YAGUEZ THEATER Photo Luciano Quinones

Could pure water be favorable to honeymoons?

Mayaguez, the sultan of western Puerto Rico, is known as the "City of Pure Water" because of the crystal clear rivers running around it, and the meaning of its name in the Taino aborigine language.

Also, the region is known as the honeymoon capital city in Puerto Rico, framing love with its exuberant and beautiful vegetation, justifying its fame with a romantic legend from the 16th Century.

TRIVIA In the old structure of the city, a trolley system provides transportation, free of charge.

- It said that men available to be married were so scarce that farmers in the region kidnapped young sailors from Spanish boats docking at the port, on their way to South America to get a husband for their daughters and foremen for their farms.

Legends aside, the city of Mayaguez was founded by Mr. Faustino Martínez de Matos, Mr. Juan de Aponte, and Mr. Juan de Silva, in 1760 under the name Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayaguez (Our Lady of the Mayaguez Candlemas).

Queen Isabella II of Spain awarded the village the quality of a Town in 1836. Alphonse XII awarded it the title of City in 1877 and in 1894, the Queen Regent, Maria Cristina of Habsburg, granted the city its coat of arms.

CULTURAL LIFE The RUM Choir (Mayaguez University Hall) became the first Puerto Rican university choir to be awarded a prize in the International Choir Festival held in Verona, Italy.

In spite of having been founded in the 18th Century, the Mayaguez region was part of European history back in the 15th Century. In 1493, during his second travel, Christopher Columbus sailed into its shore and disembarked to get drinking water for his crew.

Today, in the main part of the city, the discoverer's bronze statue proudly rises over the town, obviously at the center of Columbus Square.

Since Mayaguez is a major sailing port, it achieved great business and agricultural prosperity in the 19th Century. Even its weaving and embroidery became famous. But in 1918, a terrible earthquake destroyed the city.

My homeland is an oasis, a garden of great beauty, where artists and poets become fully inspired… First words in the Mayaguez Anthem, written by Luciano Quiñones, 1999.

Even then, nature itself was unable to subdue the indomitable spirit of the Mayaguez people who rebuilt their beloved city and were able to restore its splendor.

Today, Mayaguez is a prosperous industrial and commercial community where port activities, together with its beer, clothing, and pharmaceutical industries, highlight the economic growth of the city. Also, a growing electronic outsourcing sector and a booming tuna packing industry can be added to this economic growth. Sixty per cent of the tuna consumed in the United States is packed in the region.

There are many points of interest in the city. Among them, the Columbus Square, the Yaguez Theater, the unique Zoological Garden in the island (Zoorrico), the Founding Fathers Park, the Mayaguez University Hall (RUM for its Spanish acronym) and the Agricultural Experimental Station where the largest tropical plant collection in the western hemisphere is said to be.

THE WATER Mayaguez was the first city in Puerto Rico to have an aqueduct built in 1866.

The enterprising Mayaguez, with its port, industry and commerce…; enlightened Mayaguez, with its institutes, universities, and intense cultural agenda…; tourism Mayaguez, with its festivities, carnival, beaches, water sports, night clubs, and casino… all of them are supplemented by the romantic Mayaguez "where at the end of each day the Sun lies down to sleep".

Mayaguez, the best of the latin spirit.