Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) 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 ...

on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

coast of

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 ...

. As of the

2020 U.S. Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the center of the

Guayama metropolitan area The Guayama Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau defined Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in southeastern Puerto Rico. 2020 Census results placed the population at 68,442, an 18.73% decrease over the 2010 Census. 2010 C ...

with a population of 68,442 in 2020.

Etymology and nicknames

The original name of the city is San Antonio de Padua de Guayama, named after the saint

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...

; as with other settlement names in Puerto Rico, the name was eventually shortened to ''Guayama''. According to legend, ''Guayama'' comes from the name of a

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 ...

(chief), who was leader of the tribes in the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. The

word ''Guayama'' (''wayama'') is said to mean "great place" or "big open space". Another legend tells that the name of the town comes from the name of a woman called Juana Guayama who is said to have been an early owner of the land around Guayama and granter of the land in modern-day

Machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

where the town was later founded. The first nickname of the city was ''Ciudad del Guamaní'' ("city of the

Guamaní Guamaní is a barrio in the municipality of Guayama, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,455. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a ...

iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...

) after the river that crosses the municipality. The name of this river might be related to the name ''Guayama'', and it has been important to the city since its early founding. A more modern and more popular nickname for the city is ''Pueblo de los brujos'' ("town of witches" or "town of warlocks") or ''Pueblo brujo'' ("witch town"). This nickname traces its origins to a popular story that tells that residents of the city would bring a kind of leaf called ''hoja bruja'' ("witch leaf") to

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

games to "scare" the opposing team by pretending to cast spells on them. The town's baseball team then adopted the ''hoja bruja'' as their symbol. Another story tells that the nickname comes from a legendary baseball player from the city's local team, Moncho El Brujo, who according to legend owed his success as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

to witchcraft. Regardless of the origin of the nickname, residents of Guayama are often called ''brujos'' and their

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team now carries the name

Brujos de Guayama Brujos de Guayama is a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Despite being in the league since 1971, the team has not won any BSN Championships but have made 2 finals appeara ...

("Guayama Warlocks").

History

During the early years of the

Spanish colonization The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

, the region known today as Guayama was inhabited by

native people. The indigenous population in this area decreased due to slavery and migration to the Lesser Antilles. The following centuries, the region was under attack from the Taíno rebellion,

Caribs “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

and

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. The town was founded on January 29, 1736, as San Antonio de Padua de Guayama by then Spanish Governor

Matías de Abadía Matías is the Spanish version of Matthias. In Scandinavian languages (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish) and in Portuguese it is unaccented as Matias. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Matías Alemanno, Argentine rugby pl ...

, although there is knowledge of it being populated by native people as early as 1567. It was Governor Don Tomás de Abadía who officially declared Guayama a "pueblo" (town) with the name of ''San Antonio de Padua de Guayama''. That same year the Catholic church in town,

San Antonio de Padua San Antonio de Padua, or plainly Padua, is a city in the Greater Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is located in Merlo Partido. The city has an area of and a population of around 38,000. The name commemorates the village founded by Francisco de Mer ...

, was declared a Parish. In 1776, Guayama had 200 houses, the church and a central plaza and the total population was approximately 5,000 villagers. Construction on Guayama's Parroquial church of San Antonio de Padua began in 1827 and was completed 40 years later. In 1828 the construction of the King's House (Casa del Rey) was completed and the church was rebuilt as well. Earlier that year, Guayama was hit by a terrible fire that destroyed 57 houses and 9 huts. Guayama territorial order was altered at different times through the years. Some of the most populated neighborhoods were segregated to form new towns. Patillas was established in 1811 as an independent municipality. In 1831, the territory comprised the neighborhoods: Algarrobos, Ancones, Arroyo, Carreras, Guayama Pueblo,

, Jobos,

, and Yaurel. Later, Arroyo was divided into Arroyo Este and Arroyo Oeste and neighborhoods emerged: Pozo Hondo, Palmas de Aguamanil, Caimital, Pitajayas, Cuatro Calles, Sabana Eneas, Palmas, and Salinas. The latter had been segregated from

Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coamo ...

. In 1855, Arroyo was separated to become an independent municipality, taking the neighborhoods: Ancones, Arroyo, Yaurel, Pitajaya, and Cuatro Calles. By 1878, Guayama was a department head including: Comerío (then Sabana del Palmar), Cidra,

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 ...

, Salinas, Arroyo, San Lorenzo (then called Hato Grande), Aguas Buenas,

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 founde ...

, Gurabo, and Juncos. The development continued with the construction of the town cemetery in 1844, the slaughterhouse and meat market in 1851, and a wooden theater of two levels in 1878. By then Guayama had fourteen sugar plantations operating with steam engines and three with ox mills. Also practiced in this municipality was the exploitation of lead mines by the company "La Estrella", owned by Miguel Planellas, as well as the mineral galena, by the company "La Rosita", owned by Antonio Aponte. In 1881, Guayama is declared a Villa (First Order Municipality). During 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 ...

, American forces under General

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

landed at Guánica near Ponce on July 25, 1898. The landing surprised the United States War Department no less than the Spanish, as Miles had been instructed to land near San Juan (the War Department learned of the landing through an Associate Press release.) However, en route to Puerto Rico Miles concluded that a San Juan landing was vulnerable to attack by small boats, and so changed plans. Ponce, said at the time to be the largest city in Puerto Rico, was connected with San Juan by a 70-mile military road, well defended by the Spanish at Coamo and Aibonito. In order to flank this position, American Major General

John R. Brooke John Rutter Brooke (July 21, 1838 – September 5, 1926) was one of the last surviving Union generals of the American Civil War when he died at the age of 88. Early life Brooke was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was educated in nearby Co ...

landed at Arroyo, just east of Guayama, intending to move on

, which is northwest of Guayama, along the road from Ponce to San Juan. General Brooke occupied Guayama August 5, 1898, after slight opposition, in the Battle of Guayama. On August 9, the Battle of Guamaní took place north of Guayama. A more significant battle, the Battle of Aibonito Pass, was halted on the morning of August 13 upon notification of the armistice between the United States and Spain. 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

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 Guayama was 12,749. After the Spanish–American War, Guayama continued to develop. The Bernardini Theater built by engineer Manuel Texidor y Alcalá del Olmo opened in 1913. The venue, property of attorney Thomas Bernardini, was the scene for artists of international fame. By that time, Guayama was considered one of the most important cities on the island's social scene. Front view of the Guayama Convention Center

Front view of the Guayama Convention Center

In the early twentieth century, there were selected societies such as the 'Coliseo Derkes' and 'Grupo Primavera', which endowed performing arts as well as scientific events. By the mid-twentieth century, Guayama achieved great industrial development, especially with the establishment of Univis Optical Corp., Angela Manufacturing Company and a petrochemical complex of the

Phillips Petroleum Company Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in the ...

. In 1968, the company started production of paraffin, benzene, synthetic fibers, nylon, plastic anhydrous, a million gallons of gasoline a day, and many other products. During that same decade agriculture began to decline as a result of

land loss Land loss is the term typically used to refer to the conversion of coastal land to open water by natural processes and human activities. The term ''land loss'' includes coastal erosion. It is a much broader term than coastal erosion because land l ...

, industrialization and the construction of multiple housing developments. The

urban growth Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

affected the sugar cane industry. However, in 1974, 155,595 tons of sugar cane was harvested in the Municipality producing 12,655 tons of refined sugar. In November 2002, AES Puerto Rico opened its

coal power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...

in Guayama. The company transmits and distributes electricity through a 25-year contract with the

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA; Spanish: ''LUMA'', ''AEE'') was an electric power company owned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responsible for electricity generation, power distribution, and power transmission on the island. ...

. The 2012 National

Puerto Rican Day Parade The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) takes place annually in the United States along Fifth Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The parade is held on the second Sunday in June, in hon ...

was dedicated to the Municipality of Guayama and its people. On September 20, 2017

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 ...

struck Puerto Rico. In Guayama, the hurricane triggered numerous landslides and caused major destruction with an estimated 2000 homes losing their roof. The river caused major flooding and people were left with no power. After Hurricane Maria, the people of Guayama resorted to collecting spring water for their drinking water.

Geography

Cordillera Central, Guayama, Puerto Rico

Guayama is located at . The Municipality of Guayama is located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering 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 ...

, south of

; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama's municipal territory reaches the central mountain range to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. The mountain systems

Sierra de Jájome Sierra de Jájome is a mountain massif of the Sierra de Cayey located in the municipalities of Cayey, Guayama and Salinas in southeastern Puerto Rico. The mountain, often referred to as a mountain range (''sierra''), is protected as the Jájom ...

(2,395 feet or 730 meters) and

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 ...

cover some of the municipality area. The highest points are the Cerro de la Tabla (2,834 feet or 863 meters) and Cerro Tumbado (2,450 feet or 746 meters), which are part of the

mountain system. Other elevations are the mountains Garau, Charcas and Peña Hendida. Parts of the Guavate- Carite Forest and the Aguirre State Forest are in Guayama. The Guavate-Carite Forest, a 6,000-acre nature reserve is inhabited by 50 species of birds, making this spot a recognized area for birding and has a reserve with a

dwarf forest Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humi ...

that was produced by the region's high humidity and moist soil. The Aguirre Forest includes:

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

, bird

rookeries A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...

, research lakes & large

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

population. The Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve was established in 1987. The reserve is located between the coasts of Salinas and Guayama, approximately 2,883 acres of mangrove forest and freshwater wetlands. The two main components: Mar Negro

forest, which consists of a mangrove forest and a complex system of lagoons and channels interspersed with salt and mud flats; and Cayos Caribe Islets, which are surrounded by

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s and seagrass beds, with small beach deposits and upland areas.

Features

* Islands include Cayo Caribes, Isla Morrillito and Mata Redonda. * Carite Dam * Gorges; Barros, Branderí, Cimarrona, Corazón, Culebra, Palmas Bajas, and Salada. * Lakes: Melania Lake,

Carite Lake Lago Carite is a lake located in the municipality of Guayama on the island of Puerto Rico. The lake was created in 1913 Río Chiquito Chiquito River ( es, Río Chiquito) is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. This river feeds into Río Portugués in the sector called Parras, about north of the intersection of PR-504 and PR-505. It has its origin in the mou ...

, Río Guamaní,

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

and Río Seco.

Climate

The annual precipitation is approximately 52 inches and the average temperature is 81 °F.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Guayama is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as . # Algarrobo # Caimital # Carite #

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

Guayama barrio-pueblo Guayama barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center ( seat) of Guayama, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 16,891. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo'' wh ...

# Jobos #

# Palmas # Pozo Hondo Population, per 2010 census: Algarrobo 6,959; Caimital 4,124; Carite 1,210; Carmen 619; Guamaní 1,455 ; Guayama Pueblo 16,891; Jobos 8,286; Machete 3,846; Palmas 709; Pozo Hondo 1,263; Total 45,362.

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 Guayama: Borinquén, Comunidad Mosquito, Comunidad Puerto de Jobos, Loma del Viento, and Pueblito Del Carmen.

Tourism

Sugar mill ruins in Guayama, Puerto Rico

Landmarks and places of interest

Guayama has 19 beaches including . Other places of interest in Guayama include: * San Antonio de Padua Church * Guayama Town Plaza (Plaza pública Cristóbal Colón) * Molino y Hacienda Azucarera Vives *

Casa Cautiño Casa Cautiño is a house museum in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The museum collection, administered by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, include works of art, wood carvings, sculptures and furniture built by Puerto Rican cabinetmakers for the Caut ...

Museum * Centro de Bellas Artes * Teatro Calimano * First Methodist Church (Built in 1902) * Guayama Convention Center * Céntrico Mall * El Legado Golf Resort * Mariposario Las Limas Natural Reserve * Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve * Guavate- Carite Forest * Aguirre State Forest *

Carite Lake Lago Carite is a lake located in the municipality of Guayama on the island of Puerto Rico. The lake was created in 1913 Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

, Baxter,

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and r ...

, and Tapi. A coal power plant operated by AES.

Health facilities

The San Lucas Episcopal Hospital, located on Pedro Albizu Campos Avenue and operated by the

Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico The Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico ( es, Diócesis Episcopal de Puerto Rico) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in Puerto Rico. Under Spanish rule, Puerto Rico was part of a Roman Catholic-affiliated monarchical Spanish government for over ...

and the Santa Rosa Hospital are the main medical facilities in Guayama. The

Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through a nationa ...

operates a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (COBC) in the Municipality.

Culture

Guayama is the birthplace of numerous artists and musicians who have significantly influenced Puerto Rican culture. During the 20th century, the literary culture of the city was influenced by performers including Afro-Antillano genre poet

Luis Palés Matos Luis Palés Matos (March 20, 1898 – February 23, 1959) was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano. He is also credited with writing the screenplay for the "Romance Tropical", the first Puerto ...

and his father Vicente Palés Anés. Music composer Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso who became a composer of over 2,000 salsa songs is also from Guayama, even though he was raised in the Santurce section of San Juan. Other performers born in Guayama include actresses Gilda Galán and Karla Monroig. The

Museum is administered by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and include works of art, wood carvings, sculptures and furniture built by Puerto Rican cabinetmakers for the Cautiño family. The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Festivals and events

Guayama 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 June. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. named after a famous Puerto Rican horse is held each March in Guayama. , the most influential sire in the modern Puerto Rican

Paso Fino The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. Pasos are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especially ...

breed, was born in Guayama. Other festivals and events celebrated in Guayama include: * Witches Carnival – March * Guayama Carnival – April * Sweet Dreams Fair – March *

Jíbaro Jivaro or Jibaro, also spelled Hivaro or Hibaro, may refer to: * Jíbaro (Puerto Rico), mountain-dwelling peasants in Puerto Rico * Jíbaro music, a Puerto Rican musical genre * Jivaroan peoples The Jivaroan peoples are the indigenous peoples ...

Festival – October * Puerto Rican Week – December

Sports

Guayama had one of the Professional Baseball League founding teams, which won the Championship the first years of the league, 1938–39 and 1939–40. Guayama has a baseball team (Brujos de Guayama) in the

Federación de Béisbol Aficionado de Puerto Rico ' ("Double-A Baseball"), governed by the ' (Puerto Rico Amateur Baseball Federation), is a Puerto Rican amateur baseball spring and summer baseball league, founded in 1940 and based in San Juan. The season normally starts in mid to late Februar ...

that won the national championship in 1987. Guayama also used to have a basketball team in the Puerto Rico's BSN (Brujos de Guayama) that went to the League finals twice back in 1991 and 1994 but lost both times to eventual champions Atleticos de San German, it was announced that the team will return for the league's 2012 season. The Guayama Convention Center hosted some of the roller skating events for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games that took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico from July 18, 2010, to August 1, 2010. El Legado Golf Resort, a 285 acres, 18 hole golf course founded in 2002 by Puerto Rican golf player Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez. The Guayama Football Club, founded in 1949, plays in the

Liga Puerto Rico The Liga Puerto Rico (LPR) is an amateur football competition organized by the Puerto Rican Football Federation. It is the top division football league on the island. The champion qualifies to participate in the Caribbean Club Shield each season ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the center of the

, which was home to 84,214 in 2010. In terms of race and ethnicity, the 2010 U.S. Census stated the following concerning Guayameses: *White: 72.8% (33,025) *Black: 22.9% (10,367) *American Indian/Indigenous: 1.7% (769) *Asian: 0.2% (108) *Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.1% (51) *Some Other Race: 8.3.% (3,746)

Government

The mayor of Guayama as of May, 2022 is O'Brian Vázquez Molina. The city belongs to the

Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI Puerto Rico Senatorial District VI, also known as the Senatorial District of Guayama, is one of the eight senatorial districts of Puerto Rico. It is currently represented by Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez (from the Popular Democ ...

, which is represented by two senators. In 2012,

Miguel Pereira Castillo Miguel A. Pereira Castillo (born September 26, 1947) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney, and public servant. Throughout his career, he has served in various government positions like Director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, Superintenden ...

and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag of Guayama is made up of three stripes of different colors: black, yellow, and red from top to bottom. The black stands for the enslaved Africans brought to Puerto Rico, many to Guayama. The yellow represents sugar cane industry in Puerto Rico and the significance of Guayama's sugar plantations. The red symbolizes the blood shed by

Indians in their fight against the Spanish/European colonizers. To the left of the top stripe we can see the Old Mill, which today is known as the Molino de Vives.

Coat of arms

The shield is divided in four parts and in two of them part of a chessboard appears. The chessboard pattern represents the center of the city, which resembles a chessboard. It has two old mill towers. The laurel trees constitute a representation of the beautiful Recreation Plaza very well known for its trimmed trees. The three silver flowers symbolize San Antonio de Padua, patron of Guayama. The crown represents Cacique Guayama, name of the town. The big crown has four towers.

Education

The education system in Guayama has three public high schools, which are Francisco Garcia Boyrie, Adela Brenes Texidor and Dr. Rafael Lopez Landrón, and one vocational high school, Dra. Maria Socorro Lacot. Guayama also has a campus of the Puerto Rico Institute of Technology and the

Inter American University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has c ...

, Guayama campus (''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Guayama'' in Spanish
Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico – Recinto de Guayama
. It also has several private schools such as Academia San Antonio, Guamaní Private School, Saint Patrick's Bilingual School, Colegio Catòlico San Antonio, Fountain Christian Bilingual School, Escuela Superior and Academia Adventista Tres Angeles and more than 12 other public schools in the elementary and intermediate education levels.

Transportation

Guayama has direct access to

Puerto Rico Highway 54 Puerto Rico Highway 54 (PR-54) is a short divided highway located in Guayama, Puerto Rico and is mainly a by-pass route from Puerto Rico Highway 3 out of Downtown Guayama to Puerto Rico Highway 53. The government of Puerto Rico named the stretch ...

which connect with

Puerto Rico Highway 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 ...

in the vicinity of Salinas and its downtown/business area is served by Puerto Rico Highways 3, 179, 744, and 748. The Municipality has good paved roads and is only away from both San Juan and Ponce. The nearest international airport is the

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 cover ...

in Ponce. At one time during 1937, Guayama received domestic, commercial airline flights from San Juan on Puerto Rico's national airline, Puertorriqueña de Aviación. There are 28 bridges in Guayama.

Notable ''Guayameses''

* Jose C. Aponte Garcia - Puerto Rico Prosecuting Attorney during the Administrations of Luis Munoz Marin, Roberto Sanchez Vilella; Secretary of Justice during Roberto Sanchez Vilella's Administration * Modesto Cartagena - Purple Heart recipient * Catalino (Tite) Curet Alonso - composer of over 2,000 salsa songs. *

Diosa Costello Juana de Dios Castrello, better known as Diosa Costello (April 23, 1913 – June 20, 2013), was a Puerto Rican entertainer, performer, producer and club owner,Luis Palés Matos Luis Palés Matos (March 20, 1898 – February 23, 1959) was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano. He is also credited with writing the screenplay for the "Romance Tropical", the first Puerto ...

- Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano. *

Gilda Galán Gilda Galán (January 16, 1917 – June 21, 2009) was a Puerto Rican actress, comedian, writer, composer, scriptwriter and poet. The veteran actress, whose career spanned decades, enjoyed one of the longest careers in the history of the Puerto R ...

- Puerto Rican actress, dramaticist, comedian, writer, composer, scriptwriter and poet. * Rafael Pérez Perry - Businessman and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's radio and television broadcasting industry. In 1954 founded Puerto Rico's television Channel 11 (nowadays

Univision Puerto Rico WLII-DT (channel 11), branded on-air as TeleOnce, is a television station licensed to Caguas, Puerto Rico, serving the Territories of the United States#Permanently inhabited territories, U.S. territory as an affiliate of Univision and UniMás. ...

). * Miguel Poventud - Puerto Rican musician, singer, actor and composer of Boleros. * Pedro Garcia - Major League Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

* Karla Monroig - Telenovela actress, model and television host. *

Roger Moret Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

- Former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher * Juan Laporte -Former WBC featherweight boxing champion (1982–1984) *

Jaime Fuster Berlingeri Jaime Benito Fuster Berlingeri (January 12, 1941 – December 3, 2007) was a politician who served as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Justice Fuster, along with Justice Liana Fiol Matta, was considered the leading l ...

- Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and former Resident Commissioner to the U.S. Congress. *

Marcos Crespo Marcos A. Crespo (born July 29, 1980) is a former Democratic member of the New York State Assembly representing the 85th Assembly District, which includes the Soundview, Clason Point, Longwood, and Hunts Point sections of the South Bronx. ...

- Democratic member of the New York State Assembly representing the 85th Assembly District. * Carmelo Delgado Delgado - Leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Is thought to be the first U.S. citizen to die in Spain's civil war. *Dr.

Victor Manuel Blanco The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

PhD - Scientist and astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. *

Eddie Rosario Eddie Manuel Rosario, Jr. (born September 28, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball left fielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Rosario was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draf ...

- Major League Baseball player for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and was the 2021 NLCS

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Gallery

Guayama Convention Center.jpg, The Guayama Convention Center Plaza Guayama Mall Entrada.jpg, Plaza Guayama Mall Plaza Colón de Guayama.JPG, The central plaza and church of San Antonio de Padua in Guayama

References

External links

Official page of the Municipality of Guayama
(In Spanish)
Official Tourism Page of Guayama
(In Spanish)
Historic Places in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, a National Park Service Discover
{{Authority control * Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1736 Guayama metropolitan area