Ceiba is both a small town and municipality in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the north-east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, south of Fajardo, north of Naguabo and southeast of Río Grande. Located about one hour's driving distance from San Juan, Ceiba is spread over 7 barrios and Ceiba Pueblo. It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ceiba, situated near Fajardo, used to be home of an American military Naval base, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. Most of the units were relocated and the base was closed in 2004. Ex-governor Sila María Calderón suggested turning the property into a major international airport, to serve as a relief to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, and to increase the number of international airlines that operate into Puerto Rico. She was met with skepticism about these plans from such groups as environmentalists, economists and others, but in 2008, José Aponte de la Torre Airport was inaugurated at the base's former site. Locals are commonly known as "Los Come Sopa". Even though there is no official reason as to why they are called this, a few stories have been suggested. Among the tales is the belief that since the town did not have a local meat market people had to travel long distances in order to buy some meat and therefore mostly ate soup. Ceiba is also known as "La Ciudad del Marlin".
History
Ceiba was founded on April 7, 1838 by Luis de la Cruz. Ceiba derives its name from an Indian word Seyba, which is the name for a famous tree that grows in the island, the Ceiba pentandra. Ceiba was consolidated with Fajardo in the 1899 population count / census by the U.S.
Hurricane Maria
on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Ceiba with the significant amount of rainfall.
Geography
Ceiba is home of the Ceiba Forest which extends along the coastline between Ceiba and Fajardo. 95% of the forest is classified as mangrove. Various species of birds can be seen as well as turtles and manatees. Its rivers includes; Río Daguao, Río Demajagua and Río Fajardo. The municipality extends northwest into the seas between Fajardo and Culebra and thereby includes the reefs and islets named Arrecifes Hermanos and Arrecifes Barriles. The reef are closest to the coastal barrio of Machos, but barrio boundaries are not defined in that area.
Barrios
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Ceiba is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.
Ceiba barrio-pueblo
Chupacallos
Daguao
Guayacán
Machos
Quebrada Seca
Río Abajo
Saco
Sectors
Barrios in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores. The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.
Special Communities
Of the 742 places on the list of Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Ceiba: Saco, Las Calderonas, Parcelas Aguas Claras, Parcelas Nuevas, Prado Hermoso, and Quebrada Seca.
Demographics
Tourism
Landmarks and places of interest
There are 60 beaches in Ceiba, including Los Machoes Beach. Other places of interest include:
Ceiba celebrates its patron saint festival in June. The Fiestas Patronales de San Antonio de Padua is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events celebrated in Ceiba include:
Maratón de los Enamorados - February
Festival de Chiringas - April
Festival de Marlin or Marlin Festival- May or June
Fiesta Nacional de la Raza - October
Maratón del Pavo - November
Sports
Former IBF world Jr. Middleweight boxing champion Carlos Santos hails from Ceiba. Ceiba also has an amateur AAA baseball team Los Marlins de Ceiba. Chi-Chi Rodriguez, Pro golfer is from Ceiba.
Religion
As in most towns of Puerto Rico it was founded on the Christian ideas and faith statements of the Roman Catholic Church which prevailed in previous centuries through Spaniard tradition. The town still maintains a central Roman Catholic church which can be found in the town square.
Economy
Manufacturing.
Transportation
offers commercial flights on four airlines; it also houses an MD-82 jet donated by American Airlines to local air mechanics students. There are 29 bridges in Ceiba.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Ceiba include:
Luis Vigoreaux - radio and television show host, announcer, comedian and producer. Luis Vigoreaux was found murdered on January 17, 1983. His wife Lydia Echevarria arranged his murder.
Ceiba's flag derives its design and colors from the municipal coat of arms. This maintains the same symbolism given to the coat of arms. It is made of two vertical lines of the same width, red in the left side and green on the right. The red side depicts a yellow cross.
Shield
It depicts a shield with golden field with a Ceiba tree in the middle. In the upper part of the shield it has a red horizontal line with a golden cross in the middle and two golden flowers in each side. The cross symbolizes the Christian faith as well as a recognition to Don Luis de la Cruz who founded the town. The golden flowers represent sugar cane flowers. Above the shield there is a golden Spanish fort.
