Vayas is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Playa, Bucana, Canas and Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of Ponce's five coastal barrios. Together with Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of two rural coastal barrios in the municipality.[3] It was organized in 1831, at which time it was divided into Vayas Norte and Vayas Sur; in 1878 the two were subsequently merged into today's Vayas.[4]

Vayas
Tower at Mercedita Airport in Vayas
Tower at Mercedita Airport in Vayas
Location of Vayas barrio within the municipality of Ponce shown in red
Location of Vayas barrio within the municipality of Ponce shown in red
Vayas is located in Caribbean
Vayas
Vayas
Location of Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 17°58′59″N 66°34′15″W / 17.983021°N 66.570813°W / 17.983021; -66.570813[1]
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
Municipality Ponce
Area
 • Total10.44 sq mi (27.0 km2)
 • Land7.09 sq mi (18.4 km2)
 • Water3.35 sq mi (8.7 km2)
Elevation0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total901
 • Density127.1/sq mi (49.1/km2)
 Source: 2010 Census
Time zoneUTC−4 (AST)

History edit

Barrio Vayas is one of the oldest barrios in Ponce, dating from the 1780s. Its name can be seen spelled as "Bayas", "Vallas, and even "Ballas", but the official name is nowadays spelled "Vayas". It is believed that name came from the stakes used by farmers to mark the extension of their lands, in the times when those lands were used for pasturing herds.[5]

Location edit

Vayas is a rural, coastal barrio located in the southern region of the municipality, east of downtown Ponce, and southeast of the traditional center of the city, Plaza Las Delicias. It is located at 18.0107°N 66.5567°W, with an elevation of 43 feet.[6] The toponymy, or origin of the name, is related to the edges or boundary (a type of fencing) to cordon off a land area or barrio.[7]

Boundaries edit

It is bounded on the North by PR-1 and La Esperanza Street, on the South by the Caribbean Sea, on the West by Bucara Street/Los Caobos Avenue, PR-52 (roughly), and the Costa Caribe Country Club East Access Road, and on the East by Río Inabón.[8][9][10][11]

In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Vayas is bounded in the North by Sabanetas and Coto Laurel, in the South by the Caribbean Sea, in the West by Bucaná, and in the East by Capitanejo.[12][13]

Features and demographics edit

Unlike most other barrios of Ponce, Vayas' landscape is entirely flat. Vayas has the third longest coastline of all five of Ponce's coastal barrios, after Canas and Playa. Vayas has 7.1 square miles (18 km2) of land area and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) of water area.[14][15]

In 2000, the population of Vayas was 1,338 persons, and it had a density of 188 persons per square mile.[10][16]

In 2010, the population of Vayas was 901 persons, and it had a density of 127.1 persons per square mile.[17]

The main roads serving barrio Vayas are PR-52 and PR-1.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1910720
1920633−12.1%
193079024.8%
1940621−21.4%
19501,530146.4%
19601,6417.3%
19701,375−16.2%
19801,160−15.6%
19901,153−0.6%
20001,33816.0%
2010901−32.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
1899 (shown as 1900)[18] 1910-1930[19]
1930-1950[20] 1960[21] 1980-2000[22] 2010[23]

Notable landmarks edit

Vayas barrio is home to Ponce's Mercedita Airport and Destileria Serralles.[24]

The community of Vayas Torres is among the communities located in Barrio Vayas.[25]

Notable people from Vayas edit

  • Carmín Vega, comedian from the Mercedita sector of Barrio Vayas.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "US Gazetteer 2019". US Census. US Government.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Vayas barrio
  3. ^ Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 22.
  4. ^ Barrios de Ponce. Archived 30 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Antepasados Esclavos.(From: Pedro Tomás de Córdoba. Memorias geográficas, históricas, económicas y estadísticas de la Isla de Puerto Rico.) Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. ^ Eli Oquendo-Rodriguez. Barrios de Ponce: Noticias y microhistorias de ocho comunidades ponceñas en la historia, siglos XVI al XIX. 2019. p. 207. ISBN 9781076759153
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. Topographic Map of Ponce. Map Styles: Map and Shaded. Trails.com. From: USGS. Topo Map. Projection: NAD83/WGS84. Coordinates and Elevation of Barrio Vayas. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  7. ^ Government of the Municipality of Ponce. Periódico "El Señorial". Special issue: Carnaval Ponceño 2013. February 2013. Page 17. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  8. ^ Webcensus. Archived 12 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  9. ^ Maptest. Archived 18 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  10. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. Topographic Map of Ponce. Map Styles: Map and Shaded. Trails.com. From: USGS. Topo Map. Projection: NAD83/WGS84. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  11. ^ GeoLocalizador - Junta de Planificación. Junta de Planificación. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  12. ^ Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial. Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. (Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Office of Territorial Planning.) Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  13. ^ Arecibo Web. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Barrios. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  14. ^ U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. Ponce and Its Barrios. (Ponce Municipio, Puerto Rico -- County Subdivision and Place. GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000. Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data) Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  15. ^ City Melt Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  16. ^ Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Office of Territorial Planning. (Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial.) Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  17. ^ Puerto Rico:2010:population and housing unit counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. 2010.
  18. ^ "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  21. ^ Census of Population, 1960: Number of Inhabitants, General Population Characteristics, General Social and Economic Characteristics, and Detailed Characteristics. Characteristics of the population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1963. pp. 97–101. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  23. ^ Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  24. ^ Mercedita Airport is located in Barrio Vayas Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  25. ^ Eli Oquendo-Rodriguez. Barrios de Ponce: Noticias y microhistorias de ocho comunidades ponceñas en la historia, siglos XVI al XIX. 2019. p. 209. ISBN 9781076759153

External links edit