The Casa Pilar Defilló Museum closed in Puerto Rico three years ago due to the effects of hurricanes and earthquakes that hit the island.

The former residence of the mother of musician Pau Casals was severely affected in September 2017 with Hurricane Maria, which caused damage to the museum. However, Manager Alida Arizmendi from the Department of Arts and Culture of the Municipality of Mayagüez, told EFE that the center will open its doors in August.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has invested $28,000, which will be used to repair the damage to this museum and other historic buildings in Mayagüez.

The Museo Casa Pilar Defilló is listed as a historic heritage site by the Puerto Rico Institute of Culture. The 19th century mansion that housed the mother of the Catalan cellist Pau Casals, and where the musician performed his first concert from the balcony after arriving in Puerto Rico on December 17, 1955, will receive aid to repair balconies, railings and walls.

Although "almost all the structures suffered," the damage has not been serious, so once they can be repaired, the museum will return to regular activity. 

"This museum is very important for Mayagüez," Arizmendi stressed, after announcing that objects received from the Pau Casals Museum in Spain will be exhibited.

He also warned that the reopening of the Casa Pilar Defilló Museum is part of an initiative to give greater representation to the cultural offerings of Mayagüez, along with other emblematic spaces such as the Eugenio María de Hostos Museum and Multipurpose Center or the Cathedral Church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.

Since 1956, Pilar Defilló founded the renowned Casals Festival of Puerto Rico, where great conductors such as Mstislav Rostropóvich, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Eugene Ormandy, Sir John Barbirolli, Yehudi Menuhin and Krzysztof Penderecki, among many others, have performed.