St. Augustine is gearing up to celebrate the 507th birthday of its founder, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, with a public event steeped in historical recognition. According to a recent announcement from the City of St. Augustine's official website, a wreath-laying ceremony is scheduled to take place Friday, February 13, at 11:00 am in front of City Hall. Citizens are welcome to join the tribute, which promises to blend ceremony with remembrance at 75 King Street.
Amid the festive ambiance offering homage to Menendez on his birth anniversary, a group of reenactors from Historic Florida Militia will contribute to the ceremonial atmosphere with a processional. Observing the solemnity, Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline is set to honor the occasion with a reading of the City’s proclamation, amid the statuesque presence of Menendez's likeness. Born on February 15, 1519, in Avilés, Spain, Menendez is revered for founding the city on September 8, 1565, answering the threat posed by the French establishment of Fort Caroline.
As reported, the square hosting Menendez's statue, Parque de Menendez, has ties stretching back to an earlier recognition ceremony in 1978, wherein the site was officially named. The statue itself exists in a kind of transatlantic kinship, a replica of one in Avilés, symbolizing the historical and cultural bonds between the People of Avilés, Spain, and St. Augustine, Florida. It was a gift bestowed upon St. Augustine as a token of this enduring connection on September 8, 1972.
Menendez's contributions to the naval might of the Spanish King Philip II before setting sail for Florida help outline a life of both action and consequence. The French were promptly defeated after his arrival and the founding of St. Augustine, securing the city's place in history as the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States.
