Camuy, Puerto Rico

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Camuy is a municipality in Puerto Rico, founded in 1807 by Petrolina Matos, and formerly part of Arecibo. Camuy is located in the northwestern coastal region of Puerto Rico, less than 10 minutes east of Hatillo on PR 2 and toll Expressway 22. The name Camuy is known to be derived from the Taíno language, although a number of legends give differing explanations for the origin of the name. One such legend claims the name comes from the Taíno word for "sun", another claims derivation from canuy, Taíno for "beautiful scenery", and still another states that Camuy was the name of a Taíno chief. The "sun" legend is reflected in the coat of arms for the municipality.

The patron saint of Camuy is San José. His day is celebrated on may 1].The patron saint festivities are celebrated every year around the last 2 weeks of the month of may...month of saint joseph..patron saint of camuy..His official liturgical day is may 1.

Camuy is known for its Parque de las Cavernas del Río Camuy (Camuy River Cave Park), a large network of natural limestone caves and underground waterways. The cave system was first documented in the 1973 book Discovery At The Rio Camuy (ISBN 0517505940) by Russell and Jeanne Gurnee. The park built around the cave system features tours of some of the caves, and is one of the most popular natural attractions in Puerto Rico. The caverns were created by the Río Camuy (Camuy River), one of the few active underground rivers in the Americas, and the third longest underground river in the world. In recognition of this, the Camuy coat of arms includes a symbol for the underground river.

The population of Camuy was 35,244 at the 2000 census, and it has land area of 120.24 km². The municipality is a popular suburb, although it is growing economically more slowly than neighboring Hatillo.

References

[Camuy and its barrios, United States Census Bureau]

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