History

Guaynabo was founded in 1769, after a struggle to be divide from the municipality of Bayamón. Previously, the city was known as "Buinabo", name that means in Taíno "He aquí otro lugar de agua dulce" or "Have here another place of sweet water".

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Camarones
• Frailes
• Guaraguao
• Hato Nuevo
• Mamey

Economic

Long considered to be just a mostly rural, drive-by town for drivers who were going from San Juan to the western part of Puerto Rico, Guaynabo went through a large economic revitalization in the 1980s, under mayor Alejandro "Junior" Cruz. As a consequence, parts of the city have also served as a San Juan suburb preferred by upper-middle and high income families. Perhaps due to this fact, today, Guaynabo has the highest per capita income in Puerto Rico. Torrimar, Garden Hills, San Patricio and Tintillo are among the upper class neighborhoods located in Guaynabo. As a result of the proliferation of upper middle class and wealthy neighborhoods, Guaynabo has many of the top private schools in Puerto Rico, including Colegio Marista Guaynabo, The Baldwin School and Academia San José.

With Cruz at the helm, many shopping strips and malls were built, as well as Mario "Quijote" Morales Coliseum (then called Mets Pavilion). In addition, many manufacturing plants such as Hanes' plant set foot in Guaynabo then. Guaynabo has, at different times, been voted the most picturesque and cleanest town in Puerto Rico.

Several businesses have their headquarters in Guaynabo. El Nuevo Día, Santander Securities, the Puerto Rico Telephone Company and many sales offices for large US firms have their Puerto Rican headquarters in Guaynabo. WAPA-TV has its main studios in Guaynabo.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

• Baldorioty de Castro Statue
• Bellas Artes Center
• Caparra Ruins
• Caribe Recreational Center
• Mets Pavilion
• San Patricio Plaza

Festivals and events

• Three Reyes Festival - January
• Mabó Carnival - February
• Mothers Tribute - May
• Patron Festivities - May
• Salsa National Day - June
• Bellas Artes Camp - June
• Bomba & Plena Festival - October
• Chirstmas Lighting - November

Sports

Guaynabo's BSN team, the Guaynabo Mets, won national championships in 1980, 1982 and 1989, commanded by the player after whom the coliseum was named, and his brother in law Federico "Fico" Lopez.

Notable "Guaynabeños"

• Aurelio Maldonado
• Cesar Lopez
• Eleuterio Quiñones
• Jose R. Carazo
• Jose Pepito Bonano
• Lidio Cruz Moclova
• Rafael Martínez Nadal
• Román Baldorioty de Castro
• Francisco Valcarcel

Diplomacy

Guaynabo serves as a host city three foreign consulates with business in Puerto Rico:

• El Salvador
• Finland
• Nicaragua

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. (2006, October 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:58, October 20, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guaynabo%2C_Puerto_Rico&oldid=80505934