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Canal through the mangroves. | | |
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LA PARGUERA |
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Puerto Rico's Venice |
© 2002 Américo Boschetti Aponte |
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La Parguera is a small coastal village in the Municipality of Lajas, on the southwest of Puerto Rico. It was founded in the first quarter of the XIX century by fishermen from Cabo Rojo and Guánica, two adjacent municipalities.
The town is world famous for its bioluminiscent bay, its canals and its beautiful keys. | |
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It was a very "hostile, dry and thorny terrain", recalls 84 years old don Juan Ramos Rosado, a fisherman borned there. And as his mind travels through time he recalls how it slowly developed into what it is today. "At the beginning of the XXth century a group osf strong and determined families began populating and love the land as their descendants do", he concludes with a nostalgic air in his voice. Among those families were the Quiñonez, Cancel, Ramos, Rosado, Fabiani, Lagarde, Irizarry, Pagán, Hernández, López, Pancorbo and Piñero. The ones that began developing tourism in the fishing village were the Quiñonez and Cancel families.
In the beginning of the XXth century Don José Antonio Cancel and his cousin Luis Irizarry Cancel built the first fishery in the small village. They contracted don Segundo "Gundo" Hernández to build for them a small flotilla at the "varadero". Their idea was to provide idle indigent fihermen with boats to replenish the business daily while getting themselves a percentage of the caught of the day and a salary.
Don Gundo was the owner of the shipyard where most of the boats were then built. Enid Cancel, don José Antonio's grandaughter considers don Gundo as one of the principal forgers of today's La Parguera."It was him who built almost all the boats that would initiate the tourist trips to the bioluminiscent bay, the keys or along the canals. Then those trips were scarce".
In 1945 the small fishing village was inhabited by 24 fishermen families from neighboring "barrios". But that same year a signicant growth in the population was experienced with the government's program of handing out parcels of land to families not necessarily dedicated to work the sea and, thus, the fishing village's irreversible
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La Parguera Main Square, 1951 | | | development into a tourist village began. In those days the amount of 'pargos' was so inmense that when shoals of them came near the coast, the bay was blackened and the sandy bottom disappeared.
The first hotel in the village was built by don Carlos Quiñonez around 1955. Together with the boat rentals and the trips to bioluminiscent bay, the hotel gave a strong impulse to the tourist development of La Parguera. It was very slow in the beginning but eventually businesses related with scuba diving and snorkeling established themselves in the area. After all, the beautiful transparent waters of the Caribbean Sea are ideal for these aquatic sports.
It was Alfredo Cancel, José Antonio's son, who began using his father's fishery's boats for group trips to the bioluminiscent bay. After his son's project adquired popularity, don José Antonio included the excursions in his business leaving Alfredo in charge of them. In a time when the trips were by oar, Alfredo convinced his father of adquiring outboard motor boats thus giving the tourism business a powerful boost. A short time afterwards the Fabiani's joined this iniative by creating their own boat rental an bay trips business. | |
Magueyes Island
Magueyes Island is an islet located in la Parguera bay. This islet contributed to the development of la Parguera. The breeding of pigs and goats in it by the residents provided them with an additional income besides fishing. It was so until the 1960s when the first zoo in the west of Puerto Rico was located there. Iguanas, bears, zebras and snakes were brought to the new tourist attraction. Nevertheless, its costly and difficult maintenance had the UPR-Mayagüez Campus relocate the zoo and move it to grounds in the precinct. Iguanas still abound Magueyes Island and many have swum across the canal to the mainland, where they are sighted as a testimony of the existence of the zoo.
Not distant from Magueyes Island we find "Isla de la Cueva" ( or Cave Island) also knowned as "Isla de los Monos" (Monkey's Island), thus called because a colony of primate was brought here for scientific research. With time, the monkeys learned how to swim and, as the iguanas did, they crossed the canal and now they are sighted all over the municipality, running along the valleys or playing in the trees. Even though they are harmless; they are a nuisance and cause damage to the pumpkin, watermelons, frutits and other vegetables grown in the area | |
The Festivities of St. Peter, Patron Saint of La Parguera
When don Carlos Quiñonez inaugurated his Hotel he ceded a plot of land to the Catholic Church, where the first village's first church was built. It was named St. Peter's Chapel, La Parguera's Patron Saint.
In his honor the Festivities of St. Peter's were celebrated during the month of July, for ten days in which the most important was the 29th, the day in which the saint is commemorated in the Catholic liturgy.
At the break of day a mass was celebrated followed by a procession headed by an efigy of the saint. The followers walked all the streets of the village ending in the dock where the efigy was taken to a boat and placed astern. And then the procession turned aquatic, with a caravan of decorated boats following the leader, visiting all the keys and finally returning to port, where they will continue the procession across town and finish the day with the crowning of the Queen of the Bay and the recognition of the best decorated boats that took part in the afternoon aquatic procession.
Nowadays, instead of a ten day festivity, only the mass and procession are celebrated on the 29th of july, but it's still the same special date in town as it has been and will be, enjoyed by locals and visitors as well. | |
Puerto Rico's Venice
In the early 1960's some "parguereños" started buiding houses in the coastal mangroves. This houses built on stilts and with porches or decks facing the sea will give the village a unique charm. This porches were used as docks by the homeowners. As the houses proliferated, they were sold to out-of-towners, mainly from San Juan. This newcomers were named 'caseteros", derived from "casetas". Very soon they adopted the custom of visiting each other by boat instead of by land. This usage and the canals has earned La Parguera de surname of "Puerto Rico's Venice"
Even though in the beginning the "caseteros" and locals didn't get along to well but teir differences were overcomed eventually and, since these "casetas" are mainly weekend and summer houses, their maintenace is in the hand of "parguereños" providing them with an extra income. Local economy gets another boost with this "floating" population. | |
La Parguera Today
The population of la Parguera today is 3000. This number includes the "caseteros" but excludes those who stay in guest houses or hotels. The village still has a fishery, home to the La Parguera's Fifhermen Association, with about 70 registered and active members. | |
The Bioluminiscent Bay
This is one of the few existing around the world (in Puerto Rico we have another two, one in Vieques and one in Fajardo). This bays are scarcely found internationally because of the delicate ecological belance they require. The concentration of dinoflagelates causes the bioluminiscece. When disturbed by sudden movements, this microorganisms emanate their own light. In moonless nights, it's impressing to see them shine like misled shooting stars that poured down into the dark waters of the bay.
Trips to the bay are offered in the village in boats of different sizes. From those for six persons to catamarans with space for more than 100 viewers. The visits last about an hour. If you travel in a small boat, you have the chanceof taking a dip in the waters and see the dinoflagelates as they sparkle around your body. The bigger ones usually carry a young swimmer that will take a dive in the bay for the amazement of the tourists. | |
The Canals
This area is formed by more than 30 keys and small "islands", mostly mangroves throgh which the canals flow. An exotic and romantic freshness in the air accompanies one as civilization is forgotten. In the branches of the trees a resting pelican might be sighted (or any other type of bird indigenous to this ecosystem) or the visitor might be surprised by the surfacing of a friendly manatee (because of the pressence of this aquatic mammal, an endangered species, maritime speeding laws are strictly enforced in the area). | |
The Keys
The keys are located south of La Parguera, in the pristine waters of the Caribbean Sea.
The most famous is Caracoles, a natural swimming pool. The shallow waters that surround it, bathers enjoy their day, barbecuing in the boats since there are no beaches to picnic on.
The small canal that runs through it filters new water constantly to the area used by bathers. In this small canal we find a vast variety of sealife, from that pertaining to this ecosystem to a nice sample of tropical fish.
Medialuna Key is known for the herds of manatees that seasonally visit its waters and that make possible a close encounter with one of this friendly mammals. Dolphins and seaturtles are also frequent visitors of the area.
Mata de la Gata, Májimo, Collado, Enrique, Laurel and San Cristóbal are the rest of the keys. They are all frequented by local and international tourists and by the parguereños themselves.
Keys Enrique, Medialuna and Májimo are perfect for camping and spend the night under a starry sky, with shooting stars crossing the sideral vastness to fall in the sea or dissolve in the night.
For all this an many more, La Parguera is a lovely place to visit. The canals, the bay, its people and the possibilities of enjoying a nice scuba diving trip or going deep sea fishing makes it worth the trip and the stay.
And while being there you might want to check around the Bosque Seco de Guánica or visit el Monte del Estado in Maricao or just go to Boquerón and enjoy a couple of dozens of "ostiones" at a street stand. | |
Getting There
From San Juan take the Luis A. Ferré Expressway (PR-52) to Ponce where it merges into PR-2 where yo will exit at PR-116 until you get to PR-304 which will take you straight to "downtown" La Parguera. | |
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Many thanks to:
Luis Doitteau (Paradise Scuba),Enid Cancel (Hotel Nautilus, Cancel boats), Froilán López (Pescadería Froilán), Marcos "Titín" Pagán, Juan "Don Leo" Ramos, Ferdinand Morales Detrés, Johnny Cordero ( Johnny's Boats) and Juán José Boschetti | |
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Home Page |
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Written by: Américo Boschetti
© 2002 Américo Boschetti Aponte | |
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Todos los artículos incluidos © 2002 - 2007 Américo Boschetti AponteAll website building material herein © '2002 "My Web Site"
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