''Pueblo'' is a term primarily used in

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 ...

to refer to the municipal district (''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

'') that serves as the administrative, historic and cultural center of a

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 ...

. The concept of ''pueblo'' is often used locally as analogous to the concept of ''

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 ...

'' in U.S. cities. ''Pueblos'' are officially called ''barrio-pueblo'' by the United States Census since 1990.

Overview

The Spanish word ''

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 ...

'' translates to town in English, since many of these correspond to the original European-founded settlements in their respective contemporary municipalities; however, its usage in

Puerto Rican Spanish Puerto Rican Spanish (''español puertorriqueño'' ) is the variety (linguistics), variety of the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent living in the ...

today corresponds more closely to the concept of ''

'' in English. In some cases, the concept of ''pueblo'' might also refer to municipality, but the term municipality never applies to ''pueblos''. With a few exceptions, the ''barrio-pueblo'' is also the

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

of the municipality and usually contains the main town square (''

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

'', and in some cases, ''

plaza de armas The ''Plaza de Armas'' (literally Weapons Square, but better translated as Parade Square or parade ground) is the name for Latin American main squares. In the central region of Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo and in Central America as ...

'') surrounded by the municipal administrative buildings ('' alcaldía'') and the main

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in town (either a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

). The central ''plaza'' or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize. 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 ...

, the Spanish law which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for celebrations and festivities ( es, a propósito para las fiestas), most notably the town

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 ...

festivals ( ''fiestas patronales''), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors ( es, grandeza proporcionada al número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain. As of the 2010 census, Mayagüez is the most populated ''pueblo'' in Puerto Rico with a population of 26,903, while Las Marías has the lowest population with 262 inhabitants. The largest ''barrio-pueblo'' in Puerto Rico is

Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

with a total area of 3.23 square miles, while Toa Alta is the smallest with an area of 0.03 square miles.

Exceptions

Although all ''barrio-pueblos'' correspond to the administrative and downtown area of Puerto Rican municipalities, some ''barrios'' and clusters of ''barrios'' (such as in Ponce) also function and are categorized as the ''pueblos'' of their respective municipalities. The municipality of San Juan is a good example of this: the ''barrios''

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 ...

and

San Juan Antiguo San Juan Antiguo (not to be confused with the historic district of Old San Juan which is located within this district), is a barrio located in the municipality of San Juan in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. San Juan Antiguo has 7 subbarrios. ...

correspond to the ''pueblos'' of the former municipalities of

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

and San Juan (pre-1951). Both of these contained a main town square or ''

'' with a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

. When San Juan and Río Piedras merged into a single municipality in 1951, the former ''pueblo'' of Río Piedras retained its name.

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and Ponce are the two other municipalities in Puerto Rico that do not contain a designated ''barrio-pueblo''. The exception of Florida is due to the fact that the municipality has no ''barrios'', while Ponce does not have a single designated ''barrio-pueblo'' but six ''barrios'' that correspond to the ''pueblo'' of Ponce.''Ponce: Notas para su historia.''
Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservacion Historica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 6. Accessed 19 February 2018.''Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico.'' Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Ph.D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 33. The name of the ''pueblo'' almost always is the name as the municipality is located in. For example, the ''barrio-pueblo'' of the municipality of Caguas is also called Caguas (''Pueblo de Caguas''). The exception to this occurs with the island municipalities of Culebra and

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

. Although the ''barrio-pueblo'' of Culebra is known as Culebra (''Pueblo de Culebra'') today, its former name used to be Dewey, while the name of the ''barrio-pueblo'' of Vieques today remains Isabel II. Both of these are also the main settlements of the islands they are located in.

History

Although the urban zones that today are designated as ''barrio-pueblo'' have existed since 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 ...

of Puerto Rico, the concept of ''barrio'' was first used in the island during the 19th century. Historians have speculated the creation of ''barrios'' as administrative units may have been related to the Puerto Rican representation at the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

. All municipalities in the island had a distinct ''barrio'' officially called ''pueblo'' (this is where the contemporary usage of ''pueblo'' in Puerto Rico comes from). Many of these ''pueblos'' used to have a certain degree of autonomy and local governance in the form of councils. Today barrios and ''barrio-pueblos'' have no political autonomy, and their designation is now for statistical and municipal management purposes. In 1980, they were still referred to as ''pueblos'' on the US Census. Beginning with the 1990 census, these ''pueblos'' have been officially referred to as ''barrio-pueblos'' by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

List of ''Pueblos''

The following list includes all ''barrio-pueblos'' and equivalent ''barrios'' in Puerto Rico. The municipality of

is not included in the list as it has no ''barrios'' nor ''barrio-pueblos''. Ponce today has no official ''barrio-pueblo'' designations, however six of its barrios (all given cardinal names, i.e., 'first', 'second', 'sixth') correspond to the original core equivalent to the concept of ''barrio-pueblo'' today. The municipality of San Juan today, originally consisted of two separate municipalities with a ''barrio-pueblo'' each:

for the municipality of San Juan, and

for the former municipality of

In pop culture

The song "Me voy pal' pueblo" by El Trio Los Panchos sings of going to the pueblo.

Gallery

File:Aguadilla Pueblo.jpg, Aguadilla Pueblo and its harbor. File:Plaza de recreo de Arecibo.jpg, ''Plaza'' or main town square of the Arecibo Pueblo. File:Barranquitas pueblo1.jpg, View of Barranquitas Pueblo from PR-152 (2013). File:2021pueblodecaguas2.jpg, Historic architecture in Caguas Pueblo. File:CAYEY PUEBLO - panoramio.jpg, Cayey Pueblo from

PR-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 ...

. File:2022pueblodecoamo1.jpg, Coamo Pueblo, the third oldest settlement in Puerto Rico. File:Culebra Pueblo (Dewey).jpg, Typical street scene in Culebra Pueblo (Dewey). File:Casa Cautiño Guayama PR.jpg,

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 ...

in Guayama Pueblo. ''Pueblos'' often contain rich architectural, cultural and historic heritage. File:2021escalerasdegurabo1.jpg,

El Cerro El Cerro is a village and municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located from the provincial capital city of Salamanca and has a population of 529 people. Geography Th ...

step streets in Gurabo Pueblo. File:Humacao skyline from City Hall.JPG, Humacao Pueblo skyline from the new city hall. File:Mayaguez Center view.jpg, Mayagüez Pueblo is the most populated ''barrio-pueblo'' of Puerto Rico. File:Partial view of the City of Ponce, looking SSW from Cerro El Vigía, Barrio Portugués Urbano, Ponce, Puerto Rico.jpg, Ponce Pueblo from Cerro El Vigía. File:Sepulveda House 2 - Sabana Grande Puerto Rico.jpg, Historic house in Sabana Grande Pueblo. File:San German Historic district.jpg, San Germán Pueblo is the second oldest settlement in Puerto Rico, and a designated National Historic District. File:Plaza de la Convalecencia, Río Piedras, San Juan.jpg, Although no longer a municipality, Río Piedras Pueblo still stands in the modern-day municipality of San Juan. File:2022pueblodesantaisabel1.jpg, Eclectic architecture in Santa Isabel Pueblo. File:UtuadoPuebloFeb2008.jpg, View of Utuado Pueblo. File:Casa Alcaldía Isabel Segunda, Vieques PR.jpg, City hall of the island-municipality of

at the Isabel II Pueblo. File:Yaucromatic.jpg, Public art at Yauco Pueblo.

References

{{Puerto Rico topics Administrative divisions in North America Populated places in Puerto Rico