Vayas is one of the 31

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. Along with Playa, Bucana,

Canas Canas or Cañas may refer to: Places * Canas (Lycia), a town of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey * Amatlán de Cañas, a municipality in Nayarit, Mexico * Cañas Canton, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica * Cañas, Costa Rica, capital of the Cañas (ca ...

and Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of Ponce's five coastal barrios. Together with Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of two rural coastal barrios in the municipality. It was organized in 1831, at which time it was divided into Vayas Norte and Vayas Sur; in 1878 the two were subsequently merged into today's Vayas.

History

Barrio Vayas is one of the oldest barrios in Ponce, dating from the 1780s. Its name can be seen spelled as "Bayas", "Vallas, and even "Ballas", but the official name is nowadays spelled "Vayas". It is believed that name came from the stakes used by farmers to mark the extension of their lands, in the times when those lands were used for pasturing herds.

Location

Vayas is a rural, coastal barrio located in the southern region of the municipality, east of downtown Ponce, and southeast of the traditional center of the city,

Plaza Las Delicias Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaza ...

. It is located at 18.0107°N 66.5567°W, with an elevation of 43 feet. The

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

, or origin of the name, is related to the edges or boundary (a type of fencing) to cordon off a land area or barrio.

Boundaries

It is bounded on the North by

PR-1 Puerto Rico Highway 1 (PR-1) is a highway in Puerto Rico that connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road heads east and follows a somewhat parallel route along the southern coast of the island heading towards Salinas. At S ...

and La Esperanza Street, on the South by the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, on the West by Bucara Street/Los Caobos Avenue,

PR-52 Puerto Rico Highway 52 (PR-52), a major toll road in Puerto Rico, is also known as ''Autopista Luis A. Ferré''. It was formerly called ''Expreso Las Américas''. It runs from PR-1 in southwest Río Piedras and heads south until it intersects wit ...

(roughly), and the Costa Caribe Country Club East Access Road, and on the East by

Río Inabón Río Inabón is one of one of the 14 rivers in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. With a length of some , it is Ponce's second longest river after Río Jacaguas. It is fed by the Río Anón, Río Guayo (which itself is fed by the Chiqu ...

.U.S. Geological Survey. Topographic Map of Ponce. Map Styles: Map and Shaded. Trails.com. From: USGS. Topo Map. Projection: NAD83/WGS84.
Retrieved 25 February 2010. In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Vayas is bounded in the North by Sabanetas and

Coto Laurel Coto Laurel (''Barrio Coto Laurel'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Marueño, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limon, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Coto ...

, in the South by the

, in the West by

Bucaná Bucaná is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Canas, Playa, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Bucaná is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian origin. I ...

, and in the East by Capitanejo. Mercedita Airport

Destileria Serralles administrative offices, PR-5506, Barrio Vayas, Ponce, Puerto Rico, looking northeast (DSC05078)

Features and demographics

Unlike most other barrios of Ponce, Vayas' landscape is entirely flat. Vayas has the third longest coastline of all five of Ponce's coastal barrios, after

and Playa. Vayas has of land area and of water area. In 2000, the population of Vayas was 1,338 persons, and it had a density of 188 persons per square mile.Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Office of Territorial Planning. (Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial.) Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce.
Retrieved 20 February 2010. In 2010, the population of Vayas was 901 persons, and it had a density of 127.1 persons per square mile. The main roads serving barrio Vayas are

and

Notable landmarks

Vayas barrio is home to Ponce's

Mercedita Airport Mercedita International Airport (AIM, ''Aeropuerto Internacional Mercedita'') is a public use international airport located three nautical miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The airport covers ...

and Destileria Serralles. The community of Vayas Torres is among the communities located in Barrio Vayas.Eli Oquendo-Rodriguez. ''Barrios de Ponce: Noticias y microhistorias de ocho comunidades ponceñas en la historia, siglos XVI al XIX.'' 2019. p. 209.

Notable people from Vayas

* Carmín Vega, comedian from the Mercedita sector of Barrio Vayas.

References

External links

''Management Plan for La Esperanza Nature Preserve in Ponce, Puerto Rico.''
Matthew Bourque, Drew Digeser, Stephen Partridge, Hussein Yatim. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Worcester, Massachusetts. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013. {{Ponce, Puerto Rico Barrio Vayas 1831 establishments in Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico