St. Augustine celebrates 505th birthday of founder Don Pedro Menendez de Avilés
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The City of St. Augustine is celebrating Don Pedro Menendez de Avilés’ 505th birthday with a wreath-laying ceremony at the base of his statue in front of City Hall, marking the 100th Anniversary Celebration year of the city’s relationship with Aviles, Spain.
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In 1924, the City of St. Augustine sent representatives as part of the first official American delegation to visit the Kingdom of Spain following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, and the end of the Spanish-American War. This visit in 1924 is often considered the start of the sister city relationship with Avilés, Spain.
For Menendez Day, the public was invited and encouraged to attend the ceremony that included a processional and a reading of the proclamation in front of the statue of Don Pedro Menendez by a group of reenactors from Historic Florida Militia.
Members of the Nao Trinidad crew were in attendance as well, representing the Spanish sailing vessel which is docked at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina through the end of April.
The Nao Trinidad is a 150-ton, 93-foot replica of the flagship of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the Earth and is here also as part of the 100th Anniversary celebration.
The ship is open to the public for tours daily, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Menendez, who founded the city on September 8, 1565, was born in Avilés, a port city in the Asturias region of Spain, on February 15, 1519.
Following a career in the Spanish Navy during the reign of Spanish King Phillip II, his voyage to Florida in 1565 was in response to the French having founded Fort Caroline.
The French were defeated soon after the arrival of Menendez and the establishment of St. Augustine.
The area in front of city hall was named Parque de Menendez in a ceremony on February 15, 1978 by the City Commission and attended by the Ambassador of Spain to the United States.
The statute itself is a replica of one in Avilés, given by “the People of Avilés, Spain to the People of St. Augustine, Florida” on September 8, 1972.
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