… and the “Serralles Castle” still stands …. in all its glory!!
Castillo Serrallés was built as the exclusive residence of Don Juan Eugenio Serrallés, a sugar cane plantation owner during the early part of the 20th century. The structure sits on 2.5 acres of exceedingly manicured property, and it overlooks the downtown area of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
This photo was taken shortly after the mansion was built.
The impoverished shacks say a great deal about the structure of Puerto Rican society.
This society was engineered by large U.S. sugar corporations, and a small group of wealthy Puerto Ricans who did business with them.
The sugar cane workers worked six days a week for the Serrallés family, for about $1.50 per day.
In the foreground of the photo, are the shacks where some of them lived.
This is capitalism at its worst.
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