Caguas (, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

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 ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and

Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...

, west of Gurabo and

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...

. Caguas was founded in 1775. The municipality had a population of 127,244 at the 2020 census. Caguas is located from

. It is located in the ''Valle de Caguas'' or

Caguas Valley Caguas Valley (Spanish: ''Valle de Caguas''), or the Caguas-Juncos Valley and popularly referred to as the Turabo Valley (Spanish: ''Valle del Turabo''), is a large valley lying between the Central Mountain Range and the Sierra de Luquillo in the ...

(also known as ''Valle del Turabo'' or the Turabo Valley), at the eastern ranges of the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not very convenient. The tallest peak of th ...

. It is known as ''La Ciudad Criolla'' (

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...

City), ''Valle del Turabo'' (the Turabo Valley) and ''La Cuna de los Trovadores'' (The Cradle of the ''Trovadores''). Its name originates from the

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

Caguax Caguax was a Taíno cacique who lived on the island of Borikén (Taíno name for Puerto Rico) before and during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. His yucayeque or Taino village's name was Turabo, it included the lands in the Caguas Valley ...

, who was a regional chief. Caguas is a principal city of both the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area.

History

The area of the Valley of Caguas was first settled by the

Saladoid culture The Saladoid culture is a pre-Columbian indigenous culture of territory in present-day Venezuela and the Caribbean that flourished from 500 BCE to 545 CE. The Saladoid were an Arawak people. Concentrated along the lowlands of the Orinoco River, the ...

, an

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...

culture which originated in northern South America (today

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

), approximately between the years 100 BCE to 600 CE. Findings from the Cagüitas archaeological site (CS-2) indicate that the area was later inhabited by various pre-

(Ostionoid) cultures which first developed agriculture in the valley, primarily the cultivation of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, and hunted now extinct species such as

hutias Hutias (known in Spanish as jutía) are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the subfamily Capromyinae that inhabit the Caribbean islands, with most species restricted to Cuba and Hispaniola. Twenty species of hutia have been identified, but at ...

. As with the rest of Puerto Rico, the

s were the primary group living in the valley at the time of the Spanish arrival. The Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s further developed the agriculture in the valley, while also establishing mines in search of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. Most of the native Taínos living in the area were either forced out or taken as slaves and moved to the Real Hacienda del Toa (in modern day Toa Alta and

Toa Baja Toa Baja (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over five barrios, including Toa Baja Pueblo (the downtown area and ...

). Most of the valley was later cleared of its original vegetation for the development of cattle farms such as ''Hato de Bairoa'', ''Hato de Caguax'' and ''Hato de Gurabo''. Caguas - Typical scene

Caguas was officially founded on January 1, 1775, as San Sebastián del Piñal de Caguax, with the name later being shortened and modernized to its current form. The name of the city comes from

, a local

chief and early convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The site of the historic

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

area of Caguas and its central square dates to 1779. In 1820 the settlement was granted the title of ''Villa'' and it was granted city rights in 1894.

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

was the primary crop during this time and important sugarcane plantations and refineries were those of Central Santa Juana (close to modern day Plaza Centro) and Central Santa Catalina (modern day

Las Catalinas Mall Las Catalinas Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The mall opened in 1997, and is currently anchored by Sector Sixty6 Entertainment Center. A former anchor tenant, Sears, closed their store in February 2021. The stor ...

). The Carretera Central, which is the first paved road to cross Puerto Rico from north to south connecting

to Ponce, was built during the last two decades of the 19th century, made Caguas more accessible therefore causing the population of the town to grow even more. Puerto Rico was ceded by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

under the terms of the

Treaty of Paris of 1898 The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United Stat ...

and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

conducted a

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Caguas was 19,857. The city grew considerably in size during the 1970s and quickly became an

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It s ...

of San Juan to the north due to its location. The region of Caguas became an important

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

manufacturing center during this time. Pharmaceutical companies originally came to Puerto Rico in the late 1960s and 1970s to take advantage of the now-expired federal tax incentive known as ''Section 936''. This incentive allowed U.S.-based manufacturers to send all profits from local plants to stateside parent plants without having to pay any federal taxes. Although not typically seen as part of the colloquial ''Área Metro'' of San Juan (

, Cataño, Bayamón,

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...

and Carolina), the municipality of Caguas is located in the census-based San Juan Metropolitan Area due to its role as a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. The average commute time for residents of the municipality is 30.5 minutes. Caguas is the fourth most populous city in the San Juan Metropolitan region and the most populous city in Puerto Rico that is not located in a coastal area. On August 7, 2002, Caguas was the site of the 2002 USAF Hercules air disaster, where all 10 military personnel on board lost their lives after an airplane carrying them struck a mountain in the south of the municipality.

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Caguas with its wind and rain. Rivers were breached causing flooding of low-lying areas, and infrastructure and homes were destroyed. The hurricane caused $90 million in damages in Caguas. More specifically, 40 homes were left where left without a roof and 30 were flooded in the Morales neighborhood. ''Escuela Segunda Unidad Diego Vázquez'' and the ''Centro Multiusos'' flooded as well. A pipe overflowed and the smell was mixed last week with that of the waste that they have not been able to finish cleaning, according to what neighbors told El Nuevo Día.

Geography

The city and municipality of Caguas are located approximately 30 minutes from the coastline both on the east (

Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

) and the north (

). It is east of Aguas Buenas and Cidra, north of

, south of

, and west of Gurabo and

. It also shares borders with

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the c ...

and

Patillas Patillas (, ) is a beach town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 barrios and Patillas Pueblo (the downtown a ...

via a five-point border at the summit of

Cerro La Santa Cerro La Santa is a 2,962 feet (903 m) high mountain and the highest point in the Sierra de Cayey in Puerto Rico. The peak of Cerro La Santa is located in the Carite State Forest, at a tri-point shared by the municipalities of Caguas ( San Salvad ...

, with

and

. This is the tallest point of the

Sierra de Cayey Sierra de Cayey is a mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is located in the southeast section of the island. Its elevations do not exceed 1000 m (3,280 ft.). The Grande de Loíza, which is one of the most important rivers in Puer ...

, not to be confused with Montaña Santa (officially called Cerro de Nuestra Madre) which is another mountain in the same massif located on the boundary between the municipalities of Patillas and San Lorenzo. At this point there are two tall antennas which provide signal to Puerto Rico's principal TV stations such as

WKAQ-TV WKAQ-TV (channel 2) is a television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, airing programming from the Telemundo and NBC networks. It is Owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the Telemundo Station Group subsidiary of NBCUniversal. WKAQ-T ...

and

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-language Independent station (North America), independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by :es:Hemisphere Media Group, Hemisphere Media Group, w ...

. No road passes exactly at this point, and it can be approached nearby through

Puerto Rico Highway 184 Puerto Rico Highway 184 (PR-184) is a main, rural highway that connects Patillas to Cayey, Puerto Rico, with plans to be extended to Cidra. Sometimes referred to as Pork Highway, it is the main and only access to the various famous roasted-po ...

Valle de Caguas

Vista del area de Caguas desde el cerro las piñas - panoramio

The city is located in one of the largest valleys in Puerto Rico, the ''Valle de Caguas'' or

(also known as ''Valle del Turabo'' or the Turabo Valley). Being located in a valley, Caguas has the distinction of being relatively flat except near the borders with all the mentioned municipalities except Gurabo. The valley is bordered by the

Altos de La Mesa Altos may refer to: *Altos (Mygdonia), a town of ancient Greece *Altos (Paraguay) * Altos, Brazil, a municipality in Piauí **Associação Atlética de Altos, a football team in the municipality of Altos * Los Altos (Jalisco), a geographic region in ...

and San Luis ranges in the north, the

Sierra de Luquillo The Sierra de Luquillo is a mountain range located in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. Also known as the Luquillo Mountains, these are steep-sided, densely-forested mountains rising to elevations of around , the highest point being the summit ...

on the northeast, the San Lorenzo batholith to the east, the

on the south and the main range of the Cordillera Central to the west. This valley is fed mainly by the Grande de Loíza River, one of Puerto Rico's major rivers that feed into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, and numerous tributaries such as the Cagüitas, along which the contemporary settlement of

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...

was built. The city's nickname ''Valle del Turabo'' comes from the

Turabo River The Turabo River ( es, Río Turabo ) is a river of Caguas, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List Colle ...

, which is another tributary that flows from the south. The

Gurabo River The Gurabo River ( es, Río Gurabo) is a river and tributary of the Loíza River in Puerto Rico. In 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced work would be done on the river, which runs through several municipalities including Gurabo, Jun ...

, another major tributary, feeds into the Grande de Loíza at a region where the valley narrows into a

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...

that runs from west to east and ends in

in the southeastern coast of the island. As with other parts of Puerto Rico, the region of Caguas is susceptible to earthquakes. The municipality is located along the Great Northern Puerto Rico fault zone (GNPRfz) and in recent times the region experienced moderate size earthquakes in 1990 and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Water features

*The

Río Grande de Loíza The Rio Grande de Loíza (English: ''Great River of Loíza'', ''Grande de Loíza'', or just ''Loíza River'') is a river in the island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. It is situated on the north coast of ...

divides the municipality from Gurabo. *Other rivers: Río Turabo, Río Cagüitas, Río Cañaboncito, Río Bairoa and Río Cañas.

Climate

The climate is classified as a

Tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

, meaning the daily mean temperature from month to month is never less than 64.4 °F (18 °C), and there is a distinct wet and dry season. Rainfall is common in relative abundance throughout most of the year, although there is less rain than in the eastern coastal valleys. The land, however, is fertile and deep.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Caguas is subdivided into barrios: #

Caguas barrio-pueblo Caguas Pueblo is a Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrio and downtown area that serves the administrative center (Seat of government, seat) of the city and municipality of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Caguas, a municipality of Puerto Rico. It is bordered by the ...

# Bairoa #

Beatriz Beatriz (, ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese female first name. It corresponds to the Latin name Beatrix and the English and Italian name Beatrice. The name in Latin means 'brings joy' and in other languages also means 'she who brings oth ...

Borinquen Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

# Cañabón # Cañaboncito # Río Cañas #

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

# Tomás de Castro # Turabo

Sectors

Barrios (which are like

minor civil divisions A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCD ...

) and subbarrios, in turn, are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (''sectors'' in English). The types of ''sectores'' may vary, from normally ''sector'' to ''urbanización'' to ''reparto'' to ''barriada'' to ''residencial'', among others.

Special Communities

(Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Caguas: Bairoa La 25, Morales neighborhood, Parcelas Viejas in Borinquén, Sector La Barra, and Comunidad La Quebrada in Río Cañas, Hoyo Frío in Las Carolinas, Lajitas, Las Carolinas, Los Muchos, Los Panes in Beatriz, and Savarona.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

There are seven places in Caguas listed on the US National Register of Historic Places: *

Caguas City Hall __NOTOC__ The Caguas City Hall (Spanish: ''Casa de la Alcaldía de Caguas'') consists of two buildings located in the downtown area of Caguas, Puerto Rico. The old city hall The original city hall building (Spanish: ''Antigua Casa Alcaldía'') ...

(, the city hall building) * Primera Iglesia Bautista de Caguas *

Gautier Benítez High School The Gautier Benitez High School, a school named after Puerto Rican poet José Gautier Benítez, was built in 1924 in Caguas, Puerto Rico and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is a U-shaped, two-story concrete struct ...

* * * Puente No. 6 or ( es, Puente La Concepción) * Carretera Central Other landscapes, landmarks and tourist attractions in Caguas include: * Caguas Museum of Art * Caguas Museum of Folk Arts *

Caguas Museum of History The Caguas Museum of History (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Museo de Historia de Caguas'', also often referred to as ''Museo de Caguas'') is a history museum located in the Caguas City Hall, old city hall of the municipality of Caguas, Puerto Ric ...

*Caguas

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Museum * Dulce Nombre de Jesús Cathedral (Catedral de Caguas), the old city hall and other historical buildings at Plaza Palmer, the main town square. *Hacienda Catalina Ruins, located in the area of

*Hacienda Country Club *La Casa del Ajedrez (The House of

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

)

Parks and natural areas

The municipality of Caguas is home to various parks and natural protected areas managed by different governmental entities ranging from the municipal government, the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in Puert ...

, the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust, and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. * Aguas Buenas Cave and Caverns System Nature Reserve, an extensive cave system partially located in the municipality of Caguas. * Bairoa River Natural Protected Area, protected

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. Etymology The term riparian comes from the Latin word '' ...

along the Bairoa River. * Borinquen Valley Natural Area, 25 acres of protected forest located in barrio

. * Caguas Real Nature Reserve, 60 acres of riparian forest along the

managed by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. * Caguas Regional Forest, a protected

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

and riparian ecosystem along the Turabo River. * Carite State Forest and Reserve, one of the 20 units in the state forest system of Puerto Rico, partially located in Caguas. * Cerro Borrás, formerly home to various recreational parks such as Moisty Park, currently preserved as a secondary forest. * Chalets de Bairoa Natural Area, currently being developed as a preserved ecological corridor within the Valley of Caguas. * Charco El Cantil, natural swimming pool located along the

. * Finca Longo and

Altos de San Luis Altos de San Luis, also known as Monte Altos de San Luis (Spanish for '' San Luis heights''), is an 886 feet (270 m) high and two-mile-long prominent mountain ridge located on the northern edge of the Caguas Valley, in ''barrio'' (district) Bair ...

, partially managed by the DRNA forest service and the municipality of Caguas. * Jardín Botánico y Cultural William Miranda Marín
Botanical and Cultural Gardens
, botanical garden and cultural institution containing the ruins of the Hacienda San José plantation and

archaeological sites, located in ''barrio'' Cañabón. * Jorge Sotomayor del Toro Protected Natural Area, a protected natural area located adjacent to the Carite Forest.

''Voy Turistiendo'' Campaign

To stimulate local tourism during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico The COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pand ...

, the

Puerto Rico Tourism Company The Puerto Rico Tourism Company ( es, Compañía de Turismo de Puerto Rico, or simply ''Turismo'') is the government-owned corporation in charge of tourism matters and regulations in Puerto Rico. The company was created during Governor Luis A. F ...

launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Caguas passport page lists the , the , the and the as places of interest for locals.

Culture

Festivals and events

Caguas celebrates its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

festival in July. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events include: * – 4 January
Three Kings Festival
– 5 January *Criolla Beatriz – February *Criolla Borinquen Fair – March *Criolla Cañabón Fair – April * Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez' Birthday – 8 May *Al Fresco – Every last Friday of each month
Cross Festival
– 23–31 May

– 1–2 June

Sports

The Criollos de Caguas baseball team is considered one of the greatest of all-time in all of Latin America, having won 18 national Puerto Rico titles and 5

Caribbean World Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

titles The team is a member of the ''Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico'' ( LBPPR). Three of the first five Puerto Ricans that played Major League Baseball in the U.S. mainland, at one point in their careers played for the Criollos de Caguas ( Luis Rodríguez Olmo, Victor Pellot Power,

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

). The Criollos de Caguas basketball team, founded in 1968 by Dr. Héctor "Tato" Dávila and Lcdo. Libertario Pérez Rodríguez, was a basketball team that did not enjoy as much success as their baseball counterparts. However, in the early 2000s, they showed a lot of progress by reaching the national playoffs various times. The team was a member of the BSN. In 2006, the team won its first BSN national basketball championship, defeating Flor Melendez and his Santurce Crabbers in five games. Caguas is home to the

Bairoa Gym Bairoa Gym is a boxing gym located in Caguas, Puerto Rico. ''El gimnasio Bairoa'', as it is known in Spanish, is the most famous boxing gym in Puerto Rico because of the list of world champions and top contenders who have trained there. 2005 shoo ...

, one of the most important boxing gyms in all Puerto Rico and a place where many local and visiting champions and otherwise notable boxers have trained at; such as boxing Welterweight Champion

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

, his brother

Jose Miguel Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

Alberto Mercado Alberto Mercado Monserrate (born January 2, 1961) is a former Jr. Featherweight boxing, boxer who was on the verge of fighting for a world title at least twice in his career. Amateur boxing career Mercado started boxing as an amateur at the ag ...

Juan Carazo Juan Carazo Serrano (born October 10, 1964 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former boxer from Caguas, Puerto Rico. Carazo was considered to be a boxing reincarnation of Wilfred Benítez or Wilfredo Gómez by many of his fans, and he won his first fi ...

Alfredo Escalera Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera (born March 21, 1952) is a Puerto Rican who was a world champion boxer. A native of Carolina, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music. Early boxing career Escalera had his first professiona ...

and others. The

Criollas de Caguas Criollas de Caguas is a Puerto Rican women's professional volleyball team founded in 1981. The team is based in Caguas, Puerto Rico. History The team was founded in 1980. Team 2022 Previous * Honours Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino ...

women's volleyball team has won 9 national Puerto Rico titles and has made it to the finals more than 15 times. The team is a member of the

Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino The Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF) is a professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol, FPV). Current teams League c ...

(LVSF). The Criollos de Caguas FC soccer team is considered one of the most successful clubs in the island winning multiple tournaments and cups in Puerto Rican soccer including the National League Title in 2015.

Economy

In September 2005, city mayor

William Miranda Marín William "Willie" Miranda Marín (September 23, 1940 – June 4, 2010) was the mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico, from 1997 until his death in 2010. Personal life The son of José Miranda Gómez, a sugar cane cutter, and Rafaela Marín, a tobacco str ...

levied the first municipal tax in Puerto Rico via city ordinance. Area merchants now charge a one cent tax for every dollar spent at all retail businesses. The tax has become known around the island as the "

Willie Tax The Willie Tax is the municipal 1% tax imposed on the residents of the city of Caguas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociad ...

." It resulted in an estimated $500,000 monthly income for the city. However, the municipal tax was increased to 1.5% after the establishment of the 5.5% state tax, for a total of 7%, and the tax was declared illegal by the Puerto Rico's Supreme Court. In 2006, Miranda Marín began calling Caguas "El Nuevo País de Caguas" ("The New Country of Caguas").

Agriculture

During the early part of the 20th century, Caguas hosted one of Puerto Rico's most important sugar manufacturers, which gave employment to thousands of Cagüeños.

Business

Numerous businesses and important buildings have opened in Caguas since the 1970s, including the imposing 23 story apartment building

Caguas Tower Caguas (, ) is a Caguas barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico), Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Truji ...

, its adjacent competitors Bonneville Apartments, and the 10 floor Menonita Hospital. There are also several shopping centers: *

Plaza del Carmen Mall Plaza del Carmen Mall is a two-story enclosed shopping mall in Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of ...

* Plaza Centro Mall *

* Los Prados Mall * Bairoa Shopping Center * Villa Blanca Mall * Angora Shopping Center *

Plaza Degetau Plaza Degetau, formally Plaza Federico Degetau, is the larger of two plazas at Plaza Las Delicias, the main city square in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The other plaza is named Plaza Muñoz Rivera and is located north of Plaza Degetau. The ...

* Plaza Caguitas * Del Rio Shopping Center * Metro Plaza (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

Demographics

In 1899, the United States conducted its first

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Caguas was 19,857. In 2020, Caguas had a population of 127,244 compared to 142,893 in 2010. This shows an 11% decrease in the population in the municipality. The population density in 2020 was 2,200 people per square mile (830/km²).

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race constitute 98.4% of the population of the municipality. There are also communities of Dominicans,

Cubans Cubans ( es, Cubanos) are people born in Cuba and people with Cuban citizenship. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds. Racial and ethnic groups Census The population of Cuba wa ...

and

Colombians Colombians ( es, Colombianos) are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the sourc ...

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, elected every four years. The mayor of the city of Caguas were 1953 to 1969 - Angel Rivera PPD 1969 to 1973 - Miguel Hernandez Rodriguez (New Progressive Party (PNP)) 1973 to 1977 -

Angel O. Berrios In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

Diaz (PPD) 1977 to 1981 - Miguel Hernandez Rodriguez (PNP) 1981 to 1997 - Angel O. Berrios Diaz (PPD) 1997 to 2010 -

(PPD) 2010 to present -

William Miranda Torres William Edgardo Miranda Torres, also known as "Willito", is a Puerto Rican politician and current mayor of Caguas. Miranda is the son of longtime mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Marín and Carmen Sara Torres. When his father died on June 4, 201 ...

(PPD) The city belongs to the Senatorial district VII (Humacao), which is represented by two Senators. In 2016, Miguel Laureano (PNP) and José Luis Dalmau (PPD) were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

The or municipality has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag and coat of arms

The colors

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

and

were chosen for the shield, distinctive of the city of Caguas. The figures symbolize both the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

origins of the city. The coat of arms consists of a shield with a blue field. Upon the field are two sets of three golden arrows, forming a cross of St. Andrew. Above the cross is a crown which represents

, cacique of the Turabo Valley region at the time of the arrival of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

conquerors. Arrows were used as a remembrance of the first Christian place of worship established in the region which was dedicated under the patronage of

St. Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbonne, Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Roman Italy, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional beli ...

. There are

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s interspersed to reflect the native agriculture. A

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

wall surmounts the shield to show the city's having been granted status as a

by the

Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. On the flag, the shield sits atop another blue field on which the cross of arrows motif is repeated.

Transportation

Public transportation in Caguas, as in most of Puerto Rico, is limited to small "guaguas públicas" Share taxi, (Mini Bus). There is inexpensive but slow service to and from

and Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. Several buses and public taxi services serve the town to a limited degree. In 2019, 91.55% of the population relied on their own cars or carpool services to commute. A "Railcar#Multiple-unit and articulated railcars, light interurban rail" system connecting San Juan-Caguas Rail, Caguas to San Juan was in the planning stages and discarded due to lack of funding. Caguas is served by one freeway, one tolled expressway and one main divided highway. Puerto Rico Highway 30 connects Caguas to the eastern part of the island. There is no freeway/expressway to the west, due mainly to the fact that there is no sufficient population west of Caguas to develop a new freeway or expressway; good access to the municipalities of Cidra (southwest) and Aguas Buenas (northwest) are possible via Puerto Rico Highway 172, PR-172 and PR-156, respectively. Puerto Rico Highway 52 connects Caguas to the north (

) and south (

, Ponce). Puerto Rico Highway 1 is an alternate route to San Juan and

with two lanes per direction; in south Caguas it becomes rural near

, therefore the only good access to

is the expressway (Puerto Rico Highway 52, PR-52) and a $1.00 toll has to be paid (only in the south direction). The only municipality bordering Caguas with a poor-access road is

, via Puerto Rico Highway 183, PR-183; but good access to San Lorenzo is possible by entering Gurabo via Puerto Rico Highway 30, PR-30, and then taking Puerto Rico Highway 203, PR-203 south. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is about 35 minutes away by car. There are 86 bridges in Caguas.

Education

High schools

Colegio Católico Notre Dame
*Elohim Christian Academy *New Generation Christian Academy (formerly CLA) *Caguas Military Academy *Colegio Bautista *Colegio Católico San Juan Apóstol *Academia Cristo de los Milagros *Dr. Juan José Osuna High school *José Gautier Benítez High school *Escuela Libre de Música - Antonio S. Paoli *Manuela Toro Morice High School *Republic of Costa Rica Vocacional High School of Caguas *Eloisa Pascual "Bairoa III" High School *Rio Cañas High School *Santa Rosa Superior School *Thomas Alva Edison School *Colegio San José (Caguas), Colegio San José Superior *Escuela Secundaria Especializada en Ciencias, Matemáticas y Tecnología (CIMATEC) *Caguas Private School (CPS)

Higher education

*San Juan Bautista School of Medicine *Huertas Junior College *Instituto EDIC *Columbia College *Turabo University at Gurabo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico)

Health care

*Hospital Hima San Pablo *Menonita Caguas Regional Hospital *San Juan Bautista Medical Center *Corporacion SANOS

Sister cities

Caguas, Puerto Rico is twin towns and sister cities, twinned with Hartford, Connecticut and Southbridge, Massachusetts.

Gallery

File:Museo de Arte en Caguas, Puerto Rico.jpg, File:Centro Musical Criollo Jose Ignacio Quinton - Caguas Puerto Rico.jpg, The José Ignacio Quintón Center for Criollo Music, located at the corner of Calle Ruiz Belvis and Calle Intendente Ramírez in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The center occupies the historic First Baptist Church of Caguas (built 1907–1909), and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. File:Carusel en la Plaza de Caguas.jpg, Carousel in Plaza de Caguas File:Caguas cathedral.jpg, Caguas cathedral 'Dulce Nombre de Jesús' founded in 1729. On the facade hangs an image of native son Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, whose body rests in the cathedral. File:Jardines botanicos entrada.jpg, Entrance to the William Miranda Marín Botanical and Cultural Garden, Botanical and Cultural Gardens in Caguas File:Plaza de Recreo Santiago R. Palmer en Caguas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Main square for recreation, in Caguas barrio-pueblo File:Solar Panels on Caguas, Puerto Rico Walmart.jpg, The Walmart in Caguas, Puerto Rico is one of five Walmart facilities on the island equipped with solar panels.

References

External links

Eastern Center Virtual Library

Caguas Community Portal

Huertas Junior College

San Juan Bautista School of MedicineColumbia College

Grand Valley State UniversityJardín Botánico y Cultural William Miranda Marín
* {{Authority control Caguas, Puerto Rico, Municipalities of Puerto Rico San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area Populated places established in 1775 1775 establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1770s in Puerto Rico