Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mayagüez today boasts a large university (specializing in sciences), numerous historic
buildings, a couple of parks and a lovely central plaza. It's also a center of Puerto Rican
gastronomy and drinking, with a pair of 19th-century bakeries celebrated for a locally fam-
ous delicacy known as
brazo gitano
(gypsy's arm; a jam sponge cake presented in the style
of a Swiss roll). For drinkers, there's a raucous college bar scene and an out-of-the-way
place brewing an insanely sweet rum-and-wine cocktail known as Sangria de Fido.
Little visited by tourists who veer northwest to Rincón or south toward Cabo Rojo, May-
agüez has enough distractions to fill a long afternoon (including Puerto Rico's only zoo
and planetarium), the delightful Yagüez theater and a lively student nightlife. Then there's
the congenial
mayagüezians
(people from Mayagüez), always up for a spontaneous fiesta,
such as
Cinco Días con Nuestro Tierra
, an agricultural-industrial fair (see
Click here
)
.
Sights
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria
CHURCH
Consecrated in 1760, Mayagüez' original Catholic church was replaced by the current
model in 1836. The cathedral suffered many blows over the subsequent 100 years, culmin-
ating in the 1918 earthquake, which destroyed its ceiling, and a lightning bolt that toppled
one of its bell towers. Ambitious renovation plans were drawn up by architect Luis Peroci-
er in 1922, but due to lack of funds they were never truly realized.
The full refurbishment wasn't actually completed until 2004. The cathedral now sparkles
afresh and survives as one of Puerto Rico's most evocative ecclesial monuments with gil-
ded scenes from the life of Christ behind the altar.
