La Perla

Built outside the walls of Old San Juan because colonial law required slaughterhouses, cemeteries, and the homes of enslaved people to sit beyond the city's edge, La Perla became a neighborhood by necessity — slaves built homes near the slaughterhouse, and jíbaros from the countryside followed. The community resisted repeated pressure from developers who recognized the Atlantic-facing land for what it is: prime real estate. When Hurricane Maria hit, the neighborhood took a direct blow. It endures.