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 In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

'' which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year. Plaza Colón de Guayama

History

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 = (cloc ...

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 an

unincorporated territory of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

. 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, ...

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 in ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Guayama Pueblo was 5,334.

The central plaza and its church

The central plaza () is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The

Laws of the Indies The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...

, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "parties" (celebrations, festivities, festivals) (), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors (). These Spanish regulations also stated that nearby streets should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain. The Guayama patron saint festival, in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua, is celebrated at the in Guayama barrio-pueblo every June. Located across from the central plaza in Guayama barrio-pueblo is Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua, or the (English: Anthony of Padua Parish), a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church. A hermitage built in the area was in ruins by 1823. The first church after that was inaugurated in 1872. Parts of the church were destroyed by the

1899 San Ciriaco hurricane The 1899 San Ciríaco hurricane, also known as the 1899 Puerto Rico Hurricane or The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1899, was the longest-lived Atlantic hurricane on record, and the second-longest-lived tropical cyclone globally on record (in terms ...

. In the 1920s the church underwent reconstruction.

Gallery

Casa Cautiño Guayama PR.jpg, - Historic place Fiestas Patronales En Honor a San Antonio de Padua de Guayama.JPG, Patron saint festival at the central plaza, June 2012 Parroquia San Antonio de Padua de Guayama, Puerto Rico.jpg, Parish in Guayama Plaza de Recreo - Guayama Puerto Rico.jpg, Teatro de Guayama, Puerto Rico.jpg,

References

{{Reflist Barrios of Guayama, Puerto Rico

History

The central plaza and its church

Gallery

See also

References