Cidra () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

located in the central region of the island, north of

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north east of Salinas and north of Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east o ...

; south of Comerío and Aguas Buenas; east of

Aibonito Aibonito () is a small mountain town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range, north of Salinas; south of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Coamo; and west of Cidra, and Cayey. Aibonito is spread over 8 ...

and Barranquitas; and west 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 ...

. Cidra is spread over 12 barrios and Cidra Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cidra is known as ''"El Pueblo de la Eterna Primavera"'' (" Town of the Eternal Spring") and ''"El Pueblo de la Paloma Sabanera"'' (" Town of the Plain Pigeon").

History

The region of what is now Cidra belonged to the

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 ...

region of Cubuy, which covered a portion of the center of Puerto Rico. The region was led by cacique Caguax. There are not many records that show that the region was populated after the Spanish colonization. However, it is believed that around 1795, a Catalan named Frujols built a hermitage or shrine around which a small village settled. The settlement became a ward of

, until 1807 when the residents gave the power to Victoriano de Rivera to ask the Governor for permission to found an independent town. In 1809, a landowner known as Bibiana Vázquez donated the land needed for the foundation, and Governor Salvador Meléndez approved the petition. Victoriano de Rivera was appointed to lead the town, but he was quickly replaced by Wenceslao Vázquez due to illness. At the time of its foundation, Cidra had 26 houses and 11 huts. It is believed that its name is derived from the

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

fruit which was widely cultivated in the region. During the years following its foundation, a church and city hall were built. By 1822, there were already two public schools in town. Two years later, a road communicating the town with

was opened. In 1868, the population of Cidra was more than 5,000 residents, which included European immigrants and slaves. 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 a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States conducted its first

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 population of Cidra was 7,552. In 1902, the

Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico () is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an uppe ...

approved a law for the consolidation of certain municipalities. As a result, Cidra was again incorporated to the town of

. However, in 1905 a new law revoked the previous one, turning Cidra into an independent municipality again.

Hurricane Maria

A category 5, and high-end category 4

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

when it hit Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Cidra. A week before

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria, Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered ...

, another category 5 had passed over Puerto Rico causing some damage. With Hurricane María, some areas of Cidra experienced more than 25 landslides per kilometer. Citizens, with machetes in hand, worked to clear the roadways of debri after the hurricane hit, especially in Rabanal,

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

and

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

, barrios of Cidra located at high altitudes. 1500 homes were left without a roof and many would never receive funds for repairs. One local (analog) radio antenna survived the catastrophe allowing for some communication within the town to take place. Before the hurricane there had been plans to eliminate the radio tower, but when 92.7% of Puerto Rico's towers were destroyed by the hurricane, plans to eliminate the analog radio tower were scrapped.

Puerto Rico Highway 172 Puerto Rico Highway 172 (PR-172) is a secondary highway that connects Caguas, Puerto Rico at PR-1 to downtown Cidra, Puerto Rico and continues its way to its end at Puerto Rico Road 156 in Comerío, Puerto Rico. It is a two-lane per direction ...

, the main highway into Cidra from the

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

area had to remain closed for repairs for five months. It was not until six months after the hurricane struck that power was restored to Cidra.

Geography

Cidra is located at the top of a hill in the eastern part of the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

. It is bordered by the municipalities of Aguas Buenas,

, and Comerío. Cidra is a small municipality, covering only 36.1 square miles (94 km²).

Water features

Cidra's hydrographic system consists mainly of reservoir, located in the municipality. The reservoir, which was built in 1946, provides water to several areas in the island. There are also several rivers and creeks that cross the town like Arroyata, Bayamón, and

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Fauna

The town is known for being the nesting place of the paloma sabanera (a subspecies of the plains pigeon). The bird, which is at risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

, is currently found mostly in the municipality of Cidra and other nearby municipalities. In addition, there is various species of fish residing in the Lago de Cidra, as well as

iguanas ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described by Austrian naturalist J.N. Laurenti in 1768. Two species are plac ...

which have been introduced into the surrounding the area and are now considered an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cidra 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. # Arenas # Bayamón #

Beatriz Beatriz (, ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese female first name. It corresponds to the Latin name Beatrix and the English and Italian name Beatrice. The name in Latin means 'brings joy' and in other languages also means 'she who brings oth ...

# Certenejas #

Cidra barrio-pueblo Cidra barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Cidra, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,064. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo'' which con ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

# Monte Llano # Rabanal # Rincón #

Río Abajo Río Abajo is a Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento within Panama City, in Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama with a population of 26,607 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 33,155; its population as of 2000 was 28,714. It is ...

# Salto #

Sud Sud or SUD may refer to: Places * Sud (Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg constituency), a constituency in Luxembourg * Sud (department), an administrative subdivision of Haiti * Sud Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of ...

# Toíta

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called (''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. In the EU context, the Euro ...

. 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 Cidra: , and .

Places of interest

Although Cidra is not known as a tourist main stop, it has some attractions. The town center features historic places like the church and the Iberia Theater, both built during the first half of the 20th century. On the outskirts of the town, there is Lake Cidra and Perico's Waterfalls. Frog's Rock and Hamacas Bridge are also landmarks visited by tourists. The renovation of (children's park), which includes water features and a skatepark was completed in 2019. To stimulate local tourism, the

Puerto Rico Tourism Company The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (, or simply ''Turismo'') is the government-owned corporation in charge of tourism matters and regulations in Puerto Rico. The company was created during Governor Luis A. Ferré's administration (1969-1973) to coo ...

launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Cidra page lists , , and , as places of interest.

Economy

The economy of Cidra has relied mostly on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, particularly

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, and minor fruits.

Cattle ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, 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 ap ...

ing is also a source of economy in the town. In recent years, pharmaceutical and clothing industries have become participants of the economy of Cidra.

Culture

Festivals and events

Cidra celebrates its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

festival in July. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. A number of cultural events take place during the year, most prominently: *

Myrna Vázquez Myrna Vázquez (1935-1975) was a Puerto Rican screen, stage, radio, and television actress. She later became an influential community activist in Boston's South End. Early life and career She was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico, in 1935, one of se ...

Week - held in February * Paloma Sabanera Festival - held in early December

Religion

There are a number of churches and chapels from several denominations in Cidra. The main

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish, Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen, was established in 1813. The original structure was destroyed by earthquakes in the 1860s, but completely rebuilt by 1952. Cidra's patron saint is the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Its festivities are held each July. Also in front of the town square is the First Baptist Church, which was established by missionary Edgar Humphrey in 1903. The original wood structure was destroyed in 1928 by San Felipe Hurricane, but rebuilt in concrete, wood, and zinc.

Sports

Cidra doesn't have a professional sports team, however, they have a successful amateur team, Bravos de Cidra, that participate in the Puerto Rican Amateur Baseball Federation. The Bravos team has won nine championships, and as of 2014, are en route to win their third consecutive one. The main baseball facility is the Jesús María Freire Stadium, where the Bravos play. Cidra is also the birthplace of several important figures in the Puerto Rican sports scene. Some of them are former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

players Luis Rivera and Luis López, as well as former coach of the

Puerto Rico men's national basketball team The Puerto Rico national basketball team () represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation (), The team represents both FIBA and FIBA Americas. Since joining FIB ...

Flor Meléndez Flor Meléndez Montañez (born January 12, 1947) is a Puerto Rican retired basketball player and current coach. He is a former head coach of Puerto Rico men's national basketball team, Puerto Rico’s men’s national basketball team, Argentina ...

. Boxer José Pedraza was also born in Cidra.

Notable Cidreños

* Pura Belpré * Vicente Carattini - Singer and Composer of Puerto Rican Christmas related songs * Isabel Freire de Matos - was a writer, educator, journalist, and activist for Puerto Rican independence *

Antonio Torres Pérez Antonio Torres Rodriguez born in Cidra, Puerto Rico is a Puerto Rican comedian better known as Pancholo. He has also worked as an animator, writer, and producer. Career The beginnings in show-business of Antonio Torres Pérez, known in the artis ...

(Pancholo) - Actor and Comedian *

Felito Félix Felito Félix (born June 13, 1939) is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and song composer whose musical career has lasted for 69 years. He has recorded 67 albums. In addition, he is the composer of the municipal hymn of his hometown, Cidra, Puerto Rico ...

- Singer. *

Carmen Vazquez Rivera Carmen Maria Vazquez Rivera de FigueroaThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name '' "Vazquez"'' and the second or matrimonial family name is ''"Rivera"''. (February 15, 1922 – March 8, 2025) was a Puert ...

- Head Nurse and decorated veteran of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

who was among the Puerto Rican women that served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and later the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Demographics

The population of Cidra increased steadily during the 20th Century. Since 1899, the population has risen more than 200%. According to the 2010 census, the municipality had 43,480 inhabitants. The 2020 census shows a decline in population to 39,970. According to the 2010 Census, 77% of the population identifies themselves as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, and 8.3% as

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Also, 48.9% of the population identified themselves as males, and 51.1% as females. Finally, 25% of the population is under 18 years old. The next biggest percentage of population (20.7%) is between 35 and 49 years old.

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Cidra is Delvis Pagán Clavijo, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was first elected at the 2024 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024,

Rafael Santos Ortiz Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

and Wilmer Reyes Berríos were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms. The coat of arms, flag and seal of Cidra were designed by J.J. Santa Pinter and approved on September 25, 1975 by Cidra.

Flag and coat of arms

The flag of Cidra features one brown vertical stripe on the left side, with a width of about one-third the length of the flag. It also features two equal-sized horizontal stripes to the right side of the brown one. The above stripe is green, while the lower one is yellow, or golden. The golden color symbolizes the richness of the fruits and its hydrography, as well as the spiritual wealth of the region. The green symbolizes the green landscape that can be seen in Cidra throughout the year, which is also the reason why the town is called the "Town of the Eternal Spring". The brown symbolizes the

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, patron saint of the town, and also the Paloma sabanera that is widely seen in the area. Some versions of the flag also feature the coat of arms on the left hand side, over the intersection of the three stripes. The coat of arms was approved in the 1970s by the Municipal Assembly. It features a red band crossing the shield diagonally, from left to right. Over the red band lies a golden

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, which is believed to be one of the reasons for the town's name, and a

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

of fruits, which alludes to Cidra's role as one of the major producers of fruits of the island. The upper field is either white or silver, and features two symbols: a black

scapular A scapular () is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular ...

representing the Virgin, and a black bishop hat referencing San Juan Nepomuceno, bishop and martyr. The lower field is mostly blue and features a brown pigeon flying over a mountain range, representing the location of the town in the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. It acts as a barrier between the east and west coasts, hindering travel. The tallest peak of the range is ...

, and a set of silver water waves. The whole seal is capped by a three-tower crown, which is usually seen in municipal seals in the island.

Nicknames

Cidra is known mostly by two names. It is known as the ''"Town of the Eternal Spring"'' for its cool temperatures. It is also known as the ''"Town of the Plain Pigeon"'' because of the abundance of that bird in the town.

Education

There are around 15 public schools in Cidra. As with all other municipalities, education is handled by the

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of five jurisdiction-wide public education systems in the United States, with Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa being the others. The PRDOE is the state education ...

Elementary school

*Ceiba ''Nueva'' - Ceiba *Luis Muñoz Rivera - Cidra *Escuela Regino Vega Martínez - (Anterior: Escuela Nueva Santa Clara, Escuela Nueva de Arenas) *Violeta Reyes (PreK-8) - Río Abajo

Junior high school

* Jesús T. Piñero (7-8) - Cidra

Mixed (elementary/junior high)

* Clemencia Meléndez Santos - Rabanal * Certenejas (I & II) - Certenejas * Juan D. Stubbe - Bayamón

High school

*Ana J. Candelas - Sud *Luis Muñoz Iglesias - Cidra *Vocacional Ruth Evelyn Cruz - Sud *Escuela Especializada en Música Jesús T. Piñero - Pueblo

Transportation

The main road to Cidra is Road 172, which branches out from the

Puerto Rico Highway 52 Puerto Rico Highway 52 (PR-52), a major toll road in Puerto Rico, is also known as . It was formerly called . It runs from PR-1 in southwest Río Piedras and heads south until it intersects with highway PR-2 in Ponce. At its north end, the s ...

. Its distance from the capital is approximately 40 minutes. Other roads that lead to the town are #787 and #173. There are 19 bridges in Cidra.

References

External links

Puerto Rico Government Directory - Cidra
{{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1809 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area