prime real estate along the caribbean sea.
la perla. a ghetto area on the outside edges of the
city wall. this is how wikepedia describes the community.
La Perla is a historical community astride the northern historic city wall of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, stretching about 650 yards (600 m) along the rockyAtlantic coast immediately east of the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery and down the slope from (north of) Calle Norzagaray.
La Perla was established in the late 19th century. Initially, the area was the site of a slaughterhouse because the law required them and homes of former slaves and homeless non-white servants – as well as cemeteries – to be established away from the main community center; in this case, outside the city walls. Sometime after, some of the farmers and workers started living around the slaughterhouse and shortly established their houses there.
Because of its oceanfront, secluded location, La Perla is known for its high rate of illegal activities. In recent years, a rebirth of crime in this neighborhood has attracted international drug traders, arms dealers and narcotics distributers as a place to live.[citation needed] Local Salsa and Hip Hop concerts are held each week with the intention of shedding the historically bad image of the community. Art shows and a oceanfront community arts-and-crafts fair occur yearly.
Only three access points exist, one through the "Santa Maria Magdalena Cemetery", one on the east side and one through a walkway right in the center of the northern wall. The Puerto Rico police department conducted a raid as late as July 2011, where several high profile community leaders were arrested for heroin distribution. The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that the drug trade in La Perla is a twenty million dollar enterprise.
