Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Fajardo (Spanish pronunciation: [faˈxaɾðo]) is a town and municipality-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area.

For other uses, see Fajardo (disambiguation).

Fajardo
Municipio Autónomo de Fajardo
Town and Municipality
Ocean view in Fajardo
Aerial view of Fajardo's basin
Flag of Fajardo
Flag
Coat of arms of Fajardo
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
"Los Cariduros", "La Metrópolis del Sol Naciente"
Anthem: "Fajardo que aquí en el oriente"
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Fajardo Municipality
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Fajardo Municipality
Coordinates: 18°19′33″N 65°39′09″W
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
Founded1772
Barrios
9 barrios
Government
 • MayorJosé Aníbal “Joey” Meléndez Méndez (PNP)
 • Senatorial dist.8 - Carolina
 • Representative dist.36
Area
 • Total60.41 sq mi (156.45 km2)
 • Land31 sq mi (81 km2)
 • Water29.13 sq mi (75.45 km2)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total32,124
 • Rank38th in Puerto Rico
 • Density530/sq mi (210/km2)
DemonymFajardeños
Time zoneUTC−4 (AST)
ZIP Codes
00738, 00740
Area code787/939
Major routes

Websitefajardopr.org

Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is also home to the largest marina in the Caribbean, called Puerto del Rey. The town contains various hotels and inns.

Offshore, near Fajardo, a few islets can be found. These are Icacos, Isla Palomino, Palominito, and Diablo, among other uninhabited coral islands and barrier reefs.

History

Fajardo was founded in 1760, 1773 or 1774 (depending on the authority) as Santiago de Fajardo. It was one of the locations used by the American troops to invade Puerto Rico. On August 1, 1898 the USS Puritan under the command of Captain Frederic W. Rodgers, sailed the coastline near the city of Fajardo when he spotted the Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan (Cape San Juan lighthouse), which was supposed to be the landing site for the US Army in Puerto Rico. Rodgers ordered some of his men ashore, including Puerto Rican volunteers, with the mission to post the American flag atop the lighthouse.

On November 14, 1824, in what was dubbed the "Foxhardo" Affair, US Naval Officer David Porter landed at Fajardo with 200 seamen and marines, threatening to destroy Fajardo because one of his men had been arrested in Puerto Rico. For taking this action without US approval, Porter was later court-martialed.[2]

After the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain 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 and determined that the population of Fajardo was 16,782.[3]

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico. In Fajardo, the hurricane triggered numerous landslides with its strong winds and significant amount of rainfall.[4][5][6]

Geography

Fajardo is a coastal municipality with a number of islets.[7]

  • Fajardo River
  • Aguas Buenas Gorge, Fajardo Gorge, Juan Diego Gorge and the Mata Redonda Gorge
  • Aguas Prietas and Grande lagoons

Barrios
Subdivisions of Fajardo.

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Fajardo is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".[8][9][10][11]

  1. Cabezas (Las Croabas)
  2. Demajagua
  3. Fajardo barrio-pueblo[12]
  4. Florencio
  5. Naranjo
  6. Quebrada Fajardo
  7. Quebrada Vueltas
  8. Río Arriba
  9. Sardinera

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[12] and subbarrios,[13][14][15] in turn, are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[16][17][18]

Special Communities
See also: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development

Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (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 Fajardo: Obrera neighborhood, Roosevelt neighborhood, Mansión del Sapo, Maternillo, Media Luna, Sector Camacho, Vevé Calzada, and Vieques en el Aire.[19]

Tourism
View of the church in the Fajardo town square

Fajardo is a tourist destination, especially among local tourists, because of its seafood, hotels, closeness to the small islands of Palomino, Icacos and Palominito, and the many daily trips that are available to Vieques and Culebra, both by boat and by the four airlines that served Fajardo Airport (now closed): Air Culebra, Air St. Thomas, Isla Nena Air and Vieques Air Link.

Fajardo has 46 beaches.[20] Fajardo's beaches are bounded by calm, clear water ideal for snorkeling. Seven Seas Beach offers plentiful water sports facilities, offshore points for sailing, snorkeling and plenty of scuba diving.

Fajardo is also home to one of the few Bioluminescent Lagoons in the world. Nightly trips are offered by kayak by local companies who give educational tours.

Landmarks and places of interest
Street scene near Fajardo town square
Reserva Natural Cabezas de San Juan
  • Las Cabezas de San Juan Light House - One of the oldest lighthouses in Puerto Rico. Only one used for nautical reasons in the entire island.
  • Laguna Grande - One of the few Bioluminescent bays in the world that glow and offers night kayaking tours all year round.[21]
  • Puerto del Rey Marina - Biggest marina in the Caribbean.
  • U.S. Customs House - Constructed in 1930 still in use by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection.
  • Santiago Apostol Cathedral
  • El Conquistador Resort - An historic 700+ room resort and convention center with its own private island (Palomino Island), water park (El Coqui Water Park), and 3 ft 10 in (1,168 mm) narrow gauge[22] funicular railway connecting its main hotel building with its marina. It was closed in 2017 after Hurricane Maria, and has been reopening in phases since Fall 2020.[23]
  • Seven Seas Beach - Classified Blue Flag for its sanitary health guarantees.
  • Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve - Home to mangroves and to the lighthouse.[21]
  • Fajardo Port - Used by locals and tourists to visit the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra.
  • The main town square - A colonial-style town square in the downtown.
  • Old Fajardo Sugar Cane Refinery
  • Isleta Marina
  • Las Croabas Nature Reserve
  • Bioluminescent Bay Fajardo[24]
  • Las Croabas Recreational Park
  • Hipolito Robles Sports Complex
  • Icacos, Palomino and Palominito Cays (islets) Island Water Taxi
Aerial view of El Conquistador Resort and Harbor

Economy
Island off the coast of Fajardo

Industry

Electrical components, metal work, furniture manufacturing. Fajardo is also home to pharmaceutical and bio-sciences companies.

Due to its rich ports and closeness to smaller islands, Fajardo is also known for its fishing industries.

Culture

Festivals and events
Fountain in Fajardo's plaza

Fajardo celebrates its patron saint festival in July. The Fiestas Patronales de Santiago Apostol is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[25][7] The festival has featured live performances by well-known artists such as Tito Nieves, Johnny Ventura and Sonora Ponceña.[26]

Other festivals and events celebrated in Fajardo include:

  • Bicycletada Fajardeña - April
  • Kite Festival - April
  • Kelly Cup Sailboat Regata - April
  • Bomba & Plena Festival - May
  • Paradise Fiesta - August
  • Cocolía Festival - November

Sports

Fajardo Soccer Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, 35 miles east of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU).
The 3,800 capacity stadium was developed at a cost of $3.9M,[27] and opened December 12, 2015 and is home venue of Puerto Rico Sol.

Fajardo in the past was home to a National Superior Basketball; Baloncesto Superior Nacional BSN basketball team, the Fajardo Cariduros or as they are known in the Island Cariduros de Fajardo. George Torres, Mario Morales and Mario Butler were three of the most famous players to play for that franchise.

In 2007, the team returned once again to the BSN. The team known as the "Titanes de Morovis" was moved to Fajardo, and was renamed "Cariduros de Fajardo". Unlike the NBA and other sports leagues in the United States, Puerto Rican franchises rarely leave the original name of the franchise when they move to a different city.

Once, there was a basketball team for the Puerto Rican Basketball League known as the "Conquistadores de Fajardo".

Fajardo also has a AA Amateur Baseball Team Los Cariduros de Fajardo and have won over 10 sectional championships, 3 time national runners-up in 1974, 2003 and 2005, and 3 times national champions in 1954, 2004 and 2010.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
190016,782—
191021,13525.9%
192014,302−32.3%
193016,32114.1%
194020,40525.0%
195022,1168.4%
196018,321−17.2%
197023,03225.7%
198032,08739.3%
199036,88214.9%
200040,71210.4%
201036,993−9.1%
202032,124−13.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[28]
1899 (shown as 1900)[29] 1910-1930[30]
1930-1950[31] 1960-2000[32] 2010[10] 2020[1]
Ethnicity - Fajardo, Puerto Rico - 2010 Census[33]
Ethnicity Population  % of Total
European23,96464.8%
African6,86418.6%
Native American and Alaska Native2580.7%
Asian730.3%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander40.0%
Some other ethnicity3,82210.3%
Two or more ethnicities1,9865.4%

Government
Main article: Mayoralty in Puerto Rico

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Fajardo is Aníbal Meléndez Rivera, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected at the 1988 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VIII, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Pedro A. Rodríguez and Luis Daniel Rivera were elected as District Senators.[34]

Transportation
Bridge on PR-971 between Fajardo and Ceiba near Las Tinajas, Charco Frio and Hacienda Tinajas, two tourist attractions located just inside the eastern side of the El Yunque National Forest

There are 20 bridges in Fajardo.[35]

Diego Jiménez Torres Airport was Fajardo's airport and handled commercial airline flights to the city, but it was permanently closed in 2015.

Symbols

The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.[36]

Flag

Fajardo's flag is a tricolor triband. The upper band is gules (red), symbolizing the color of the shield's border. Silver (white), the center band, stands for the color of the main pieces that appear in the shield and the crown. Azure (blue), the lower band, represents the color of the sky and the sea of Fajardo. Centered is the coat of arms of the village (villa) in natural colors.[37]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is formed as a square with a rounded base and stamped at the top with a crown mural of three towers. It is supported by two dolphins, and underneath the base a banner with the inscription “Santiago de Fajardo”.[37]

Notable Fajardeños
  • Condos on Isleta Marina, a private island of Fajardo
    Condos on Isleta Marina, a private island of Fajardo
  • Paved walkway and building in Fajardo
    Paved walkway and building in Fajardo
  • Beach in Fajardo
    Beach in Fajardo
  • Funicular at El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo
    Funicular at El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo
  • Pier at Cabezas
    Pier at Cabezas
  • Las Croabas
    Las Croabas

See also

References
  1. Bureau, US Census. "PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census". The United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. Sweetman, Jack (March 25, 2023). American naval history: an illustrated chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-present – via Internet Archive.
  3. Joseph Prentiss Sanger; Henry Gannett; Walter Francis Willcox (1900). Informe sobre el censo de Puerto Rico, 1899, United States. War Dept. Porto Rico Census Office (in Spanish). Imprenta del gobierno. p. 163. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  4. "Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico". USGS Landslide Hazards Program. USGS. Archived from the original on March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. "Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico" (PDF). USGS Landslide Hazards Program. USGS. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. "María, un nombre que no vamos a olvidar. Los sectores montañosos de Fajardo fueron los más vulnerables" [Maria, a name we will never forget. The mountainous regions of Fajardo were most vulnerable]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). June 13, 2019. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. "Fajardo Municipality". enciclopediapr.org. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  8. Picó, Rafael; Buitrago de Santiago, Zayda; Berrios, Hector H. (1969). Nueva geografía de Puerto Rico: física, económica, y social, por Rafael Picó. Con la colaboración de Zayda Buitrago de Santiago y Héctor H. Berrios. San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
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  11. "Map of Fajardo at the Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. "US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition". factfinder.com. US Census. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
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  16. "Agencia: Oficina del Coordinador General para el Financiamiento Socioeconómico y la Autogestión (Proposed 2016 Budget)". Puerto Rico Budgets (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  17. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza: Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997-2004 (first ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  18. "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  19. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza:Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997-2004 (Primera edición ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, p. 273, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  20. "Las 1,200 playas de Puerto Rico [The 1200 beaches of Puerto Rico]". Primera Hora (in Spanish). April 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
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  22. "Trams of the World 2017" (PDF). Blickpunkt Straßenbahn. January 24, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  23. "Image of the El Conquistador Resort funicular". Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  24. "Bioluminescent Bay Fajardo, Puerto Rico". Biobayfajardo.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  25. "Puerto Rico Festivales, Eventos y Actividades en Puerto Rico". Puerto Rico Hoteles y Paradores (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  26. "Fiestas Patronales y Carnaval Fajardeño 2014". sondeaquiprnet. El Gobierno Municipal de Fajardo. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  27. "Millonaria inversión en Fajardo: Se abre paso el soccer en la Metrópolis del Este | Periódico Presencia". www.presenciapr.com. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
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  32. "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  33. "Ethnicity 2010 census". Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  34. Elecciones Generales 2012: Escrutinio General Archived February 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
  35. "Fajardo Bridges". National Bridge Inventory Data. US Dept. of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  36. "Ley Núm. 70 de 2006 -Ley para disponer la oficialidad de la bandera y el escudo de los setenta y ocho (78) municipios". LexJuris de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  37. "FAJARDO". LexJuris (Leyes y Jurisprudencia) de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
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