History

Coamo is the third oldest municipality in Puerto Rico, founded July 15, 1579.

Coamo is the third oldest settlement of the island's post Columbian period (after San Juan in the north and San Germán in the west). By 1582, there were twenty families living in Coamo, in the same area where the Tainos had had their village of Guayama. Coamo became officially a town in 1616, and given the title of "Villa" by Spanish Royal Decree in 1778.

It was the administrative center that encompassed most of the southern half of the island during the early colonial period. As the agriculture and sugar industry which became the mainstays of the colony's economy grew, the province would eventually subdivide into several distinct municipalities and the administrative center of the region would later shift west to the coastal town of Ponce.

Coamo boasts an elegant picturesque downtown plaza area, and is the home of a series of natural hot springs, Los Baños de Coamo, which has attracted visitors to its medicinal waters since even before the Spaniards landed. Indeed, these very springs were once rumored to have been Juan Ponce de León's legendary "fountain of youth", or so the local folklore tells. In the early nineteenth century, a system of pools of varying depths and sizes and temperatures was constructed at the site of these springs to serve as a spa for the colonials. When during the North American invasion in the Spanish American War (1898), this was the scene of one of the decisive battles (the Battle of Coamo). The North Americans troops took possession of the island and the spa was subsequently abandoned. Though the site lay in ruins for most of the twentieth century, long neglected, it continued to be a landmark to the Coameños (as the residents of Coamo are called) who would often come to bathe in its healing thermal waters. The pools are still there but the buildings which once hosted the island's affluent and colonial soldiers are long gone, except for the remains of one central wall structure which has been preserved and incorporated into a fountain courtyard on the grounds of a popular tourist hotel and rest stop which has replaced the ancient Spanish ruins. During the 1970s, this writer ran and played around those ruins; the place was all mango trees. Huge ones.

Flag
The flag of Coamo derives its colors from the Coat of Arms. The red is indicative of the martyrs and recalls San Blas who was beheaded. The yellow alludes to charity of San Blas and to the dry pastures of Coamo. The black refers to the bitterness and mourning undergone by Coamo.

Coat of Arms
The superior left and the inferior right have a red background with a gold Episcopal hat each. These parts of the Coat of Arms represent the old seat of San Blas de Illescas. The horse and the bull represent the cattle wealth of the population. The gold color that serves as background in contrast with the black color, recalls the yellowish reddish tone of the fields of Coamo during the droughts. The heavy border of the Coat Of Arms contains the following figures: two flames; three bell towers with gold bells outlined in red; two red crosses with arms ending in three petals; and a circle with a surface divided by horizontal blue and silver-plated stripes.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Coamo Arriba
• Cuyón
• Hayales
• Los Llanos
• Palmarejo
• Pasto
• Pedro Garcia
• Pulgillas
• San Idelfonso
• Santa Catalina

Geo/Topography
Cerro Pulguitas, Cuchillas de Coamo, Presidio and Santa Ana.
Rivers are: Coamo, Descalabrado, Lapa, Jueyes and Mina.
Coamo Thermal Baths, nourished by the Coamo river.

Agriculture
Coamo is an agricultural center where mangoes, corn, avocados, oranges, plantains, poultry and cattle are raised.

Industrial
Coamo is a trading center for machinery, aircraft radio components, and clothing.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

• Coamo Thermal Baths - near the Santa Isabel border.
• Historic Museum

Festivals and events

Coamo is famous for being the host of the San Blas Marathon, a yearly world-class professional marathon that attracts the best competitive runners in the world. It was inaugurated in 1963 by Phi Delta Fraternity in honor to the founder of the town. World-class international and local runners compete in a 13.1-mile half marathon. It's Puerto Rico's biggest race, and the crowds are always large.

• Patron Festivities - February
• San Blas Half Marathon - February
• Flower Carnival - May
• Yuca (cassava) Carnival - August
• Juey (crab) Carnival - October
• Bomba & Plena Festival - November

Sports

The Maratonistas (BSN), is the only professional team the towns hosts. The team has played in Coamo with mixed success since joining the league in 1985.

Notable "Coameños"

• Bobby Capó (1922-1989) - Singer, composer and government official
• Rafael Rivera Zayás (1885-1958) - Orator, lawyer and journalist
• Milagros Quesada Picó (1930-2003) - Lawyer, director Legal Services Corporation of San Juan

Coamo, Puerto Rico. (2006, October 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:34, October 18, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coamo%2C_Puerto_Rico&oldid=81035378