Yabucoa is a small town in the south eastern tip 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 the southeastern region, north of Maunabo; south of San Lorenzo, Las Piedras and Humacao; and east of Patillas and about one hour from San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

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

Its name is derived from the Taíno

Taíno language

Taíno, an Arawakan language, was the principal language of the Caribbean islands at the time of the Spanish Conquest, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys, and the Lesser Antilles...

 word meaning land of water, most likely due to the large number of rivers that water the region. Yabucoa is also known as "La Ciudad del Azúcar" (The City of Sugar).

Flag

The design of the flag of Yabucoa is abstract, inspired by the colors of the municipal shield; green, white and violet.

Coat of arms

In the shield appear two angels the Santos Angeles Custodios, patron saints of Yabucoa. The color purple (violet) field of the shield represents the highest dignity of the angels. The walking sticks are attributes of the traveller, and refer to the holy office of the Angels as guides and companions in man's journey in his earthly life. The canes are adorned with guajana flowers, representing the wealth of the sugar cane. The green land where the angels stand symbolizes the fertile valley in which Yabucoa is located.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Aguacate
• Calabazas
• Camino Nuevo
• Guayabotas
• Jácanas
• Juan Martín
• Limones
• Playa
• Tejas
• Yabucoa

Geography

The Municipality of Yabucoa is located in the south-eastern coast of Puerto Rico. The valley of Yabucoa is surrounded by the hills of the San Lorenzo Batholith on three sides and by the Caribbean Sea on the fourth. The hills surrounding the Yabucoa valley as well as the bedrock underlying the alluvium in the valley are composed of the San Lorenzo Batholith, a large, igneous intrusive body emplaced during the Late Cretaceous (Rogers, 1977; Rogers and others, 1979). The San Lorenzo Batholith is a composite body that is composed of gabbro (Kd), diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, and quartz monzonite.
The altitude of the hills surrounding the valley of Yabucoa reaches a maximum of about 650 m at the head of the Río Guayanes

Río Guayanes

-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...

 basin. The land surface in the Yabucoa valley slopes gently from an altitude of about 30 m above mean sea level, at the western edge of the valley, to sea level where the valley meets the Caribbean Sea.

Agriculture

Yabucoa is known for its agricultural prowess because of the surrounding fertile valley that produces most of the island's plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

 and banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

s. Yabucoeños are known as the "sugar people" because most of the valley was used for sugar cane growth and because one of the most visible landmarks, seen when entering the municipality, is the old Hacienda Roig sugar mill, one of the last mills that produced sugar in Puerto Rico.

Landmarks and places of interest

• Guayanés Beach
• Hacienda Santa Lucía Ruins
• La Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture)
• Roig Refinery
• La Lucia Beach
• El Cocal Beach
• Dead Dog Beach

Festivals and events

• Sugar Cane Festival - May
• Beach Festival - May
• Carmen Festival - July
• Quebradillas Festival - September
• Patron Celebrations - October
• Festival del Campesino - October
• Martorell Jíbaro Festival - December

Transportation

A tunnel connecting the town of Yabucoa with the town of Maunabo

Maunabo, Puerto Rico

Maunabo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, northeast of Patillas and south of Yabucoa. Maunabo is spread over 8 wards and Maunabo Pueblo . It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.The Mayor of the town is Jorge L. Márquez Pérez...

 to the south has been completed and is currently the longest on the island.

Notable natives and residents

• Nydia Velasquez - United States congresswoman
• Christian Pagan - Winner of Idol Puerto Rico
  Idol Puerto Rico
  -Auditions:The show selected contestants from two auditions held on May 7, 2011 in the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium at Ponce and May 14, 2011 in the Hiram Bithorn Stadium at San Juan; those auditions were presented on August 7 and August 9, 2011, respectively....