Yauco

Yauco was the centre of the coffee trade in the nineteenth century, when Puerto Rican coffee sold at premium prices in Europe, and the money built the town: neoclassical houses, a substantial plaza and a church, much of it from that period and a good deal of it still standing. Corsican families were prominent among the planters and their names remain. In recent years a stairway in the town has been painted in bright colours as a public art project and has become the image most associated with Yauco.

Background

Spanish settlers raised a small chapel here in 1755, dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario, and the King of Spain approved their request for a town on 29 February 1756, with Fernando Pacheco as its founder. Tobacco, sugar cane and coffee shaped the early economy. In the 19th century many Corsicans settled here, drawn by land that resembled their home island, and they left a strong mark on the coffee industry. That history explains the nickname El Pueblo del Café and why locals are often called Los Corsos. The town centre sits inland, yet the municipality of 178.1 km2 runs down to the Caribbean coast and is split into 20 barrios plus Yauco Pueblo.

Source: Wikipedia, "Yauco, Puerto Rico"

What's there

• The painted stairs - a stairway painted in bright colours as a public art project.
• The nineteenth-century houses - neoclassical buildings from the coffee boom.
• The plaza and church - the town centre from the same period.
• The Corsican legacy - planter family names and buildings through the town.

When to go

December to April is the drier season and the most comfortable. The coffee festival is usually held in the spring. The southwest is hot in summer.

Before you go

Some of the historic buildings are in poor repair. The painted stairs are on a residential street and residents live there. There is little visitor infrastructure.

Nearby

Ponce is east, and Guánica dry forest is south.

Key facts