“La Charca de las Brujas” takes over the Tapia Theater

Transforming all the properties of the Tapia Theater on its stage, highlighting the innate Puerto Rican acting talent and with the purpose of continuing to show the history of the Old San Juanthe administration of the capital city presented last Saturday, the third edition of “Stories and Mysteries”.

Under the direction of Elvin Doel Ramirez, a group of local actors along with the Tourism Office of the Municipality of San Juan exhibit, through a historical tour with horror elements, “The Witches’ Pond”a story that tells the story of people accused before the inquisition in 1591 for practicing witchcraft in a pond next to a mangrove forest south of San Juan, where the docks surrounding Puerta de Tierra are located today.

According to history, some accused were flogged, others were banished, and others were forced to renounce their pagan religion. Those who did so were forgiven, but it was rumored that three women were still repeating the forbidden ceremonies. Then the supposed witches were mercilessly condemned by the Holy Office to die at the stake, to the astonishment and horror of the residents. Since then, that mythical place was known as “Coal Island.”

“This is a project that is born from research. First, they began to investigate paranormal stories that existed in San Juan. And there we realized that we have a gem here at the Tapia Theater,” expressed the director of the Tourism Office of the capital city, Marisol Velez.

The immersive tour tells paranormal stories in conjunction with the history of the historic building through different monologues performed by actors and actresses from the patio.

For his part, Ramirez indicated that the project was prepared for two months and focuses on exposing the history of the theater.

Likewise, the mayor of the capital city, Miguel Romero Lugo, added that “we take advantage of the occasion of the Halloween festivities to attract tourism to San Juan with these historical tours that have captured the fascination of our people.”

Likewise, the director and the municipal official recognized the contribution of the first lady of the capital city, Maritere Gonzalez, in the creation of the project.

“My wife is a fan of the mystery genre, so she welcomed this project that also highlights the distinguished history of the Tapia Theater,” added Romero Lugo.

The piece becomes the third edition of the municipal initiative along with the 2022 editions with the story of the mysterious deaths of some children at the Tapia Theater during Three Kings Day and in 2021 with the accident at La Gran Bettina, a acrobat dancer who fell into the void and died during her tightrope show over the Plaza de Armas.

The immersive experience that begins in the Plaza Colon allows the entry of those over 12 years of age and will be exhibited again next Thursday, October 26 until October 31. They last approximately one hour, at a cost of $10 per person.

For verification of schedules and purchase of ticketsaccessed here.