San Lorenzo
'Land of Legends' where San Lorenzo appeared in the valley—140 tobacco farms in early 1900s, then military clothing factories. La Santa ridge (2,962 ft) caps the Cayey range.
San Lorenzo exists because a saint appeared—or so the legend goes. Founded around 1811 by Valeriano Muñoz de Oneca, the town was originally called San Miguel de Hato Grande after its hermitage. But local tradition holds that San Lorenzo appeared to neighbors in the fertile river valley, and when the church was built in 1812, the new patron supplanted the old. The parochial archives burned in a fire; no copies survived. 'Land of Legends' became the nickname.
The geography defines limits and opportunities. La Santa ridge rises to 2,962 feet—the highest point in the Cayey range—in the southeast. The eastern humid mountains create a climate that favored tobacco. In the early 20th century, 140 tobacco farms operated in San Lorenzo, part of the dense tobacco district stretching through Caguas, Cayey, Comerio, and Aibonito. Timber extraction was once prolific until uncontrolled exploitation stripped the forests.
The economy shifted from extraction to manufacturing. By the 1980s, 23 manufacturing facilities had established in San Lorenzo, including factories producing military clothing. Today plantains are the main crop; leather footwear and electromechanical equipment join agricultural output. 'Town of the Samaritans'—another nickname—suggests the community character that persists.
By 2026, San Lorenzo tests whether mountain manufacturing sustains what tobacco abandoned, and whether legends translate to economic identity or become only stories.