Esta ley transfiere la custodia, conservación y mantenimiento de varios museos y casas históricas en Ponce (Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña, Casa de la Masacre de Ponce, Casa Wiechers-Villaronga y Mansión Armstrong-Proventud) del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña al Municipio de Ponce. El Instituto retiene la propiedad y paga los salarios de los empleados transferidos. Se establece que la Administración Municipal de Ponce y el Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña colaborarán en la regulación y operación de estas instalaciones culturales.
(Approved September 15, 2004)
To transfer the custody, conservation and maintenance of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music, the Ponce Massacre House, the WiechersVillaronga House and the Armstrong-Proventud Mansion from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to the Municipality of Ponce.
The Municipality of Ponce, the second with the largest territorial extension in Puerto Rico, has been characterized for the development of activities directed towards promoting the cultural endeavor. As regards the city's cultural environment, many museums have found in Ponce an important means of expression, emphasizing the acquisition, installation and exhibition of works of art by Puerto Rican artists.
At present all museums located in Ponce are under municipal administration, with the exception of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music, the Ponce Massacre House, the Wiechers-Villaronga House and the House of the Caryatids, known as the Armstrong-Proventud Mansion and the Serrallés Castle Museum, that operate under patronage.
The Museum of Puerto Rican Music, located in a building in the neoclassic style, the former home of the Serrallés-Nevárez family, houses a collection of materials about the history of our native music from the Pre-
Columbian era to the present. Its various rooms contain exhibits of musical instruments, works of art and documents pertaining to our musical heritage.
The Ponce Massacre House is located in what used to be the Headquarters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in the 30's. This museum highlights one of the chapters of our political history: the Ponce Massacre, an event in which nationalists, police and spectators died in a shootout while trying to prevent a pacifist demonstration organized by the Nationalist Party from taking place on Palm Sunday in 1937.
The Wiechers-Villaronga House is a mansion in the colonial style designed in 1911 by its original owner, Ponce architect Alfredo Wiechers. In 1918 it was acquired by the Villaronga-Mercado family. It houses an exhibit on historic aspects of Ponce architecture.
Lastly, the House of the Caryatids, known as the ArmstrongProventud Mansion, an example of Ponce architecture from the early years of the $20^{ ext {th }}$ century, beautifies the Town Square while housing the Regional Offices of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and the Tourism Company.
The Ponce Municipal Administration has always been committed to the conservation and development of Puerto Rican cultural values so as to promote its knowledge and appreciation among the community. These important structures and museums are not now receiving proper maintenance.
For this reason the intention of this Act is to transfer the custody, conservation and maintenance of the aforementioned four museums from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to the Municipality of Ponce. This will ensure that the buildings which house these museums are given more efficient maintenance, an effort which will benefit the artists who promote their works and the visitors who come to enjoy them.
Section 1.-To transfer the custody, conservation and maintenance of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music, the Ponce Massacre House, the Wiechers-Villaronga House and the Armstrong-Proventud Mansion from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to the Municipality of Ponce.
Section 2.-The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture shall retain ownership of said museums.
Section 3.-The employees who at present work in the aforementioned museums shall have the option of becoming employees of the Municipality, although their salaries shall be paid by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.
Section 4.-The Ponce Municipal Administration, together with the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture shall establish regulations to properly and effectively attend to the custody, conservation and transfer of the funds appropriated for the remodeling of these facilities and the maintenance of the museums as well as ensure their proper operation. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture shall be the entity in charge of looking after the interests that characterize the activities that are held in said cultural centers.
Section 5.-This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 307 (H.B. 4881) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to transfer the custody, conservation and maintenance of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music, the Ponce Massacre House, the Wiechers-Villaronga House and the Armstrong-Proventud Mansion from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to the Municipality of Ponce, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $1^{ ext {st }}$ of November of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director