San Lorenzo (, ; Spanish for "''

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

"'') 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 eastern central region, north of Patillas and Yabucoa; south of Gurabo; east 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

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 ...

; and west of Juncos and Las Piedras. San Lorenzo is spread over twelve barrios and San Lorenzo Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Lorenzo is called "''The town of the

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

''" and ''"Land of Legends''." The patron of the municipality is ( Our Lady of Mercedes). The surrounding areas produce

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

sugar cane 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 ...

History

According to

Cayetano Coll y Toste Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste (November 30, 1850 – November 19, 1930), was a Puerto Rican historian and writer, who served as Official Historian of Puerto Rico from 1913 until his death in 1930. He was the founder and editor of the fourteen volum ...

, a Puerto Rican historian, San Lorenzo was founded in 1811.

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 ...

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in San Lorenzo with the significant amount of rainfall. South Atlantic Division (SAD) USACE in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.jpg, South Atlantic Division (SAD) USACE in San Lorenzo USACE working in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, 7 months after Hurricane Maria (2017).jpg, USACE working to restore power in San Lorenzo, 7 months after Hurricane Maria USACE restoring power to San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico.jpg, USACE restoring power to San Lorenzo in April 2018

Geography

San Lorenzo is located in the eastern central region, north of Patillas and Yabucoa; south of Gurabo; east of

and

; and west of Juncos and Las Piedras. The town is located on a high valley that is formed by the

Río Grande de Loíza The Rio Grande de Loíza (English language, English: ''Great River of Loíza'' or ''Loíza River'') is a river in the Geography of Puerto Rico, main island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. Situated on th ...

which flows northwestwards towards the Caguas Valley. The town is located on the San Lorenzo Batholith, which is a mountainous region composed of intrusive

igneous rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

. It is bordered by the

Sierra de Luquillo The Sierra de Luquillo (English: "Luquillo Mountains") is a steep-sided, high-precipitation, and deeply-forested subrange of the Cordillera Central mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. Separated from the southeastern Sierra de Cayey ...

to the north and by the

Sierra de Cayey The Sierra de Cayey ( English: "Cayey Mountains") is one of three subranges of the Cordillera Central mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is demarcated from the eponymous main subrange of ''Cordillera Central'' by the San Crist� ...

to the south.

Rivers

* Río Cayaguás * Río Emajagua *

Río de las Vegas The Río de las Vegas is a river of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico List of rivers in Puerto Rico ( U.S. Commonwealth), sorted by drainage basin and then alphabetically. There are 47 main rivers and 24 lagoons ...

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, San Lorenzo is subdivided into barrios and barrios are further divided into sectors. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as . # Cayaguas # Cerro Gordo # Espino #

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

# Hato # Jagual #

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 ...

# Quebrada Arenas # Quebrada Honda #

Quemados Quemados is a barrio in the municipality of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,712. History Quemados was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms ...

San Lorenzo barrio-pueblo San Lorenzo barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of San Lorenzo, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,045. As was customary in Spain, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo'' which contains ...

Sectors

Barrios (which are like 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 San Lorenzo: Roosevelt neighborhood, El Bosque, La Marina, Parcelas Jagual (Nuevas y Viejas), Parcelas Quemados and Sector Los Oquendo. Between 2013 and until their arrest by the FBI in 2019, dozens of drug traffickers were operating in the Roosevelt neighborhood and near the Lorenzana

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

residential units in San Lorenzo.

Demographics

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

*Priscilla Flores Theater *Santuario de la Virgen del Carmen in Montaña Santa *Gallera San Carlos * Residencia Machín–Ramos *

(its main source is located within municipal boundaries) * Iglesia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (the church located on the main town square); a historic church built in 1737 and renovated in 1993. * Hacienda Muñoz

Economy

;Agriculture The economy of San Lorenzo was founded on livestock farming and later included the cultivation of sugar cane, which had been processed on steam-driven farms with oxen. Coffee and fruits are also now cultivated in the municipality. Timber production, which was once very prolific, has declined due to the uncontrolled exploitation of forests. ;Industry Clothing, pharmaceuticals, footwear, electromechanical equipment, industrial and household paints.

Culture

Festivals and events

San Lorenzo 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 September. 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 San Lorenzo include: *Three Kings Caroling-January *Cavalcade Moncho Roldán-January *Candelaria Celebrations-February *Kite Festival-March *Cross Celebrations-May *Embroidering and Weave Festival-September *Passion Fruit Festival-November

Sports

Double-A (baseball) Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each te ...

team - National Champions in 1975, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 * Agustin Reyes Half Marathon

Government

Like all municipalities in

, San Lorenzo is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Jaime Alverio Ramos, from the New Progressive Party (PNP). Alverio was first elected at the 2020 general election. 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 Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 49 bridges in San Lorenzo.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag of San Lorenzo is divided in four rectangles of equal size, two rectangles are yellow and the other two are striped with red and yellow stripes.

Coat of arms

The grill is the traditional symbol of San Lorenzo, deacon and martyr, patron of the town, because in a grill he underwent the martyrdom, slowly burned to death. The hill or mountain represent the Gregorio Hill, which dominates the San Lorenzo panorama. The cross is one of the heraldic attributes of San Miguel Arcángel.

Notable people

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce, better known under the stage name Chayanne, (born June 28, 1968) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

- Singer and actor * Ernestina Reyes “La Calandria” - Singer *

José Tous Soto José Tous Soto (October 2, 1874 – March 22, 1933) was a Puerto Rican politician and former Senator and Representative. Early years and education José Tous Soto was born in San Lorenzo on October 2, 1874. He graduated with a Doctorate in Ci ...

- Former Speaker House Of Representatives *Antonio Fernós-Isern - Former Resident Commissioner *José Aponte Hernandéz - Former Speaker House Of Representatives *

Carmita Jiménez Carmita Jiménez (August 3, 1939 – August 10, 2003) was a Puerto Rican singer who was considered a diva in Puerto Rico. She was born in San Lorenzo. Carmita Jiménez started her singing career at the young age of six, on the radio show nam ...

- Singer * Priscila Flores - Singer * El Invader #1- Puerto Rican wrestler * Dr. Marc H. Rosa, - Former Teacher, School Administrator And University Professor * Josúe "Jay" Fonseca - Political Commentator * Edwin Cruz - Lead Singer - “Mechi” * Antulio Parrilla Bonilla - Father of Puerto Rican

Cooperative Movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest. * Victor Rivera - Wrestler

References

External links

San Lorenzo and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Puerto Rico Government Directory - San Lorenzo
{{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1811 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area