| Caguas, Puerto Rico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Nickname(s): "La Ciudad del Turabo" (Turabo Valley), "La Ciudad Criolla" (Creole City) | |||
| Anthem: "Caguas" | |||
| Location of Caguas in Puerto Rico | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Territory | Puerto Rico | ||
| Founded | January 1, 1775 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | William Miranda Torres (PPD) | ||
| • Senatorial dist. | 7 | ||
| • Representative dist. | 31,32 | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 59.1 sq mi (153.00 km2) | ||
| • Land | 58.7 sq mi (151.97 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.4 sq mi (1.03 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 2,110 ft (643 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 142,893 | ||
| • Density | 2,418.9/sq mi (933.9/km2) | ||
| Demonym | Cagüeños | ||
| Ethnicity(2000 Census) [1] | |||
| • White | 84.5% | ||
| • Black | 0.3% | ||
| • American Indian/AN | 0.1% | ||
| • Asian | 0.0% | ||
| • Native Hawaiian/PI | 6.2% | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| Zip code | 00725, 00726, 00727 | ||
| Website | caguas.gov.pr | ||
Caguas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɣwas]), founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey.
Caguas is located 20 miles (32 km) (twenty minutes to an hour by car) from San Juan and 40 miles (64 km) (an hour and a half by car) from Ponce. It is known as El Valle del Turabo (Turabo Valley) or La Ciudad Criolla (The Creole City) and its name originates from the Taíno cacique Caguax. Caguas is both a principal city of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area.
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Caguas is located in the largest valley in Puerto Rico, the "Valle de Caguas" which it shares with Gurabo and part of Aguas Buenas. It is located approximately 30 minutes from the coastline both on the east (Humacao) and the north (San Juan), and is divided from Gurabo from the river of the same name. It is east of Aguas Buenas and Cidra, north of Cayey, south of San Juan, and west of Gurabo and Trujillo Alto. It also shares borders with Guayama and Patillas via a five-point border, with Cayey and San Lorenzo. At this point there are two tall antennas which provide signal to Puerto Rico's principal TV stations such as WKAQ-TV and WAPA-TV. No road passes exactly at this point, and it can be approached nearby through Puerto Rico Highway 184. Being a valley, Caguas has the distinction of being relatively flat except near the borders with all the mentioned municipalities except Gurabo.
Originally called San Sebastián del Piñal de Caguax, Caguas derives its name from a local Indian chief (Caguax) who was an early Christian convert.
During the 1980s the city was directed by Mayor Angel O. Berrios and Miguel Hernández, and was more recently led by Mayor William Miranda Marín until his recent death. Mayors Berrios and Miranda Marín are both members of the PPD which has led the city for many years. Previous mayors include Manuel Seoane and Angel Rivera. During his tenure mayor William Miranda Marín enacted major, and lasting, municipal improvements.
The colors blue and gold were chosen for the shield, distinctive of the city of Caguas. The figures symbolize both the indigenous and Christian origins of this city.
The coat of arms consists of a shield with a blue field. Upon the field are two sets of three golden arrows, forming a cross of St. Andrew. Above the cross is a crown which represents Caguax, cacique of the Turabo Valley at the time of the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.
Arrows were used as a remembrance of the first Christian place of worship established in the region which was dedicated under the patronage of St. Sebastian. There are pineapples interspersed to reflect the native agriculture. A castellated wall surmounts the shield to show the city's having been granted status as a municipality by the Spanish Crown.
On the flag, the shield sits atop another blue field on which the cross of arrows is repeated.
In September 2005 City Mayor William Miranda Marin levied the first Municipal tax in Puerto Rico via city ordinance. Area Merchants now charge a one cent tax for every dollar spent on all retail businesses. The tax has become known around the island as the "Willie Tax." It resulted in an estimated $500,000 monthly income for the city. However, the municipal tax was increased to 1.5% after the establishment of the 5.5% state tax for a total of 7%.
During 2006, Miranda Marin began calling Caguas "El Nuevo Pais de Caguas" ("The New Country of Caguas").
Its community has enjoyed one of the more robust economies amongst Puerto Rican cities since the 1980s. During the early part of the 20th century, Caguas hosted one of Puerto Rico's most important sugar manufacturers, which gave employment to thousands of Cagüeños.
Numerous businesses and important buildings have opened in Caguas since the 1980s, including the imposing 23 story apartment building Caguas Tower, its adjacent competitors Bonneville Apartments, and the 10 floor San Juan Bautista Medical Center. There are also several shopping malls:
Public transportation in Caguas, as in most of Puerto Rico, is limited to small "guaguas públicas" (Mini Bus). There is service to and from San Juan and Rio Piedras, inexpensive but slow. Within Caguas, several buses and taxis serve the town.
A "light interurban rail" system connecting Caguas to San Juan is in the planning stages, and will act as a feeder for the Tren Urbano.
Caguas is served by one freeway, one tolled expressway and one main divided highway. Puerto Rico Highway 30 connects Caguas to the east. There is no freeway/expressway to the west, due mainly to the fact that there is no sufficient population west of Caguas to develop a new freeway or expressway; good access to the municipalities of Cidra(southwest) and Aguas Buenas(northwest) are possible via PR-172 and PR-156, respectively. Puerto Rico Highway 52 connects Caguas to the north (San Juan) and south (Cayey, Ponce). Puerto Rico Highway 1 is an alternate route to San Juan and Guaynabo with two lanes per direction; in south Caguas it becomes rural near Borinquen, therefore the only good access to Cayey is the expressway (PR-52) and a $1.00 toll has to be paid (only in the south direction). The only municipality bordering Caguas with a poor-access road is San Lorenzo, via PR-183; but good access to San Lorenzo is possible by entering Gurabo via PR-30, and then taking PR-203 south.
The Criollos de Caguas baseball team is considered one of the greatest of all-time in all of Latin America, having won 14 national Puerto Rico titles and 3 Caribbean World Series titles The team is a member of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico (LBPPR). Three of the first five Puerto Ricans that played Major League Baseball in the U.S., at one point in their careers played for the Criollos de Caguas (Luis Rodríguez Olmo, Victor Pellot Power, Roberto Clemente).
The Criollos de Caguas basketball team, founded in 1968 by Dr. Héctor "Tato" Dávila and Lcdo. Libertario Pérez Rodríguez, hasn't enjoyed as much success as their baseball counterparts. However in the early 2000's, they showed a lot of progress by reaching the national playoffs various times. The team is a member of the BSN. In 2006, the team won its first BSN national basketball championship, defeating Flor Melendez and his Santurce Crabbers in five games.
Caguas is home to the Bairoa Gym, one of the most important boxing gyms in all Puerto Rico and a place where many visiting champions have trained at; such as boxing Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto, his brother Jose Miguel, Alberto Mercado, Juan Carazo, Alfredo Escalera and others.
The Criollas de Caguas women's volleyball team has won 7 national Puerto Rico titles and has made it to the finals more than 15 times. The team is a member of the Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF).