Guaraguao

This article is about the Puerto Rican barrio. For the bird, see Jamaican red-tailed hawk.

Guaraguao
Barrio
Scene in Barrio Guaraguao at PR-515 Westbound
Location of barrio Guaraguao within the municipality of Ponce shown in red
Guaraguao Location of Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 18°07′22″N 66°40′16″W[1]
Commonwealth	Puerto Rico
Municipality	Ponce
Area [1]
• Total	4.13 sq mi (10.7 km^2)
• Land	4.13 sq mi (10.7 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)
Elevation [2]	1,765 ft (538 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,117
• Density	270.5/sq mi (104.4/km^2)
	Source: 2010 Census
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)

Guaraguao (Barrio Guaraguao) is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Coto Laurel, Marueño, Quebrada Limón, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Guaraguao is one of the municipality's nine bordering barrios. It borders the municipalities of Adjuntas and Peñuelas. The name of this barrio is of native Taino Indian origin.^[3] It was created in 1878.^[4] Barrio Guaraguao is one of three Ponce barrios (the others are Barrio Anón and Barrio San Patricio) located on the Cordillera Central mountain range.^[5]

Location

Guaraguao is a mountainous rural barrio located in the northwestern section of the municipality, northwest of the city of Ponce. Its location makes it susceptible to heavy rains, landslides, and road closings.^[6] The toponymy, or origin of the name, is related to the guaraguao tree, Guarea trichilioides, in the Guarea ramiflora family, a tree that grows to heights between 20 and 70 feet with a maximum 3-foot wide trunk at the foot of mountains in the humid central zone of Puerto Rico.^[7]

Boundaries

Guaraguao is bounded on the North by PR-516 (roughly), on the South by the hills north of Tierras Buenas Road, and the hills south of Las Lomas Road, on the West by the hills west of A Street, PR-501 (roughly), and Las Lomas Road (roughly), and on the East by PR-503, Rabanos I Road, PR-10 (roughly), the hills west of PR-123.^[8][9]

In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Guaraguao is bounded in the North by Barrio San Patricio, and by Barrio Portugues of the municipality of Adjuntas, in the South by Magueyes and Marueño, in the West by Barrio Marueño, and by Barrio Rucio of the municipality of Peñuelas, and in the East by San Patricio and Tibes.^[8]

Features and demographics

A view of Barrio Guaraguao as seen from PR-143, Ponce; PR-10 can be seen making its ways thru the barrio

Guaraguao has 4.13 square miles (11 km²) of land area and no water area. In 2000, the population of Guaraguao was 1,669 persons, and it had a density of 130 persons per square mile.^[10][11] Guaraguao is the seventh least densely populated barrio in the municipality of Ponce.^[12] Major roads serving Barrio Guaraguao are PR-10, PR-123, PR-501, PR-515, and PR-516.^[8] The communities of Las Lomas and Santas Pascuas^[13] are located in Guaraguao. Also, sector San Andres is in Guaraguao.^[13]

In 2010, the population of Guaraguao was 1,117 persons, and it had a density of 270.5 persons per square mile.^[14]

The highest point in Barrio Guaraguao stands at 3,280 feet and is located on the extreme northwestern tip of the barrio.^[15]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	1,771		—
1910	1,072		−39.5%
1920	1,523		42.1%
1930	1,587		4.2%
1940	1,453		−8.4%
1950	1,499		3.2%
1960	1,520		1.4%
1970	1,396		−8.2%
1980	1,280		−8.3%
1990	1,150		−10.2%
2000	1,017		−11.6%
2010	1,117		9.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1899 (shown as 1900)[16] 1910-1930[17] 1930-1950[18] 1960[19] 1980-2000[20] 2010[21]

Notable landmarks

Guaraguao is abundant in fauna and flora, and it is home to many creeks and brooks. The largest river in barrio Guaraguao is Río Canas, which empties into the Caribbean Sea after merging with Río Pastillo in the city of Ponce to become Rio Matilde.^[8] In a March 2010 competition sponsored by the Puerto Rico Water and Environment Association, the Guaraguao water filtering plant of the Puerto Rico Water Authority (Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados) was assessed to be the best-tasting water in Puerto Rico.^[22]

See also

• List of communities in Puerto Rico

References

1. "US Gazetteer 2019". US Census. US Government.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Guaraguao barrio
3. Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 54.
4. Barrios de Ponce. Archived 30 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Antepasados Esclavos.(From: Pedro Tomás de Córdoba. Memorias geográficas, históricas, económicas y estadísticas de la Isla de Puerto Rico.) Retrieved 28 November 2014.
5. Ponce: Topografía. Proyecto Salon Hogar. Accessed 13 March 2019.
6. Guaraguao: al ras de la desesperación. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1479. Page 12. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
7. Government of the Municipality of Ponce. Periodico "El Señorial". Special issue: Carnaval Ponceño 2013. February 2013. Page 17. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
8. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 28, 2010.
9. Ponce Topographic Map. Map Styles: Map and Shaded. Trails.com. From: United States Geological Survey. Topo Map. Projection: NAD83/WGS84. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
10. U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. Ponce and Its Barrios. (Ponce Municipio, Puerto Rico -- County Subdivision and Place. GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000. Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data) Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today Retrieved February 28, 2010.
11. "CENSUS2". Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
12. Barrio Guaraguao seventh least dense
13. Lenta la Recuperacion en los Campos de Ponce. Sandra Caquias Cruz. EsNoticia.com Ponce, Puerto Rico. Edition #69. 27 April - 10 May 2018. Pages 4 and 5. Accessed 26 May 2018.
14. Puerto Rico:2010:population and housing unit counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. 2010.
15. Maptest. Archived 2010-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
16. "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
17. "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
18. "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
19. Census of Population, 1960: Number of Inhabitants, General Population Characteristics, General Social and Economic Characteristics, and Detailed Characteristics. Characteristics of the population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1963. pp. 97–101. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
20. "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
21. 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 20 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
22. Periodico La Perla del Sur. Resumen de la semana: Del 15 al 21 de marzo de 2010.

External links

• Media related to Guaraguao at Wikimedia Commons