Defending San Juan / Defensa de San Juan

San Juan de la Cruz, or El Canuelo, helped protect the entrance to San Juan Harbor as part of an extensive fortification system built by Spain over a 250-year period. The major surviving parts of these fortifications make up San Juan National Historic Site, including Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristóbal, San Juan’s historic city walls, and the Paseo del Morro along San Juan Bay beneath San Felipe del Morro. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers San Juan's fortifications among the most significant cultural sites in the world and has declared San Juan National Historic Site a World Heritage Site.