Guayama

Guayama exists because Taíno caciques chose this site—and their name became the town's identity. The name derives from Cacique Guanamí and Cacique Guayama, meaning 'great site' in Taíno. Indigenous occupation dates to at least 1567, though formal Spanish founding came on January 29, 1736, as San Antonio de Padua de Guayama under Governor Matías de Abadía. The early centuries brought waves of violence: Taíno rebellion, Carib raids, pirate attacks, and the collapse of indigenous population through slavery and migration.

The 18th and 19th centuries built sugar prosperity on enslaved African labor. Plantations multiplied across fertile coastal lands. By the mid-19th century, Guayama had fourteen sugar plantations operating with steam engines and three with ox mills. The town developed infrastructure—cemetery (1844), slaughterhouse and meat market (1851), a two-level wooden theater (1878). Mining companies like 'La Estrella' exploited lead deposits; 'La Rosita' worked galena mines. Sugar wealth built the physical town.

The African population bequeathed more than labor: they transmitted sorcery and witchcraft traditions that gave Guayama its most distinctive identity. 'El Pueblo de los Brujos'—the Town of Wizards—honors both spiritual heritage and baseball legend 'Moncho el Brujo,' a legendary pitcher. The more practical origin traces to fans bringing hoja bruja (witch leaf) to games to cast symbolic spells on opposing teams. The Carnaval Brujo each April reenacts African-derived legends from plantation days—brujo means warlock or spell.

Mid-20th-century industrialization diversified the economy. Univis Optical Corp., Angela Manufacturing Company, and a Philips Petroleum petrochemical complex arrived. The 2010 Census showed 45,362 residents—potentially reflecting industrial boom. But the 2020 Census recorded 36,614, a 19.3% drop consistent with Puerto Rico's island-wide population loss from out-migration and Hurricane Maria devastation.

Modern Guayama sustains itself through pharmaceuticals, remaining agriculture, and livestock rather than sugar or petrochemicals. By 2026, the municipality embodies how Caribbean towns transform: from indigenous settlement to plantation economy to industrial center to population decline, with African spiritual traditions outlasting the slavery that carried them across the Atlantic. The 'Witch Town' nickname persists because identity proves more durable than economics.