Lajas (ˈlaxas) is a municipality of 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 southwestern region, south of San Germán

San Germán, Puerto Rico

San Germán is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao; north of Lajas; east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo; and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over 18 wards and San Germán Pueblo...

 and Sabana Grande

Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico

Sabana Grande is a municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas and Guánica; south of Maricao; east of San Germán; and west of Yauco. Sabana Grande is spread over seven wards and Sabana Grande Pueblo...

; east of Cabo Rojo

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Cabo Rojo is a municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area....

; and west of Guánica

Guánica, Puerto Rico

Guánica is a municipality in southwestern Puerto Rico located on southern coast, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Sabana Grande, east of Lajas, and west of Yauco. It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area....

. Lajas is spread over 11 wards and Lajas Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Germán-Cabo Rojo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Located at the Lajas Valley

Lajas Valley

The Lajas Valley is located in southwestern Puerto Rico, within the cities of Lajas, Cabo Rojo, Guánica, and Sabana Grande. It is surrounded by the Cordillera Central and the Santa Marta hills to the north, the Sierra Bermeja The Lajas Valley (Spanish: Valle de Lajas) is located in southwestern...

, the town was founded in 1883 by the Xueta Teodoro Jacome Pagan. Xuetes (Chuetas) were Majorcan Jews (Sephardi Catalan Jews). Some families changed their names from Jacome to the Castilian form Santiago

Santiago (name)

Santiago, is a Spanish name that derives from the Hebrew name Jacob via "Sant Iago," "Sant Yago," "Santo Iago," or "Santo Yago," first used to denote Saint James the Great, the brother of John the Apostle...

 (Saint James the greater). Jacome is the Mallorquin form of James (Ia'akov). Catalonian Jews from Majorca were part of the early settlers in the South of (Boriken) 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...

.The village of La Parguera (founded in 1940 by Andrew Breedlove and fishermen from Guánica and Cabo Rojo) is a popular tourist destination to see the famous Bahía Fosforescente (Phosphoresent Bay) and its keys and islet's.

Flag

The flag consists of three (3) horizontal stripes; the superior one green, the center white and the bottom one yellow. A fourth cross. In the center of that cross we have two arms united with a ripe yellow pineapple. The cross is surrounded by eleven gold stars; five in the superior (north) part and six in the inferior (south) part of the cross forming a circle.

Coat of Arms

The body is gold with a green band crossing it diagonally right to left; the color gold stands for the wealth of the land and green stands for the beauty of the valley which is a gift from mother nature to Lajas. The band is adorned, at each end, with a pineapple bordered in gold and black. In the center of the band, also in gold, a marine shell. In the left superior side there is a red cardinal's hat and in the inferior a red anchor with a green; the shield has 3 tower castle, each one with two windows and one door. On the bottom, outside the shield, a banner with the inscription "Ciudad Cardenalicia" (Cardinality City). The banner and the inscription appear in black.

Barrios

Lajas is divided into the following barrios (wards/districts):

• Candelaria
• La Costa
• Lajas Arriba
• Lajas Pueblo
• Llanos
• Palmarejo
• Paris
• Parguera
• La Plata
• Sábana Yeguas
• Santa Rosa

Tourism

Lajas is famous for its main touristic attraction, Phosphorescent Bay (La Parguera) , a place where luminescent dinoflagellates of different colors appear when the water moves. The origin of the colored lights is the object of many legends. Lajas is also a fishing town.

Landmarks and places of interest

• Cartagena Lagoon
• Indian Museum
• Old Train Station
• Old Silver Mines
• La Parguera
• Lajeño soldier Monument
• Isla Magueyes
  Isla Magueyes
  Isla Magüeyes is a island from the southwest coast of the island of Puerto Rico. It is encircled with mangrove and has an interior of dry scrub habitat, where it gets its name. It is named for the presence of many century plants or maguey . The surrounding shelf of the island is mostly coral reef...
  
  
• Isla Mata la Gata
• Pineapple Processing Plant Ruins
• Rosada Beach or Playita Rosada
• Caracoles
• Caribe Fisheries

Festivals and events

• Matron Festivities - February
• International Kite Festival - February
• Agro Fair- March
• Pineapple Festival - March
• E. Ramírez Marathon - March
• Kite Festival - June
• Fish Festival - July
• Cock Fight Festival - October

Famous lajeños

• Luis Aponte Martinez
  Luis Aponte Martínez
  Luis Aponte Martínez is the only Puerto Rican ever to be consecrated a cardinal of the Catholic Church, and for 34 years was the Archbishop of San Juan. Cardinal Aponte was a cardinal elector in the two conclaves of 1978....
  
  , Roman Catholic cardinal of the Archdiocese of San Juan
• Ulises Casiano, Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Mayagüez
• Jacobo Morales
  Jacobo Morales
  Jacobo Morales is an auteur, whom many consider to be the most influential film director in Puerto Rico's history.-Life and career:...
  
  , actor and film director

External links