Castillo San Felipe Del Morro Essay

For this cultural report, I will be talking about my experience when I visited a significant and historical architectural site. On July 21st, I visited the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, or “El Morro” in San Juan, Puerto Rico. El Morro is a fort built by the Spanish during the mid 1500s, and was used to defend Puerto Rico from outside forces. The fort was attacked by the English and Dutch in the 1590s, and suffered significant damage from the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American war, where the lighthouse was destroyed but rebuilt again. The structure of the walls reminded me of the battlements on typical medieval castles which were used as an opening to shoot weapons through, such as cannons. Speaking of cannons, there were actually several on site that were once used in battle and were very interesting to look at. There were also guard towers which were shaped like domes and contained an opening where guards would keep a look out for

These events and programs consist of painting, shows, musical performances, and dances which all make an effort to teach tourists and visitors of the Puerto Rican culture. From my trip, I learned a lot about Puerto Rican culture which has significant influence from the Spanish imperialists of the past. Overall, it made me think about the lessons we had on visual arts and dance, and how it’s a way for people to express their culture. Before taking this class, I never thought of architectural structures in the way that I did when I visited El Morro. It wasn’t just an “old fort” to me; it had so much more meaning. As I was there I imagined how life must’ve been on the fort when it was in use years ago. I thought about its importance and significance it had on the country, and I thought about the building process. I came to appreciate the craft of architecture, which was something that I took for granted and disregarded in the