Houses after Hurricane Santa Clara

Efectos de ciclon Santa Clara - Ago 1956 (17)

Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín > Sección X, Serie 3, Colección Rafael Picó

Municipio desconocido | Unknown Municipality

1956-08

Title assigned by the cataloguing team. The date was provided by Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín (FLMM).

The aftermath of Hurricane Santa Clara, shown here, reveals a stark reality in Puerto Rico's housing conditions in the mid-twentieth century. Wooden houses, perched on concrete foundations, come into view. One house lies roofless, ravaged by the storm's fury. Several individuals, including a young child, stand among the devastated homes, their resilience evident. Considering the strength of the storm, these humble wooden homes are in remarkably solid condition. Yet, their future and that of their inhabitants is uncertain. These rows of worn wooden houses reflect the complex history of Puerto Rico's modernization endeavors. In the mid-twentieth century, poverty plagued the island, as residents transitioned from a rural economy into an urban industrial one. This led to the rise of so-called “shantytowns” reminiscent of those in other parts of Latin America, such as the favelas of Brazil or the Villas Miserias of Argentina. The government's response was an ambitious urban renewal program and the relocation of impoverished families to standardized, low-rent housing projects known as caseríos. The devastation wrought by hurricanes like Santa Clara facilitated the displacement of communities devastated by natural disasters and the creation of new housing structures, which would soon be plagued by their own issues of crime, sanitation, and social unrest.

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Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín

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