Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez (pronounced Mah-yah-goo-ehz) is the third largest city of Puerto Rico. Also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" (The Western Sultana) or "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" (City of the Pure Waters), Mayagüez is located in the western part of the island of Puerto Rico.
Its area is of 200 km2 with a population of over 100,000. Mayagüez is located 2 hours by car from San Juan.
Natives of Mayagüez are known as mayagüezanos.
History
Mayagüez was founded in 1760 by Faustino Martínez de Matos, Juan de Silva and Juan de Aponte. Originally the settlement was named Our Lady of the Candelaria of Mayaguez.
In 1836, the settlement was elevated to the royal status of villa — at the time the principal industry was agriculture. The famous patriot, educator, sociologist, philosopher, esayist, and novelist Eugenio María de Hostos was born in Mayagüez in 1839.
In 1841 a fire nearly destroyed the city. The city was rebuilt with some of the main roads widened as to prevent any future fires to spread quickly.
The "Escuela Libre de Música" or Music School was founded in 1894 and directed by Don Fernando Callejo. In 1896, a statue was built in the main plaza to honor Cristopher Columbus.
In 1911, the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was founded in Mayagüez. Today it is known as the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) — the Caribbean's leading science and engineering institution.
The city of Mayagüez was nearly destroyed again in 1918 by an earthquake and a tsunami (tidal wave).
Mayagüez today
Although the city has seen its share of natural disasters, today it faces an economic downturn due to the closure of the needle factories and tuna industry, which where the principal industries of the city for the most part of the century. The city still continues to play an important role in the western part of the island.
Today, Mayagüez has become a major college town, due in part to UPRM, the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Law School and the Pontiff Catholic University of Puerto Rico, among other educational institutions located in the area.
Mayagüez is also home to the Mayagüez Zoo, the only zoo in Puerto Rico.
Mayagüez's BSN professional basketball team, the Tainos de Mayagüez, are named in honor of the city's Indian heritage. Its LBPPR baseball team, the Indios de Mayagüez, honor both their Indian heritage and the home town's Indian Beer Factory.
Mayagüez's airport, the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Airport, has long airline services. In the 1970s it had domestic service from Prinair. After 1985, both American Airlines (with American Eagle) and Eastern Airlines (with Eastern Metro Express) started flights there, but Eastern went bankrupt in 1991 leaving American as the only operator. Nowadays, PanAm is said to be planning to start Mayagüez's first jet service ever, with Boeing 727s flying between Mayagüez and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In addition, Fina Air has announced it will begin flying from there to the Dominican Republic.
Well-known "mayagüezanos" include: singer and TV show host Rafael Jose, singer Chucho Avellanet, his nephew, former Menudo Roberto Avellanet, former governor Roberto Sánchez Vilella and the late former Mayagüez Mayor, Benjamin Cole, whom served for 40 years in a row as mayor of city.
The current mayor of Mayagüez is José Guillermo Rodríguez of the PPD.
External links
Referenced By
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