Gurabo is a municipality (municipio

Municipio

Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...

) in eastern Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 located in the central eastern region, north of San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico

San Lorenzo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region, north of Patillas and Yabucoa; south of Gurabo; east of Caguas and Cayey; and west of Juncos and Las Piedras. San Lorenzo is spread over ten wards and San Lorenzo Pueblo...

; south of Trujillo Alto

Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico

-Barrios :*Carraízo*Las Cuevas*Dos Bocas*La Gloria*Quebrada Grande*Quebrada Negrito*Saint Just*Trujillo Alto Pueblo*Cooperativa Jardines de Trujillo Alto-Geo/Topography:*Carraízo dam...

; east of Caguas

Caguas, Puerto Rico

Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....

; and west of Carolina

Carolina, Puerto Rico

Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...

 and Juncos

Juncos, Puerto Rico

Juncos is one of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region of the island, south of Canóvanas and Carolina; southeast of Gurabo; east of San Lorenzo; and west of Las Piedras. Juncos is spread over 9 wards and Juncos Pueblo...

. Gurabo is spread over 9 wards and Gurabo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Gurabo's history dates as far back as the 17th century, when Gurabo was actually part of Caguas. Then, the area was known as Turabo. By 1700, transportation, medical and economic trouble were crippling the population of the Turabo area; traveling to Caguas' center for business and medical help was not easy and took hours. This led to many of Turabos citizens to seek for the area to gain autonomy.

It would be long, however, before Gurabo was separated from Caguas. The separation movement was brought forward by an 1812 meeting of all 168 family leaders in Gurabo, who decided to have Luis del Carmen Echevarría lead them in their quest for autonomic independence, based on the large number of residents in Turabo.

In 1815, Gurabo became a municipality. In 1822, the first Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 church in town was erected. In 1903, the first Baptist church opened its doors in Gurabo town.

Gurabo is also known as "La Ciudad de las Escaleras", or "city of the stairs". Located in the town center, the stairs are about twenty two floors high, and they are painted in bright colors. They cross an important business area of Gurabo. Gurabo's mayor is Victor M. Ortiz Diaz.

Flag

With eleven stripes, six green and five yellow, alternated, the yellow with the superior (top) edge indented forming a stairway.

Coat of Arms

In a green field resides a widened gold patriarcal cross. Below the bottom arm are two shields in silver. The one on the left has a fleur de lis and the one on the right three lilies with stems in a natural way. Three towers in gold crown the shield.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Celada
• Gurabo Pueblo
• Hato Nuevo
• Jaguar
• Jaguas
• Mamey
• Masas
• Navarro
• Quebrada Infierno
• Rincón

Industry

Manufacturing (metal, paper, plastics, chemistries, phamaceuticals, textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, and electrical machinery)

Landmarks and places of interest

• Centro de Exposición
• Cofresí Park
• Del Turabo University Museum
• Hacienda Mirador
• Loíza Lagoon

Education

• Turabo University at Gurabo
  Turabo University at Gurabo
  Turabo —commonly referred as the University of Turabo and known as Universidad del Turabo or UT-Gurabo in Spanish— is a private university located in the municipality of Gurabo, Puerto Rico...
  
  
• Puerto Rico Criminal Justice College- Gurabo campus (Puerto Rico Police Academy)

Sports

Gurabo has a baseball academy named [Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School (PRBAHS)] Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School

Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School

The Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School is a non-profit organization combining academics and sports programs into one curriculum. Its goal is to prepare its students for higher education, competitive college scholarship opportunities, and the Major League Baseball Draft...

.

Colegio Bautista de Gurabo (Sports: Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Softball, Track and Field.) colegiobautistadegurabo.com