Bairoa is a

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 delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

or district in the municipality of

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a Caguas barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Cordillera Central (Puer ...

. Its population in 2020 was 18,197. There are close to 60 sectors in Bairoa.

Name

The ''

'' of Bairoa gets its name from the

Bairoa River The Bairoa River () is a river of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Geography The Bairoa River is one of the two main streams that traverse the Caguas Valley from west to east (the other being the Cagüitas River), both of which emptying into the Loíza ...

which crosses the area from west to east and flows into the Loíza River. There are numerous theories about the name meaning of ''Bairoa''. The word ''bairoa'' is most likely of

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

origin and it possibly comes from the word ''baira'', which is either the native name for the tree '' Chrysophyllum cainito'', or a native word meaning "forest", "wood" or "tree bark", or from the word ''paira'' meaning " bow".

Sectors and demographics

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) 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. The following sectors are in Bairoa:

History

The area of Bairoa was originally inhabited by the

people. At the time of the Spanish arrival the area was under control of ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'' (tribal chief) Caguax, from whom the city of Caguas gets its name. The first European settlement in the area was the ''Hato de Bairoa'', a cattle farm established and developed between the years 1525 and 1600. The first mention of Bairoa as a district of Caguas comes from the colonial municipal budget documents of 1821 as ''Bairoa Abajo'' and ''Bairoa Arriba'' (modern day Bairoa, Aguas Buenas). During this time the economy of the barrio was primarily the cultivation of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and minor fruits, and

cattle raising A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...

. Bairoa was in Spain's

gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or wikt:directory, directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a co ...

s until Puerto Rico was ceded by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in 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, was signed by Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the ...

and became an

unincorporated territory of the United States Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

. 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, als ...

conducted a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the combined population of Borinquen barrio and Bairoa barrio was 3,870. According to the 2010 United States Census the population of Bairoa is of 19,258 residents, and the barrio today is primarily

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an and residential.

Landmarks and places of interest

* Altos de La Mesa and Altos de San Luis, two mountain ridges and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

s home to the Puerto Rican plain pigeon. * Bairoa Forest, secondary forest between the Valle Verde and Golden Gates neighborhoods. * ''Bairoa La 25'', original section of the historic Carretera Central along the Loíza River. * Bairoa Park, baseball field and sports complex. * Bairoa Shopping Center, one of the oldest shopping centers in Caguas. * ''El Mariachi'', Mexican-Puerto Rican restaurant popular with locals and visitors alike. * Monte Calvario Cemetery, crematorium and cemetery. * Plaza Centro Mall, former location of Central Santa Juana and a sugarcane refinery. * Bairoa Gym, a boxing gym that has produced many famous professional boxers, including

Alberto Mercado Alberto Mercado Monserrate (born January 2, 1961) is a former Jr. Featherweight boxing, boxer who was on the verge of fighting for a world title at least twice in his career. Amateur boxing career Mercado started boxing as an amateur at the ag ...

, Juan Carazo and multiple times world champion,

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win quadruple champion, world titles in fo ...

Gallery

File:Plaza Centro 2012.jpg, Plaza Centro, Christmas 2012. File:Valle de Caguas2.jpg, View of

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

and Bairoa (in the foreground) from Altos de San Luis.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Caguas government site
Barrios of Caguas, Puerto Rico