Cidra
Founded 1809 after residents petitioned to separate from Cayey, Cidra's name derives from the citron fruit once cultivated here. Coffee, tobacco, and cattle drove the traditional economy before pharmaceutical and clothing industries arrived. New mayor Delvis Pagán Clavijo (elected 2024) inherits a mountain municipality balancing agricultural heritage against industrial aspiration.
Cidra exists because a Catalan named Frujols built a hermitage in these central Puerto Rican hills around 1795. The small village that grew around it was originally part of Cayey, but in 1807 residents petitioned for independence. A landowner named Bibiana Vázquez donated the necessary land, Governor Salvador Meléndez approved the request, and in 1809 Cidra became its own municipality. The name likely derives from citron—the aromatic citrus fruit widely cultivated here before coffee and tobacco became the dominant crops.
The municipality's economy followed a familiar Puerto Rican trajectory. By the 1899 U.S. census, population reached 7,552, with agriculture driving everything. Coffee, tobacco, and cattle ranching sustained mountain communities throughout the 20th century. But Operation Bootstrap—Puerto Rico's mid-century industrialization push—drew workers toward coastal factories and pharmaceutical plants. Cidra adapted partially: pharmaceutical and clothing industries now participate in the local economy alongside traditional agriculture.
Yet the fundamental challenge persists. Puerto Rico imports 85% of its food despite abundant fertile land. Agriculture contributes just 0.8% of island GDP, though the 2022 Census of Agriculture showed improvement—total production reached $703 million, up 45% from 2018. For mountain municipalities like Cidra, this means agricultural heritage survives as much through cultural preservation as economic necessity.
The 2024 general elections brought new leadership: Mayor Delvis Pagán Clavijo of the New Progressive Party. He inherits a municipality caught between agricultural tradition and industrial aspiration, between mountain isolation and metropolitan proximity to San Juan and Caguas, which together represent 75% of Puerto Rico's economy.
By 2026, Cidra will likely continue this balancing act—maintaining agricultural identity while seeking pharmaceutical and manufacturing investment, neither fully rural nor industrial, shaped by a hermitage built over two centuries ago.