion and the historical shields) situates this piece within a movement that sought to elevate poster design into a form of public education. Produced under the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña’s cultural outreach efforts, the print commemorates not only a building but a century of service, community identity, and the evolving role of civic institutions in Puerto Rican society.