Juan Serrallés Colón was born in Ponce in 1845 and became the city’s most successful businessman, largest employer and generous philanthropist. In 1861, he founded the Hacienda Mercedita sugar plantation. Four years later, he began distilling rum. This evolved into Destilería Serrallés, the producer of the popular Don Q rum brand named after Don Quixote. In 1930, his son, Juan Eugenio Serrallés, commissioned architect Pedro Adolfo de Castro to build this lavish, Spanish Moroccan mansion on 2.5 acres atop El Vigia Hill. The Serralles Castle is now a museum. One look at this elegant terrace overlooking Ponce makes it easy to see why this is a popular wedding venue.
