Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico | |||
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Municipality | |||
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Nickname(s): La Ciudad de las Aguas Claras", "Los Mulos", "El Oasis de Puerto Rico", "Los Ñocos | |||
Anthem: "Aguas claras" | |||
Location of Aguas Buenas within Puerto Rico |
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Coordinates: 18°15′25″N 66°06′11″W / 18.25694°N 66.10306°WCoordinates: 18°15′25″N 66°06′11″W / 18.25694°N 66.10306°W | |||
Country | United States | ||
Territory | Puerto Rico | ||
Founded | May 25, 1838 | ||
Government | |||
• Mayor | Javier García Pérez (PNP) | ||
• Senatorial dist. | 1 - San Juan | ||
• Representative dist. | 5 | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 78.01 km2 (30.12 sq mi) | ||
• Land | 78 km2 (30 sq mi) | ||
• Water | .01 km2 (0.004 sq mi) | ||
Population (2010) | |||
• Total | 28,659 | ||
• Density | 370/km2 (950/sq mi) | ||
Demonym(s) | Aguasbonenses | ||
Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
Zip code | 00703 |
Aguas Buenas, commonly known as "La Ciudad de las Aguas Claras" (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈaɣwaz ˈβwenas], Good Waters) or "The City of Clear (Good) Waters", is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range, north of Cidra, south of Bayamón, Guaynabo and San Juan; east of Comerio; and north-west of Caguas. Aguas Buenas is spread over 9 wards and Aguas Buenas pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Aguas Buenas was originally a sector of Caguas known as Aguabuena. In 1798, a group of residents started establishing their houses near some of the rivers in the area and started calling the sector Aguas Claras.
The quantity of residents incremented with time and on July 25, 1832, they organized a meeting and commissioned Francisco de Salas Torres and Ramón Díaz to do the necessary arrangements for the region to be declared a municipality. A resident, Julian López, offered part of his estate to be used for the construction of a town square, a church, the city hall, and the priest house.
The town was officially founded on May 25, 1838 and the name was changed to Aguas Buenas. Francisco de Salas Torres was declared the first mayor. Initially, the economy of the town relied on coffee plantations and commerce. At the end of the 19th century, the town's population was close to 7,000.
In 1906, mayor Don José E. Morales bought nearly six acres of terrain from Don Guillermo Díaz Delgado. In these lands, the sectors of La Pajilla, El Pueblito and El Guanábano were established, expanding the town's area.