La Perla, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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La Perla is a slum neighborhood outside of the northern historic city wall of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, stretching about 600 meters along the rocky Atlantic coast immediately east of the cemetery Cementerio de Santa Maria Magdalena. La Perla was originally a squatter community which has, however, significantly improved its living standards, despite high unemployment and illegal drug trafficking. Tourists are advised to avoid the area for their own safety. The streets of La Perla are therefore not indicated on most city maps:
- Calle Tiburcio Reyes (western border, along the outside of the old city wall)
- Calle San Miguel (mostly in the western part, along the north)
- Calle Bajada Matadero (mostly in the western part, along the south)
- Calle Lucila Silva (mostly in the western part, east-west through the middle, too narrow for cars)
- Calle Augustin O Aponte (eastern part)
In terms of the United States 2000 Census, La Perla is composed of Census blocks 3001 through 3010 (Block group 3, Census tract 4, San Juan, Puerto Rico. A population of 338 was reported, 198 housing units (29 unoccupied), and 169 households, on an area of 66,914 m² (16.5 acres).
La Perla belongs to and consists of the northernmost stretches of the sub-barrios Mercado (west) and San Cristóbal (east) of Old San Juan. The dividing line between the subbarrios is the imaged extension of Calle San Justo to the north beyond the old city wall to the Atlantic coast. The eastern part consists of Census blocks 3002, 3009 und 3010, with a population of 64, 35 housing units (4 unoccopied), and 31 households, on 34,572 m² (8.5 acres).
