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Guayama, Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guayama, Puerto Rico | |||
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| Nickname: El Pueblo de los Brujos", "Ciudad Bruja", "La Ciudad del Guamaní | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Territory | Puerto Rico | ||
| Founded | 1736 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Hon. Héctor L. "Gui" Colón (PPD) | ||
| - Senatorial dist. | 6 - Guayama | ||
| - Representative dist. | 30 | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 81.4 sq mi (210.74 km²) | ||
| - Land | 65.3 sq mi (169 km²) | ||
| - Water | 16.1 sq mi (41.74 km²) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 44,301 | ||
| - Density | 676/sq mi (261/km²) | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| Anthem – "Viva Guayama, mi pueblo idolatrado" | |||
Guayama (gwah-YAH-mah) is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).
This city of 44,301 inhabitants was founded on January 29, 1736.
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The town was founded in 1736 as San Antonio de Padua de Guayama by Matías de Abadía. Guayama took its name from an Indian leader, or cacique who governed the Southeastern region of the Island, the Guamaní cacique and the Guayama cacique. The meaning of the Indian name is “Great Site”. On January 29, 1736, Governor Don Tomás de Abadía officially declared Guayama a “pueblo” (town) with the name of San Antonio de Padua de Guayama. That same year the Catholic Church in town, San Antonio de Padua, was declared a Parish. In 1776 Guayama had 200 houses, the church and a central plaza. In the 1828 the construction of the King’s House (Casa del Rey) was completed. In 1881 Guayama is declared a Villa (First Order Municipality).
During the Spanish-American War, American forces under General Nelson A. Miles landed at Guanica near Ponce on July 26, 1898. The landing surprised the United States War Department no less than the Spanish, as Miles had been instructed to land near San Juan (the War Department learned of the landing through an Associate Press release.) However, en route to Puerto Rico Miles concluded that a San Juan landing was vulnerable to attack by small boats, and so changed plans. Ponce, said at the time to be the largest city in Puerto Rico, was connected with San Juan by a 70 mile military road, well defended by the Spanish at Coama and Aibonito. In order to flank this position, American Major General John R. Brooke landed at Arroyo, just east of Guayama, intending to move on Cayey, which is northwest of Guayama, along the road from Ponce to San Juan. General Brooke occupied Guayama August 5, 1898, after slight opposition, in the Battle of Guayama. On August 9, the Battle of Guamani took place north of Guayama. A more significant battle, the Battle of Abonito Pass, was halted on the morning of August 13 upon notification of the armistice between the United states and Spain.
The Guayama flag is made up of three stripes of different colors; From top to Bottom; Black, Yellow and Red. The black stands for the African slaves(Negro race)of Puerto Rico's past. The yellow represents sugar cane industry in PR. The red symbolizes the blood shed by Taíno indians in their fight against the Spanish/European colonizers. To the left of the top stripe we can see the Old Mill, which today is known as the Molino de Vives.
The shield is divided in four parts and in two of them part of a chessboard appears. The chessboard pattern represents the center of the city, which resembles a chessboard. It has two old mill towers. The laurel trees constitute a representation of the beautiful Recreation Plaza very well known for its trimmed trees. The three silver flowers symbolize San Antonio de Padua, patron of Guayama. The crown represents Cacique Guayama, name of the town. The big crown has four towers.
Per Capita Income: $7,326 Source: 2000 Census
- Algarrobo
- Caimital
- Carite
- Carmen
- Guamani
- Jobos
- Machete
- Palmas
- Pozo Hondo
Population, per 2000 census: Algarrobo 7,377; Caimital 4,505; Carite 1,157; Carmen 682; Guamaní 1,528 ; Guayama Pueblo 17,111; Jobos 7,706; Machete 2,509; Palmas 841; Pozo Hondo 885; Total 44,301
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- Islands include Cayo Caribes, Isla Morrillito and Mata Redonda.
- Carite Dam
- Gorges; Barros, Branderí , Cimarrona, Corazón , Culebra, Palmas Bajas, and Salada.
- Lake Melania
- Las Mareas Lagoon
- Rivers; Chiquito, Guamaní, Plata and Seco
The annual precipitation is approximately 52 inches and the average temperature is 81ºF.
By Néstor Cora Vera
¡Viva Guayama, mi pueblo idolatrado,
la bella patria chica donde nací!
Siempre recuerdo tu nombre venerado.
En mis angustias acuérdate de mí.
¡Viva Derkes, que viva Palés Matos,
grandes hombre de nuestro patrio lar!
Su recuerdo es muy grato
y a Guayama le vamos a cantar.
Recordemos, recordemos
a Guayama, con amor.
Recordemos, recordemos
a Guayama, con amor
son tus mujeres, cual ninfas escapadas.
- During 50;s to 70's sugar cane and fishing, but today Guayama is home to many pharmaceutical factories which is one of the main employer along with the service sector.
- Manufacturing (pharmaceuticals, chemicals and petrochemicals)
- Carite Lake
- Road #179, Guayama.
- Centro De Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Center)
- Named after Adolph Porrata Doria, the Fine Arts Center opened December 19, 1992. It is located in the former Superior Courts Building, a classical structure built in 1927.
- Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
- Located between the coasts of Salinas and Guayama, approximately 2,883 acres of mangrove forest and freshwater wetlands. Guided tours are offered upon request and reservation. Open Daily, 8:00am to 4:00pm.
- Molino de Vives
- The ruins of a former sugar mill, located in the Barrio of Machete. The tower is depicted on the upper left corner of the flag of Guayama.
- Municipal Library (Old Domínguez House)
- Plaza de Recreo or Plaza Colon
- The beautiful plaza square at the heart of the old city. In the center is a fountain brought from France in 1918. The most significant municipal buildings, such as The Mayor's House (Casa Alcalda), the Methodist Church (constructed immediately after the Spanish-American War), the Art Deco Theater Guayama (built in 1938), and the Church of San Antonio de Padua (1874) surround the Plaza.
- Las Mareas Lagoon
- Luis Palés Matos Statue, located in the Plaza de Recreo
- Museum Casa Cautiño
- A beautiful home designed in Spanish Creole . Constructed by local architect Manuel Texidor between 1882 and 1887. for Genaro Cautiño Vózquez. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña) obtained the house in 1987, and it opened as a museum the next year. Located in the town plaza. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
- Pozuelo Beach
- Punta de las Figuras Lighthouse
- Rodeo Beach
- Brujo Carnival - March
- The region around Guayama still honors African legends of sorcery and witchcraft. The *Brujo Carnival (brujo means warlock or spell) retells these old stories, and incorporates them into a weekend-long festival.
- Dulce Sueño Fair - March
- Paso Fino Fair - March
- Guayama Carnival - April
- Patron Festivities - June
- Every year, Guayama celebrates a patron saint festival. The festivities include dances, food, parades and religious processions.
- Jíbaro Festival - October
- Puerto Rican Week - December
Guayama basketball team from the BSN league.
2007 Roster (Last name) (First name) 01. Lopez Perez, Jose Alberto 04. Colon Colon, Angel Luis 07. Santiago Acosta, Ricardo 09. Rodriguez Mandes, Erick 10. Pagan Roque, Wilfredo 15. Collado Torres, Roberto 17. Wilson Wilder, Monty 18. Rivera Ortiz, Axel 20. Ortega Rios, Juan 21. Oliver , Jonathan 25. Davila Cordero, Miguel 28. Perez Tejeda, Rafael Alberto 33. Paniagua Medina, Angel 35. Freije Sievert, Matt 51. Salgado Sanchez, Gustavo
- Andrés José de Rivera
- Catalino (Tite) Curet Alonso - Composer
- Eluterio Kerkes
- Enrique Lefebre
- Fernando (Nuni) Calimano McCormick - Int'l Chef & Wine Expert
- Fran Cervoni
- Francisco Antonio Ortiz
- Manuel Rivera-Ortiz — International Photographer
- Francisco G. Bruno
- Francisco Porrata Doria
- Genaro Cautiño Insúa
- Jacinto Texidor
- Joaquin Lopez Lopez
- Jonathan Díaz
- Leopoldo Santiago Lavandero
- Marcos Antonio Vazquez Navarro
- Luis Palés Matos - Poet
- Vicente Palés Anés
- DJ Blass - Reggaeton producer
- DJ Jova - Reggaeton producer
- Cheka - Reggaeton rapper
- Plan B- Reggaeton duo
- Fade"el que pone la presion"- Reggaeton producer
- Elías Lopés- Musician
Marcos Antonio Vazquez Navarro
