Lajas barrio-pueblo


Lajas barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center of Lajas, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 564.
As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called pueblo which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings, and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales are held in the central plaza every year.

History

The United States took control of Puerto Rico from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Lajas Pueblo was 1,385.

The central plaza history

The central plaza, or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The Laws of the Indies, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" , and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors. These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain.