Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also known as La Sultana del Oeste (The Sultaness of the West), Ciudad de las Aguas Puras (City of Pure Waters), or Ciudad del Mangó (Mango City). On April 6, 1894, the Spanish Crown granted it the formal title of Excelente Ciudad de Mayagüez (Excellent City of Mayagüez).Loida Figueroa, "Escudo de Mayagüez" Anuario de las Fiestas Patronales, 1977 Mayagüez is located in the center of the western coast on the island of Puerto Rico. It has a population of 73,077, and it is the principal city of the Mayagüez Metropolitan Statistical Area (pop. 213,831) and the Mayagüez–Aguadilla, PR Combined Statistical Area (pop. 467,599).
History
The Mayagüez Metro Area (and part of Añasco) lies today on two former Taíno Cacicazgos (chiefdoms): Yaguex and Yagüeca, a region noted for its record of colonial resistance (i.e., Urayoán and Legend of Diego Salcedo). The Tainos constituted the majority of the island's inhabitants at the time of contact with Europeans in 1493 and called it Boriquen or Borinquen. Today, this appellation and its variations continue to designate the Island of Puerto Rico and its people. The Taínos came from South American branches of Arawakan speakers, more specifically from modern-day Venezuela, and lived in small villages, organized their society in clans and named their chiefs Cacique. They were farmers who domesticated crops as pineapples, cassava, and sweet potatoes supplemented by fish and seafood.
Mayagüez was founded on September 18, 1760, by a group led by brothers Faustino and Lorenzo Martínez de Matos, Juan de Silva and Juan de Aponte, at a hill located about one kilometer inland from Mayagüez Bay and the outlet of the Yagüez River. The Spanish Crown granted the founders the right to self-government in 1763, formally separating the town from the larger Partido de San Germán. The settlement was named Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Our Lady of Candelaria of Mayagüez) to evoke an apparition of the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. Most of the town's settlers, including its founders, migrated from the archipelago, whose patron saint is the Virgin of Candelaria.
On May 7, 1836, the settlement was elevated to the royal status of villa, and Rafael Mangual was named its first mayor. At the time, the villa's principal economic activity was agriculture. The famous patriot, educator, sociologist, philosopher, essayist and novelist Eugenio María de Hostos was born in Mayagüez in 1839. On July 10, 1877, the villa received its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.
Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Mayagüez was 35,700, making it one of the largest towns in Puerto Rico at the time.
The city's main Roman Catholic church, Our Lady of the Candelaria, was built in a plot consecrated on August 21, 1760. Its first masonry building was erected in 1780. The current church was built in 1836, and was rebuilt in 1922. The redesign by architect Luis Perocier sought to restore the building to its original splendor. The 1918 San Fermín earthquake had destroyed the temple's ceiling, and a lightning bolt struck and tore down a wedge-shaped corner of one of its two bell towers. However, lack of proper funding and the extent of the damage of the original structure forced the rebuilding to be scaled-down considerably.
In 1911, the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was founded in Mayagüez. Today it is known as the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM)—the Caribbean's leading engineering institution.
Between 1962 and 1998 Mayagüez was a major tuna canning and processing center. At one time, 80% of all tuna products consumed in the United States were packed in Mayagüez (the biggest employer, StarKist, had 11,000 employees working three daily shifts in the local plant's heyday). Mayagüez was also a major textile industry hub; almost a quarter of all drill uniforms used by the United States Army were sewn in the city. Today, Mayagüez is the fifth-largest city in Puerto Rico and is considered one of the most important cities in the island. The city is centered on the impressive Spanish-style main square Plaza Colón, a tribute to Christopher Columbus, whose statue stands in the middle of the square, surrounded by 16 bronze statues.
Mayagüez has become a major college town with the establishment of the UPRM, the now closed Eugenio María de Hostos Law School and the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico.
On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. In Mayagüez, losses were described as "catastrophic". The storm triggered numerous landslides in Mayagüez. In some areas of Mayagüez, there were over 25 landslides per square mile due to the deluge.
Geography Mayagüez is located near the geographical center of the western coast of Puerto Rico about two to three hours by automobile from San Juan. Its land area is 77.6 square miles (201.06 km2). The municipality's terrain includes coast plains, river valleys, marshland, hills and mountains. The highest point is Pico San Bernardo (1,596.9 ft. / 487 m), located in the western edge of the Cordillera Central and close to the municipal border with Las Marías. Of its multiple rivers and streams, the two most important are the Yagüez River, which flows from the Central Mountain Range through downtown until it empties into the Mona Passage; and the Río Guanajibo, which flows through several neighborhoods in the southern portion of the municipality until it empties in the Mona Passage.
National protected areas The Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge on Desecheo Island is a protected area.
To the north of the El Maní community in Mayagüez is the Boquilla Creek Wildlife Reserve (Reserva Natural del Caño de la Boquilla), a protected area and the habitat of endangered species.
Climate Mayagüez has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The city has the most extreme weather of the island. The high frequency of severe storms in the summer can produce strong winds, floods, waterspouts, and sometimes hail and even tornadoes. The average annual temperature is . Winter is usually quite dry and warm, with temperatures between and . Summer is usually very hot and humid, with temperatures reaching , with heat index of up to . From May to October, most evenings experience strong thunderstorms, due to heat, humidity and the topography of the area.
Cityscape
Barrios The municipio has an estimated population of just over 100,000 spread over 21 barrios (barrios) including Mayagüez Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). One of the barrios is Isla de Mona e Islote Monito, which consists of the offshore islands of Mona Island and Monito Island. This is the largest ward by land area and at the same time the only one without any permanent population. Also, uninhabited Desecheo Island belongs to the municipality as part of Sabanetas barrio.
Algarrobos Bateyes Guanajibo Isla de Mona e Islote Monito Juan Alonso Leguísamo Limón Malezas Mayagüez Arriba Mayagüez barrio-pueblo Miradero Montoso Naranjales Quebrada Grande Quemado Río Cañas Abajo Río Cañas Arriba Río Hondo Rosario Sábalos Sabanetas
Mayagüez Pueblo is further subdivided into these barrios:
Candelaria Cárcel Marina Septentrional Marina Meridional Río Salud
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.
The sectors that comprise Mayagüez City are:
Balboa Barcelona El Seco El Liceo El Pueblo La Mineral La Quinta París Trastalleres
Other notable neighborhoods or sectors: El Maní—community in Sabanetas Mayagüez Terrace—development in Algarrobo, near the UPRM Campus Alturas de Mayagüez—development in Algarrobo, near the Holiday Inn Hotel and the Regional Distribution Center El Cerro de las Mesas—known for being the home of "CROEM" and for its picture perfect views of the city from Camino Berrios. Buena Vista—a hilltop picturesque community next to the downtown area. Colombia—a famous former slum, alongside a Government Center. Columbus Landing—the second oldest public housing project (caserio) in Puerto Rico. Dulces Labios—a picturesque community alongside PR-2 famous for its history and its musical activities. Ensanche Martínez (La Bosque)—student area, near the UPRM Campus. Ensanche Ramírez—a hilltop high class development, near the UPRM Campus. Ensanche Vivaldi—student area, near the UPRM Campus. La Riviera—student area. Ponce de León—development in Mayagüez Arriba next to Luis Muñoz Rivera Park (eastern outskirts). Santurce—community next to the Old Municipal Cemetery. Vadi-Cristy—community alongside PR-2 and the downtown area.
Special Communities
(Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. 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 Mayagüez: Balboa, Barrio Salud, Buena Vista, Central Igualdad, Dulces Labios, El Maní, El Quemado, Felices Días, La Chorra, La Quinta, Leguízamo, Mayagüez Arriba, Parcelas Rolón, Polvorín, Quebrada Grande, Río Cañas, Río Hondo, Rosario, and Trastalleres.
Demographics
According to 2009 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there were 92,156 people (down from 98,434 in 2000) in 38,469 housing units residing in Mayagüez. The population density was . The city has a considerable "college population" adding approximately 10,000 people to the year round population of Mayagüez. People of Hispanic or Latino origin, who may be of any race, composed 98.9% of the population.
Of the 31,877 households in 2007 in Mayagüez, 38.6% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households 27.8% were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.41.
In Mayagüez, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. Mayagüez had more women, with 88.4 males for every 100 females.
As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 15.14% of the population.MLA Data Center Results for Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Modern Language Association. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
Mayagüez 2020 census Race Population % White14,37219.7 Black3,3314.6 American Indian and Alaska Native3060.4 Asian1020.1 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander240.0 Some other race16,87823.1 Two or more races38,06452.1
Economy