Lajas (, ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

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 g ...

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 Lajas Valley in southwestern

, on the southern coast of the island, 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 San Germán and Sabana Grande; east of Cabo Rojo; and west of Guánica. Lajas is spread over 11 barrios plus Lajas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Germán-Cabo Rojo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Located at the Lajas Valley, the town was founded in 1883 by the

Xueta The Xuetes (; singular , also known as and spelled as ) are a social group on the Spanish island of Majorca, in the Mediterranean Sea, who are descendants of Majorcan Jews that either were conversos (forcible converts to Christianity) or were C ...

Teodoro Jacome Pagan. Xuetes (

Chuetas The Xuetes (; singular , also known as and spelled as ) are a social group on the Spanish island of Majorca, in the Mediterranean Sea, who are descendants of Majorcan Jews that either were conversos (forcible converts to Christianity) or were Cr ...

) were Majorcan

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...

(

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

Catalan Jews). Some families changed their names from ''Jacome'' to the Castilian form

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...

. Jacome is the Mallorquin form of

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

(Ia'akov). Catalan Jews from

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

were part of the early settlers in the South of ( Boriken) (Puerto Rico). 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") , ...

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 = (clo ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. 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 inc ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Lajas was 8,789. The village of La Parguera is a popular tourist destination to see the famous Bahía Fosforescente (Phosphorescent Bay) and its numerous keys and islets. People from the El Combate community in barrio Boquerón are known as ''mata con hacha'' ("those who kill with axes") based on

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fr ...

about a fight over the ''salinas'', where those from Cabo Rojo fought with axes against people from the adjacent town of Lajas. Because the people from Lajas apparently fought back by throwing stones they are known as ''tira piedras'' ("those who throw stones"). On September 20, 2017

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect ...

struck Puerto Rico. In Lajas, over 270 residences lost their roof. The hurricane destroyed Lajas' pineapple industry.

Geography

Lajas is located on the southern coast.

Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge The Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: ''Refugio de Vida Silvestre de Laguna Cartagena'') is a 1043-acre National Wildlife Refuge in Lajas, Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The ...

is a national protected area located in Lajas.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Lajas is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as . # Candelaria # Costa # Lajas # Lajas barrio-pueblo # Lajas Arriba #

Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, s ...

# Palmarejo # Parguera # París # Plata # Sabana Yeguas # Santa Rosa

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 Lajas: El Papayo, El Tendal, Sector Sabana Yeguas, La Haya, Las Cuevas, Los Jovillos, Maguayo, Piñalejos, and Tokio.

Demographics

Tourism

Lajas is famous for its main touristic attraction, Phosphorescent Bay (La Parguera), a place where

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including so ...

dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates ( Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates ...

s of different colors appear when the water moves. The origin of the colored lights is the object of many legends. Lajas is also a fishing town.

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 5 beaches in Lajas. Some of the main attractions of Lajas are: * Cartagena Lagoon *Indian Museum *Old Train Station *Old Silver Mines *La Parguera *Lajeño Soldier Monument * Isla Magueyes * Isla Mata la Gata *Pineapple Processing Plant Ruins *Rosada Beach or Playita Rosada *Caracoles Beach *Caribe Fisheries *The Puerto Rico Alien Route, which is passes by a landing strip developed by a local from Lajas to welcome extraterrestrial landings.

Culture

Festivals and events

Lajas 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 person. I ...

festival in February. 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 Lajas include: *Kite Festival – February / March *Festival de Pesca de la Aguja Azul – May *

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 centurie ...

Festival () - May or June, where up to 50,000 people come for arts, crafts, music and 30,000 lbs. of pineapple *Fiesta de San Pedro Festival – June *Agriculture Fair or () – June / July *Christmas Parade and Artisans Fair – December

Government

Like all municipalities in

, Lajas is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Jayson Martínez, from the New Progressive Party (PNP). Martínez was elected at the 2020 general election. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district V, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Ramón Ruiz and Martín Vargas Morales, from the Popular Democratic Party, were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 5 bridges in Lajas.

Notable ''Lajeños''

* Luis Aponte Martínez, Roman Catholic cardinal of the Archdiocese of San Juan * Ulises Casiano, Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Mayagüez *

Robinson Cancel Robinson Cancel Castro (born May 4, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He made his Major League Baseball debut for the Milwaukee Brewers on September 3, 1999. He would not appear at the major league level again until Ju ...

, Major League Baseball player * Jacobo Morales, actor and film director * Jose "Joe" Basora, Puerto Rican Boxer

Symbols

Lajas has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag consists of three horizontal stripes; the top one is green, the center one is white and the bottom one is light yellow. A vertical white stripe down the left makes a white cross. In the center of the cross is a ripe yellow pineapple. The cross is surrounded by eleven gold stars; five in the top part and six in the lower part of the cross, in the form of a circle.

Coat of arms

It is gold with a green band crossing it diagonally right to left; gold stands for the wealth of the land and green for the beauty of the valley, which is a gift from mother nature to Lajas. The band is adorned, at each end, with a pineapple bordered in gold and black. In the center of the band, also in gold, a marine shell. In the top left there is a red cardinal's hat and in the bottom a red anchor with green; the shield has a 3 tower castle, each one with two windows and a door. On the bottom, outside the shield, a banner with the inscription ''"Ciudad Cardenalicia"'' (Cardinality City). The banner and the inscription appear in black.

Gallery

Scenes around Lajas: Feria Agrícola Nacional Del Valle De Lajas en Puerto Rico.jpg, Children at Cayos de La Parguera - panoramio.jpg, Cays and boats in La Parquera Beach and boats in Lajas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Boats in the Caribbean Sea in Lajas Roseate terns Palometas.jpg, Roseate tern at La Parguera, (on the list of threatened species) Moonrise over the dock at La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Moonrise over the dock at La Parguera

References

External links

Welcome to Puerto Rico! Lajas
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1883 San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area