Gurabo () 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' ...

in eastern

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 ...

. It is located in the central eastern region, north of San Lorenzo; south of Trujillo Alto; east of Caguas; and west of Carolina and Juncos. Gurabo is spread over 9 barrios and Gurabo Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Gurabo's history dates as far back as the 17th century, when it was actually part of Caguas. Then, the area was known as ''Burabo''. By 1700, transportation, medical and economic troubles were crippling the population of the ''Burabo'' area; traveling to Caguas' center for business and medical help was not easy and took hours. This led many of ''Burabos citizens to seek autonomy for the area. It would be long, however, before Gurabo was separated from Caguas. The separation movement was brought forward by an 1812 meeting of all 168 family leaders in Gurabo, who decided to have Luis del Carmen Echevarría lead them in their quest for independence, based on the large number of residents in ''Burabo''. In 1815, Gurabo became a municipality. In 1822, the first

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 ...

church in town was erected. In 1903, the first

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

opened its doors in Gurabo town. Gurabo is also known as "''La Ciudad de las Escaleras''", or the "City of Stairs". Located in the town center district of El Cerro, the stairs ( step streets) are about twenty-two floors high, and they are painted in bright colors. Gurabo's mayor is Rosachely Rivera Santana. The significant amount of rainfall from

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 ...

triggered numerous landslides in Gurabo on September 20, 2017. Many people had to be rescued from floods and 489 homes were destroyed.

Geography

Gurabo is located on the east side of Puerto Rico in the Caguas Valley.

Bodies of water

Located in Gurabo are a number of rivers, streams, and unnamed creeks. The main river to cross the municipality is the Gurabo and a portion of the Loíza River runs through Gurabo. In 2018, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

announced work would be done on Gurabo River.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Gurabo is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , located near the center of the municipality. # Celada #

Gurabo barrio-pueblo Gurabo barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Gurabo, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,509. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo'' which co ...

# Hato Nuevo #

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

# Jaguas # Mamey #

Masa ''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', '' tamales'', '' pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour f ...

# Navarro # Quebrada Infierno # Rincón

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 Gurabo: El Cerro, Estancias de Hato Nuevo, and Villa Alegre.

Climate

Economy

Agriculture

*Dairy farms

Industry

Manufacturing (metal, paper, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, and electrical machinery).

Tourism

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 Gurabo page lists , , and , as places of interest.

Landmarks and places of interest

Some landmarks and places of interest in Gurabo include: * - Exhibition Center * El Cerro * Former City Hall and Clock * Church of San José * Luis Muñoz Marín Plaza (main square of the downtown area) * - Mirador Estate * University of Turabo Museum * Cofresí Park

Culture

Festivals and events

Gurabo 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 March. 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 Gurabo include: * , which roughly translates to the "Festival of the person who is ''down on their luck''". The seventh annual fair was held in May, 2017. With the assistance of a local bank, funds are collected to help any person in the community with severe medical needs. * Home Garden Festival (May) * Youth Festival (May) * Mapeyé Festival (October)

Sports

Gurabo has a baseball academy named Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School (PRBAHS). Colegio Bautista de Gurabo (Sports: Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Softball, Track and Field.) colegiobautistadegurabo.com

Demographics

In 2000, Gurabo had a population of 36,743 and in 2010 it had a population of 45,369. In 2020, the population dropped to 40,622.

Government

Like all municipalities in

, Gurabo is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Rosachely Rivera Santana, from the New Progressive Party (PNP). Rivera was first elected as part of a special election held on April 2, 2017. Rivera Santana has since been re-elected two times, most recently at the 2024 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VII, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024, Wanda Soto Tolentino and Luis Daniel Colón La Santa were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 20 bridges in Gurabo.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

With eleven stripes, six green and five yellow, alternated, the yellow with the superior (top) edge indented forming a stairway.

Coat of arms

In a green field resides a widened gold patriarchal cross. Below the bottom arm are two shields in silver. The one on the left has a fleur de lis and the one on the right three lilies with stems in a natural way. Three towers in gold crown the shield.

Education

* Ana G. Mendez University, Gurabo campus in Navarro *Puerto Rico Criminal Justice College - Gurabo campus ( Puerto Rico Police Academy)

References

External links

Welcome to Puerto Rico! Gurabo
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1815 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area 1815 establishments in Puerto Rico