The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) opens the exhibition '250 años de América: América / Puerto Rico, Documentos, Poder y Nación: Puerto Rico en la Historia de los Estados Unidos (1898–1952)' on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the ICP Headquarters Gallery in Old San Juan. The show traces Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States through documents, portraits, paintings, artifacts and clothing from the period.
It includes portraits of figures such as William Hunt, Guy Henry, George W. Davis and Luis Muñoz Rivera, and works by Puerto Rican painters Francisco Oller and Ramón Frade. Paintings shown for the first time at the ICP headquarters are Manuel E. Jordán’s 'Escena de la Guerra Hispanoamericana' (1898), Leoncio Concepción’s 'La Caleta' (1950) and Julio Llort’s 'Avance sobre Guayama' (1971).
A highlight is 'La Campana de la Libertad', made in mundillo lace in 2026 by artisan Carmen Arteaga and commissioned for the commemoration, alongside a 19th-century trumpet and an infantry soldier’s provision pack. Fátima J. Cedano, the ICP’s deputy executive director, said the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the period and understand today’s Puerto Rico.
The show also features works produced by the Community Education Division (DIVEDCO). It is part of the Government of Puerto Rico’s activities marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. After the opening, it can be visited Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM, through Saturday, December 5, 2026.