Guayanilla (, ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, south of

Adjuntas Adjuntas () is a small mountainside Adjuntas barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central, no ...

, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 barrios and Guayanilla Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Guayanilla was founded by Spanish settlers. The original name was Guadianilla in memory of a river and town of the same name in main land

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. However, it was changed to ''Guayanilla'' due to common mis-pronouncement. The name Guayanilla is derived from Santa María de Guadianilla. Europeans settlers commence in this area in 1511. In 1756, Yauco was founded as a

. Then Guayanilla was a borough of Yauco. Due to the very fertile lands and access to the local port where most of the local commerce occurred, Guayanilla became an important agricultural center where

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of 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 stout, jointed, fib ...

was cultivated. Guayanilla grew quickly and was established as a separate municipality on February 27, 1833 by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Miguel de la Torre. The Autonomous Community of Puerto Rico was ceded by

in the aftermath of the invasion and North-American-Spanish War 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, was signed by Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the ...

and became a colony and territory of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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, als ...

conducted a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Guayanilla was 9,540. On September 20, 2017

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

struck Puerto Rico. In Guayanilla, the hurricane triggered numerous landslides and caused major destruction with an estimated 600 homes losing their roof and 300 homes completely destroyed. Roads, crops and structures were destroyed by the winds and flooding.

2019 - 2020 Earthquakes

On January 6, 2020 a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in Guayanilla and several structures and cars were destroyed. A family of eight escaped a home that was destroyed by the earthquake. On January 7, 2020 a 6.4 magnitude earthquake destroyed the Catholic church in Guayanilla Pueblo.

Geography

Guayanilla is located on the southern coast. The coastline forms the

Guayanilla Bay Guayanilla (, ) is a Guayanilla barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, Adjuntas, east of Yauco, ...

, one of the best natural harbors in Puerto Rico, to the south, also. The nearest city is Ponce, which is to the east. The northern regions are bordered by mountains that reach at the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

. In the central regions, the terrain descends where it does not exceed 1,410 feet (430 m). Finally in the coastal plain, the elevations do not exceed . The Yauco, Guayanilla, and Macaná rivers all run through the municipality. The Yauco River briefly runs through the Boca borough, where its exit into the

and accompanying marshlands are located.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Guayanilla is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , near the center of the municipality. # Barrero # Boca # Cedro # Consejo #

Guayanilla barrio-pueblo Guayanilla barrio-pueblo is an urban Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrio and the administrative center (Seat of government, seat) of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, Guayanilla, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 3,757. As was customar ...

# Indios # Jagua Pasto # Jaguas # Llano # Macaná # Magas #

Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the municipality ...

# Playa # Quebrada Honda # Quebradas # Rufina # Sierra Baja

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) and subbarrios, are further subdivided into smaller areas called (''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. In the EU context, the Euro ...

. 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 Guayanilla: Magas Abajo, Villa del Carmen in Playa barrio, Piedras Blancas, Playita, and San Pedro.

Tourism

To stimulate local tourism, the

Puerto Rico Tourism Company The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (, 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. Ferré's administration (1969-1973) to coo ...

launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Guayanilla page lists , , and , as places of interest. Castillo Nino

According to a news article by Primera Hora, there are 17 beaches in Guayanilla. *Places to visit: Mario Mercado Castle, Chorro de Oro Waterfall, El Convento Cave, Guilarte State Forest, Emajagua Beach, La Ventana Beach, Tamarindo Beach, Central Rufina Ruins. El Castillo del Niño (The Child's Castle) amusement park. *Festivals: Town

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

(April), Student Festival (May), Beach Festival (May), Cross Festivities (May), Fishing Festival (June), Seafood Festival (June),

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...

Festival (July), Ladies' Marathon (November),

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

Festivities (December).

Economy

Industry

The main industries in Guayanilla are the manufacturing of

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable so ...

and the production of electricity by thermoelectrical plants. Guayanilla produces over half of Puerto Rico's electricity. The breakdown of occupations are as follows: *22.2% : Educational, medical, and social services *14.5% : Public administration *14.5% : Construction *11.3% : Manufacturing *9.6% : Retail trade *6.4% : Transportation and warehousing, and utilities *5.3% : Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services *4.5% : Other services *3.6% : Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services *2.9% : Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining *2.3% : Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing *1.8% : Wholesale trade *1.2% : Information

Demographics

According to the

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

in 2000, 99.2%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

of any race. 65.5%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 11.1% black, 19.3% mixed, 5.1% other. There were 7,209 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 21.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 15.2% live alone, and 7.1% live alone and were over 65 years of age. The average household size was 3.19, and the average family size was 3.55. The age distribution of the population was 30.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% over 65. The median age was 31 years. The median income for a household was $11,361, and the median income for a family was $13,187. The per capita income for the city was $5,954. 57.0% of the population and 54.9% of the families were below the poverty line.

Culture

Festivals and events

Guayanilla celebrates its

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

festival in December. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events celebrated in Guayanilla include: *Youth Festival – May *Beach Festival – May *Cross Festival – May *Shore Fishing Festival and Triathlon – June *Virgen del Carmen Festival – June *Seafood Festival – June *Farazo Festival – July *Town Carnival – July *International Women's Marathon – November

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Guayanilla is Raúl Rivera Rodríguez, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was first elected at the 2024 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district V, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024, Marially González Huertas and Jamie Barlucea, from the Popular Democratic Party and New Progressive Party, respectively, were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

This municipality has a flag.

Coat of arms

This municipality has a coat of arms.

Education

The following schools are located in Guayanilla and students from both schools have participated in the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on several occasions: * Escuela Arístides Cales Quirós * Asunción Rodríguez de Sala

Transportation

There are 35 bridges in Guayanilla.

Nazario Collection

The Nazario Collection, a set of inscribed stones discovered by

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest and amateur archeologist José M. Nazario (and which popular culture links to

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

chief Agüeybaná II), has become a cultural symbol for the municipality. The statuettes serve as the center piece of Guayanilla's Father Nazario Museum of Lithic Epigraphy.

Gallery

Punta Ventana Beach in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico.jpg, The Punta Ventana window feature collapsed during the 2019 earthquakes. Guayanilla Sea.jpg, The Caribbean Sea from Guayanilla Countryside in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico.jpg, View of mountains in the countryside of Guayanilla Guayanilla City Hall.JPG, Guayanilla City Hall BEG Puerto Rico (6682485015).jpg, Guayanilla school band performing at a parade in California, US in 2012 Phormosoma placenta.jpg, Photo by NOAA, Exploring Puerto Rico's Seamounts, Trenches, and Troughs (Guayanilla)

References

External links

Guayanilla Municipality on Facebook

Puerto Rico Government Guayanilla
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1833 Yauco metropolitan area 1833 establishments in the Spanish Empire