Guayama, Puerto Rico
17°59′37″N 66°7′51″W / 17.99361°N 66.13083°W
Guayama, Puerto Rico | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname(s): El Pueblo de los Brujos", "Ciudad Bruja", "La Ciudad del Guamaní | |
| Location within the island of Puerto Rico Location within the island of Puerto Rico | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | Puerto Rico |
| Founded | 1736 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hon. Glorymari Jaime (PNP) |
| • Senatorial dist. | 6 - Guayama |
| • Representative dist. | 30 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 81.37 sq mi (210.74 km2) |
| • Land | 65 sq mi (169 km2) |
| • Water | 16.12 sq mi (41.74 km2) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 44,301 |
| • Density | 680/sq mi (261/km2) |
| • Gentilic timezone = AST | Guayameses |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 |
| Anthem – "Viva Guayama, mi pueblo idolatrado" | |
Guayama (gwah-YAH-mah) is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded in January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, 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). It is the principal city of the Guayama Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the 2000 census, the city has a population of 44,301.
History
The town was founded in January 29, 1736 as San Antonio de Padua de Guayama by Matías de Abadía, although there is knowledge of it being populated by native Indians as early as 1567. 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 Place" (in Spanish Sitio Grande). It was Governor Don Tomás de Abadía who 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 Coamo 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.[1]
Flag
The flag of Guayama is made up of three stripes of different colors; From top to Bottom; Black, Yellow and Red. The black stands for the African slaves of Puerto Rico's past. The yellow represents sugar cane industry in Puerto Rico. 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.
Coat of Arms
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.
Demographics
Per Capita Income: $7,326 Source: 2000 Census
Barrios (Districts/Wards)
- Aguirre
- Algarrobo
- Barriada Marin
- Caimital
- Carite
- Carmen
- Barrio Guamani
- Jobos
- Las Mareas
- Machete
- Miramar
- Mosquito
- Pales Matos
- Palmas
- Pozo Hondo
- Pozuelo
- Santa Ana
- San Martin
- Vives
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[2]
Geo/Topography
- 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: Río Chiquito, Río Guamaní, Río de la Plata and Río Seco.
The annual precipitation is approximately 52 inches and the average temperature is 81°F.
Anthem
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.
Education
The education system in Guayama has three public high schools, which are Francisco Garcia Boyrie, Adela Brenes Texidor and Dr. Rafael Lopez Landrón). Guayama also counts with an Institute of Technology and the InterAmerican University of Guayama (Universidad Interamericana de Guayama in Spanish). It also has several private schools such as Academia San Antonio, Guamaní Private School, Saint Patrick's Bilingual School, Colegio San Antonio, Escuela Superior San Alfonso de Ligorio and Academia Adventista and more than 12 other public schools in the elementary and intermediate education levels.[3][4]
Sports
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
Notable "Guayameses"
- Andrés José de Rivera
- Catalino (Tite) Curet Alonso - Composer
- Eluterio Derkes
- 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
- Leopoldo Santiago Lavandero
- Marcos Antonio Vazquez Navarro
- Luis Palés Matos - Poet
- Vicente Palés Anés
- Elías Lopés- Musician
- Yentzen Gonzalez
- Jonathan Díaz
- Karla Monroig - Actress
- Pedro Santiago
Additional Information
References
- ^ Autoridades Escolares. Guayama Ciudad Encantada. Guayama, Departamento de Instrucción Pública, Distrito Escolar de Guayama, Programa de Estudios Sociales, 1988. (Spanish text)
- ^ "Guayama Municipio, Puerto Rico -- County Subdivision and Place" http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=05000US72057&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-PH1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-redoLog=false&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_CO2&-format=CO-2
- ^ Link To Puerto Rico.com - Guayama
- ^ Escuelas
External links
- Map of Guayama Puerto Rico
- Stats of Guayama
- Information about Guayama (In Spanish)
- History of Guayama (In Spanish)
- Historic Places in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
