Camuy () is a

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

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 ...

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 ...

, bordering the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, north of

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lare ...

and San Sebastián; east of Quebradillas; and west of Hatillo. Camuy is spread over 12 barrios and Camuy Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). The town celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007. Camuy is part of the "Porta Atlántico" Tourist Area.

History

Camuy, popularly known as Romantic City (''la ciudad romántica''), was founded in 1807 by Petronila Matos, and formerly part of

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, th ...

is located in the northwestern coastal region of Puerto Rico, less than 5 minutes west of Hatillo municipality, on

PR-2 Puerto Rico Highway 2 (PR-2) is a road in Puerto Rico that connects the cities of San Juan and Ponce. At 156 miles (230 km) long, it is Puerto Rico's longest singled-signed highway. The road runs counter-clockwise from San Juan to Ponce. ...

and PR-119. As early as 1846, , a bridge over the

Camuy River The Camuy River ( es, Río Camuy; pron. ka-MOO-ee) is a river in Puerto Rico. It is the third largest underground river in the world and helped shape the cave system known as the Rio Camuy Caves. The river and water flow systems of Río Camuy ha ...

linked Camuy with Hatillo. The name ''Camuy'' derives from the

Taíno language Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of th ...

, although a number of legends give differing explanations for the origin of the name. One such legend claims the name comes from the

Taíno The Taíno were a historic 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 late 15th century, they were the pri ...

word for "sun", another claims derivation from ''camuy'', Taíno for "beautiful scenery", and still another states that ''Camuy'' was the name of the Taíno chief ''Yumac'' with the letters in reverse order. The "sun" legend is reflected in the coat of arms for the municipality. 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 ...

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 territori ...

. 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 Camuy was 10,887. In its beginnings Camuy was integrated into the Partition of San Antonio de la Tuna. The "partitions" were great expanses of land that divided Puerto Rico. This region today is known as

Isabela, Puerto Rico Isabela () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. It is named in honor of Isabella I of Castile. Isabela is s ...

. At the time the partition covered the areas between

Aguadilla Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...

and

, what is known today as the municipalities of Camuy, Hatillo, Quebradillas, Isabela, Utuado, and San Sebastián. The population of Camuy was 35,159 at the 2010 census, and it has land area of . The municipality is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo metropolitan area and is a popular suburb. It was named in 2015 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors as one of the most livable cities in the United States.

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 ...

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Camuy with the significant amount of rainfall. Electricity was restored to the town center on October 4. However, rural areas remained without electricity until March 2018. There were catastrophic damages in Camuy with around 2000 residences damaged or completely destroyed. The hospital's roof was torn off. The 40 animal husbandry businesses in Camuy, agriculture, and tourism industries suffered heavy losses. One of the main tourist attractions in Puerto Rico located in Camuy, Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy was destroyed, and would remain closed for four years.

Geography

Camuy belongs to the zone designated as the plateau of the northwest where the terrain is level and known as the Valley of Quebradillas. It is located in the Northern Karst zone of Puerto Rico. In the interior of the municipality the topography becomes very irregular near

Cibao The Cibao, usually referred as "El Cibao", is a region of the Dominican Republic located at the northern part of the country. As of 2009 the Cibao has a population of 5,622,378 making it the most populous region in the country. The region constit ...

. This strip of land, a zone of wooded hills and depressions, divides Camuy completely into two strips, north and south. The northern strip is known as Lomas de los Puertos. The

forms part of the hydrographic system with a length of 24 miles, which at one point becomes a narrow canyon that forms one of the most beautiful cave systems in the world: the Rio Camuy Caverns, first explored in 1958. The Camuy River along with the Caverns are the 3rd largest and longest underground system in the world and the river is one of the few remaining active underground rivers in the Americas, stretching for miles. The Cibao River also forms part of the system. Plaza de Recreo - Camuy Puerto Rico

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Camuy 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. # Abra Honda # Camuy barrio-pueblo # Camuy Arriba #

# Ciénagas # Membrillo # Piedra Gorda # Puente # Puertos #

Quebrada Quebrada may refer to: Places Argentina * Quebrada de Las Flechas, a valley in the province of Salta in northern Argentina * Quebrada de Humahuaca, World Heritage, a valley in the province of Jujuy in northern Argentina * Quebrada de Luna, vill ...

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, whos ...

# Yeguada # Zanja

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 Camuy: , and .

Demographics

Tourism

Camuy is known for its '' Parque de las Cavernas del Río Camuy'' (Camuy River Cave Park), a large network of natural limestone caves and underground waterways shared with nearby municipalities of Hatillo and

. The cave system was first documented in the 1973 book ''Discovery At The Rio Camuy'' () by Russell and Jeanne Gurnee. The park built around the cave system features tours of some of the caves, and is one of the most popular natural attractions in Puerto Rico. The caverns were created by the ''Río Camuy'' (

), the third longest underground river in the world. In recognition of this, the Camuy coat of arms includes a symbol for the underground river.

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 9 beaches in Camuy, including . Other places of interest of Camuy include: *Hacienda Morell *Peñon Brusi Beach *Peñon Amador Beach (Home of the Flamingo) * Rio Camuy Cave Park *Paseo Tablado del Río Camuy (Boardwalk) * Ernesto Memorial Chapel *Camuy History Museum To stimulate local tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Camuy passport page lists , , and , as places of interest.

Culture

Religion

Camuy is first and foremost

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 ...

but there are other religions present in the town, including

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

denominations such as the

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

, Presbyterians, Methodists, and others. There are four Roman Catholic parishes in Camuy: *The San Jose Parish named after the patron of the town and located in the town square *The

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (french: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin MaryAnn Ball, 20 ...

(also known as "El Calvario") in Piedra Gorda *The Assumption of Mary located in Quebrada *Our Lady of Montserrate located at Soller near the municipality of Quebradillas *The Ernesto Memorial Chapel, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church also known as (Church of Stone) is famous and on the US National Register of Historic Places, because it was handmade with limestones.

Sports

The town has many local sports teams (volleyball, basketball, martial arts, swimming etc.) but most notably are their

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 t ...

teams. Many of them are part of the little league and the intermediate system but at the top the two professional Class A and Double AA baseball teams called "Los Arenosos" (Referring to the abundance of sand from the coastline).

Festivals and Events

The

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 ...

of Camuy is Saint Joseph. His day is celebrated on March 1. The patron saint festivities (Fiestas Patronales) are celebrated every year around the last 2 weeks of the month of March, the month of Saint Joseph. His official liturgical day is March 1. Other festivals and celebrations that take place in Camuy include: *Velorio Tres Reyes Magos or Three Kings Celebration - January * Mondongazo Festival - February *Camuy Carnival - February *Balseada del Río Camuy and 5k Race - March *Patron Festivities San José - March *"Reviving Our Traditions Festival" -June *Peñon Brussi Beach Festival - July *Municipal Cultural Fair - November

Economy

Agriculture

Ruinas de la Central Ríollano de Camuy, Puerto Rico

Agriculture ( sugarcane some time ago) and cattle and milk production.

Business

There's an active manufacturing industry in the city, including companies such as Alaska based Cazador Apparel, Seamless Textiles,

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

, Best Quality Coop and Camuy Furniture Warehouse. SNC Technical Services is another textile manufacturer in Camuy which picked up production in 2019. In terms of commercial development, several fast foods franchises, banks and stores can be found in Camuy. Two strip malls are also planned to be constructed in the city. Tourism plays an important role in Camuy's economy due in part to the Rio Camuy Caves, and Camuy's public beaches.

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, elected every four years. The current mayor of Camuy is Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). The city belongs to the

Puerto Rico Senatorial district III Puerto Rico Senatorial District III, also known as the Senatorial District of Arecibo, is one of the eight senatorial districts of Puerto Rico. It is currently represented by José Pérez Rosa and Angel Martínez (both from the New Progressive ...

, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008,

José Emilio González Velázquez José Emilio González Velázquez is a Puerto Rican politician and Senator. He has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2004. Early years and studies José Emilio González graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1974 with a ...

and Angel Martínez Santiago were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

In 2019, there were 4 bridges in Camuy.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag is green like the coat of arms. A white undulating band runs horizontally across and is interrupted in the middle by the figure of the Camuy sun, in this case represented by the colors yellow and black.

Coat of arms

The silver-waving stripe symbolizes the Camuy River (interrupted in the center because the river goes underground for part of its trajectory). The three tower crown distinguishes Camuy as a municipality.

Education

Camuy currently has 17 public schools and a community college.

Gallery

Parroquia San Jose - Camuy, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, The Camuy parish church in downtown Camuy Flamenco and other birds in Camuy, Puerto Rico.jpg, Flamingo and other birds in Yeguada barrio in Camuy

References

External links

Camuy and its barrios, United States Census Bureau, 2000

{{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area Populated places established in 1807 1807 establishments in Puerto Rico