Jayuya
The Taino cacique Hayuya's namesake became a mountain refuge where indigenous culture survived Spanish colonization; petroglyphs from 600-1200 AD still mark its rivers. With Mayor Gonzalez Otero now leading Puerto Rico's mayors' association and coffee tourism growing, 2026 will test whether cultural heritage can reverse population decline.
Why does Puerto Rico's highest mountain range still echo with Taino names when the people who spoke them supposedly vanished five centuries ago? Jayuya answers that question: it is both a geographic refuge and a cultural reservoir where indigenous heritage survived Spanish colonization.
Named for the Taino cacique Hayuya, this municipality occupies the island's rugged central cordillera, including Cerro Punta (4,389 feet)—Puerto Rico's highest peak—and the Tres Picachos formation that gives the town its nickname: 'Town of Three Peaks.' The terrain that made conquest difficult also made coffee cultivation ideal. Spanish settlers established haciendas here in the 18th century, but the steep slopes and isolation meant indigenous cultural practices persisted longer than in coastal zones.
La Piedra Escrita—'the written rock'—provides physical evidence: a massive boulder in the Rio Saliente covered with Taino petroglyphs dating to 600-1200 AD. The Cemi Museum preserves artifacts while the annual Festival Nacional Indigena, held every November, celebrates Taino traditions through music, dance, and traditional crafts. Modern genetic studies confirm what Jayuya's residents have long known: substantial indigenous ancestry survived in Puerto Rico's mountain communities.
Coffee remains the economic heartbeat. The Fiestas del Cafe each February draws thousands to sample beans grown on the same steep slopes the Taino once farmed. But agriculture alone cannot sustain Jayuya. The municipality's population has declined as younger residents seek opportunities in San Juan or the mainland, following Puerto Rico's broader demographic hemorrhage.
Politically, Jayuya punches above its weight. Mayor Jorge L. Gonzalez Otero won his eighth consecutive term in November 2024 and was elected president of the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico in January 2025. This concentration of political continuity in a small mountain town reflects both stability and the limited alternatives rural Puerto Rico offers its leaders. By 2026, Jayuya's trajectory depends on whether cultural tourism around Taino heritage and specialty coffee can reverse population decline—or whether 'La Capital Indigena' becomes a museum of what Puerto Rico was rather than what it remains.