The king Philip VI arrived this Monday in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a official visit of marked economic and cultural character, coinciding with the celebration of the five centuries of the foundation of the city by the Spanish.
The monarch will remain on the island, a Free Associated State to the United States, until Wednesday, when he will travel to Honduras to attend the inauguration of the new president, Ximara Castro.
Upon his arrival at the Muñiz Base, the king was received by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi; the mayor of San Juan, Miguel Romero; the Secretary of State, Omar Marrero; the Spanish consul on the island, Josep Bosch; the Spanish ambassador in Washington, Santiago Cabanas; and the head of the National Guard, José Reyes.
After Felipe VI walked the red carpet and greeted the authorities, the National Guard band played the hymns of Spain, Puerto Rico and the United States.
A multitude of Spanish and Puerto Rican press, including Efe, attended the monarch’s arrival at the Muñiz Base, where several soldiers carried the flags of Spain, Puerto Rico and the United States.
On this day, Felipe VI will attend a meeting at Casa de España with a representation of the Spanish community, made up of some 8,000 people.
Most arrived on the island decades ago, with the last great wave of Spaniards to Puerto Rico coming from Cuba in the 1960s after the revolution.
The main official acts of the visit will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, when the King will meet with the governor of Puerto Rico and the mayor of San Juan, who have been decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica, one of the highest distinctions in Spain.
500 years of the foundation of San Juan
The mayor invited Felipe VI to attend the celebration of the 500 years of the foundation of San Juan and, in a meeting last November at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, the king confirmed to Romero his interest in traveling to Puerto Rico.
“My presence in this historic city will mean a new reaffirmation of that great history that unites us with Puerto Rico and the United States,” the monarch recently said.
In addition, Felipe de Borbón will participate in an economic and business forum and will visit several institutions and exhibitions, including those organized on the legacy of Juan Ramón Jiménez and Pau Casals.
The King of Spain is traveling accompanied by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ángeles Moreno.
This is the second visit of Felipe VI to Puerto Rico as king, after the one made in March 2016, when he inaugurated with Queen Letizia the VII International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) in San Juan.