Luquillo is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo

Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Fajardo is a small city in Puerto Rico located in the east region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Ceiba and east of Luquillo.Fajardo is spread over 7 wards and Downtown Fajardo , which serves as the administrative center of the city...

; and east of Rio Grande

Río Grande, Puerto Rico

Río Grande is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Valley, North of Las Piedras, Naguabo and Ceiba; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eight wards and Río Grande Pueblo...

. Luquillo is spread over 5 wards and Luquillo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Luquillo was founded in 1797 and is known as "La Capital del Sol" (sun capital), "La Riviera de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico's riviera, and "Los Come Cocos" (The coconut eaters). The town was named after the Indian cacique

Cacique

Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...

 Loquillo, who died a few years after the last Indian rebellion in 1513.

Flag

It consists of three horizontal stripes, the blue top and green bottom are double of width of the yellow central stripe. Blue makes reference to the sky and the sea; yellow represents the sand of its beaches and green represents the vegetation of the mountains. In the center stripe resides the Coat Of Arms of the town superimposed and surrounded by two palm tree leaves crossed at the bottom.

Coat of Arms

In a gold background a centered mountain range with three green mountains is accompanied at the bottom by a bay with blue and silver waves; the top portion of the shield in blue, has three iris branches. Above the shield resides a three tower gold crown. Surrounding the shield by its flanks are two palms trees leaves crossed at the bottom.

Demographics

Ethnicity - Luquillo, Puerto Rico - 2005
Race	Population	% of Total
White people	10,112	57.4%
Black/African American African American African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...	4,345	23.7%
American Indian Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...  and Alaska Native	120	0.6%
Asian Asian people Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...	62	0.3%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Pacific Islander Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...	3	0.0%
Some other race	2,933	14.8%
Two or more races	610	3.1%

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Juan Martín
• Luquillo Pueblo
• Mameyes I
• Mata de Plátano
• Pitahaya
• Sabana

Tourism

If you stay on the coastal highway going east from San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, you'll soon reach Luquillo Beach. This huge plantation of majestic coconut palms shades more than a mile of fine and shimmering sand. It is one of the most popular and nicest public beaches in the San Juan area. It offers cafeterias, public bathrooms with showers, access for disabled people, and an ample parking lot. Monserrate Beach is one of the public beaches most frequented by the locals.
In 2006 El Balneario de Luquillo (The Luquillo Beach) was pronounced the most popular one in Puerto Rico.

Landmarks and places of interest

• Chief Loquillo Monument
• La Fortuna Hacienda
• La Bandera Beach
• La Monserrate Beach
• La Pared Beach
• Las Pailas Beach
• Luquillo Beach
• Mameyes Beach
• Ocean View Boulevard
• Fortuna Beach
• El Parque de Recreacion
• El Balneario
• The Brass Cactus rest.

Festivals and events

• Patron Saint Celebrations - March
• Leatherback Turtle Festival - April
• Coconut Festival - September
• Typical Dish Festival - December
• The Three Kings Day Celebration at The Luquillo Plaza - January