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Maricao barrio-pueblo

Pueblo de Maricao
Municipality Seat
Fiesta del Acabe del Café in Maricao in 2014
Fiesta del Acabe del Café in Maricao in 2014
Location of Maricao barrio-pueblo within the municipality of Maricao shown in red
Location of Maricao barrio-pueblo within the municipality of Maricao shown in red
Maricao barrio-pueblo is located in Caribbean
Maricao barrio-pueblo
Maricao barrio-pueblo
Location in Caribbean
Commonwealth  Puerto Rico
Municipality Maricao
Area
 • Total 0.11 sq mi (0.3 km2)
 • Land 0.11 sq mi (0.3 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
1,401 ft (427 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 716
 • Density 6,509.1/sq mi (2,513.2/km2)
  Source: 2010 Census
Time zone UTC−4 (AST)

Maricao barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Maricao, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 716.

As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called pueblo which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year.

The central plaza and its church

The central plaza, or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The Laws of the Indies, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" (celebrations, festivities) (Spanish: a propósito para las fiestas), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors (Spanish: grandeza proporcionada al número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain.

There was a church made of wood in Maricao pueblo by 1864. The current church, Parroquia San Juan Bautista in the central plaza was built between 1890 and 1898. Renovations were made to the church in 1960 and in 1984.

History

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 an unincorporated territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Maricao Pueblo barrio was 1,179.

Historical population
Census Pop.
1900 1,179
1960 1,475
1980 1,205
1990 807 −33.0%
2000 891 10.4%
2010 716 −19.6%
U.S. Decennial Census
1899 (shown as 1900) 1910-1930
1930-1950
1960 1980-2000 2010

Festivals and events

Maricao has only one annual festival, the End of the Coffee Harvest festival, known locally as the Acabe de Café. It celebrates the traditional harvest festival wherein the Hacienda owners would feed their workers at the end of the harvest. It is held on President's Day weekend in February. It was founded in 1977 by then mayor, Vicente Byron, and has been held yearly for over thirty years.

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Maricao (Maricao) para niños

  • List of communities in Puerto Rico
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