Luquillo, Puerto Rico


Luquillo is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 wards and Luquillo Pueblo. It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The city of Luquillo is 26 square miles and it sits on 12 miles of Atlantic coastline. It is nestled between the blue waters of the Atlantic and the El Yunque National Forest, a rainforest, giving it a diverse and unique ecology. Luquillo marks the beginning of the Northeast Ecological Corridor Nature Reserve which runs down the coast from Luquillo's town square all the way down to the Seven Seas Beach in Fajardo. During certain times of the year, it is not unusual to encounter rare or endangered species of fauna while visiting in Luquillo.

History

Luquillo was founded in 1797 and is known as "La Capital del Sol", "La Riviera de Puerto Rico", and "Los Come Cocos". The town was named after the Indian cacique Loquillo, who died a few years after the last Indian rebellion in 1513.

Hurricane Maria

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Luquillo with the significant amount of rainfall.

Geography

Luquillo is located on the northeast coast.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Luquillo is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".
  1. Juan Martín
  2. Luquillo barrio-pueblo
  3. Mameyes I has a Playa Fortuna Community
  4. Mata de Plátano has a Playa Fortuna Community
  5. Pitahaya
  6. Sabana

    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 Luquillo: Barrio Pitahaya, Sector Santo Domingo, Mata de Plátano, Río Chiquito, and Sector Fortuna Playa.

Tourism

There are 14 beaches in Luquillo including La Pared.
If you stay on the coastal highway going east from San Juan, you'll soon reach Luquillo Beach. This huge plantation of majestic coconut palms shades more than a mile of fine and shimmering sand. It is one of the most popular and nicest public beaches in the San Juan area. It offers cafeterias, public bathrooms with showers, access for disabled people, and an ample parking lot. Monserrate Beach is one of the public beaches most frequented by the locals.
In 2006 El Balneario de Luquillo was pronounced the most popular one in Puerto Rico.
is also very popular for its surf worthy waves.
La Selva, is a small cove on the east coast. It is arguably one of the best surf spots on the east coast. The only way to get to it is about a 2-mile walk through a cow farm, but it's worth the trip if you can talk someone into telling you how to get there.

Landmarks and places of interest

Culture

Festivals and events

Luquillo celebrates its patron saint festival in March. The Fiestas Patronales de San Jose 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 Luquillo include:

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Luquillo is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Jesús Márquez Rodríguez, who was elected at the 2012 general election.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VIII, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Pedro A. Rodríguez and Luis Daniel Rivera were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There is no public transportation in Luquillo, and residents and visitors rely on Uber or Luquillo Taxi & Tours for service.
There are 20 bridges in Luquillo.
PR-3 is the main road through Luquillo. Other municipality roads include PR-983, PR-988, PR-991 and PR-940.

Symbols

Flag

It consists of three horizontal stripes, the blue top and green bottom are double of width of the yellow central stripe. Blue makes reference to the sky and the sea; yellow represents the sand of its beaches and green represents the vegetation of the mountains. In the center stripe resides the Coat Of Arms of the town superimposed and surrounded by two palm tree leaves crossed at the bottom.

Coat of arms

In a gold background a centered mountain range with three green mountains is accompanied at the bottom by a bay with blue and silver waves; the top portion of the shield in blue, has three iris branches. Above the shield resides a three tower gold crown. Surrounding the shield by its flanks are two palms trees leaves crossed at the bottom.

Gallery