Maricao barrio-pueblo

Maricao barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Maricao, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 716.^[1][4][5][6]

Maricao barrio-pueblo Pueblo de Maricao
Municipality Seat[1]
Fiesta del Acabe del Café in Maricao in 2014
Location of Maricao barrio-pueblo within the municipality of Maricao shown in red
Maricao barrio-pueblo Location of Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 18°10′56″N 66°58′47″W[2]
Commonwealth	Puerto Rico
Municipality	Maricao
Area [2]
• Total	0.11 sq mi (0.3 km2)
• Land	0.11 sq mi (0.3 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation [3]	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)

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.^[7][8]

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.^[7]

There was a church made of wood in Maricao pueblo by 1864. The current church, Parroquia San Juan Bautista^[9] in the central plaza was built between 1890 and 1898. Renovations were made to the church in 1960 and in 1984.^[10]

History

Maricao barrio-pueblo was in Spain's gazetteers^[11] until 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.^[12]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	1,179		—
1910	732		−37.9%
1920	740		1.1%
1930	902		21.9%
1940	1,293		43.3%
1950	1,363		5.4%
1960	1,475		8.2%
1970	0		−100.0%
1980	1,205		—
1990	807		−33.0%
2000	891		10.4%
2010	716		−19.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1899 (shown as 1900)[13] 1910-1930[14] 1930-1950[15] 1960[16] 1980-2000[17] 2010[18]

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

• 
  Parroquia San Juan Bautista in the central plaza of Maricao
• 
  Vegetable display at festival Fiesta Acabe del Café in Maricao

See also

• Puerto Rico portal

• List of communities in Puerto Rico

References

1. Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. 2010.
2. "US Gazetteer 2019". US Census. US Government.
3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Maricao barrio-pueblo
4. Picó, Rafael; Buitrago de Santiago, Zayda; Berrios, Hector H. 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.
5. Gwillim Law (20 May 2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. McFarland. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-4766-0447-3. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
6. "US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition". factfinder.com. US Census. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
7. Santullano, Luis A. (10 March 2019). "La Plaza y la Calle". Mirada al Caribe. Vol. 54. Colegio de Mexico. pp. 75–78. doi:10.2307/j.ctvbcd2vs.12. JSTOR j.ctvbcd2vs.12.
8. Pariser, Harry S. (2003). Explore Puerto Rico, Fifth Edition. San Francisco: Manatee Press. pp. 52–55. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
9. Marisa Gomez and Ester Cardona (July 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Thematic Nomination: Historic Churches of Puerto Rico". National Park Service. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
10. Mari Mut, José A. (2013-08-28). Los Pueblos de Puerto Rico y Las Iglesias de Sus Plazas [The Pueblos of Puerto Rico, and the Churches of its Plazas] (PDF) (in Spanish). pp. 151–153. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
11. "Anuario del comercio, de la industria, de la magistratura y de la administración. 1881". Biblioteca Nacional de España (in Spanish). p. 1614. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
12. 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. 164.
13. "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
14. "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
15. "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
16. Census of Population, 1960: Number of Inhabitants, General Population Characteristics, General Social and Economic Characteristics, and Detailed Characteristics. Characteristics of the population. 1963. p. 53. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
17. "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.
18. Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2019-08-02.