Lajas (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Lajas Valley in southwestern Puerto Rico, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of San Germán and Sabana Grande; east of Cabo Rojo; and west of Guánica. Lajas is spread over 11 barrios plus Lajas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Germán-Cabo Rojo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Located in the Lajas Valley, the town was founded in 1883 by the Xueta Teodoro Jácome Pagán. Xuetes (Chuetas) were Mallorcan Jews (Sephardic Catalan Jews). Some families changed their names from Jácome to the Castilian form Santiago. Jácome is the Mallorquin form of James (Ia'akov). Catalan Jews from Mallorca were part of the early settlers in the south of Borikén (Puerto Rico).
Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a colony of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Lajas was 8,789.
The village of La Parguera is a popular tourist destination to see the famous Bahía Bioluminiscente (Phosphorescent Bay) and its numerous keys and islets. Parador La Parguera was founded by Puerto Rican comedian Henry LaFont (Julio Pancorbo Ortiz).
People from the El Combate community in barrio Boquerón are known as mata con hacha ("those who kill with axes") based on folklore about a fight over the salinas, where those from Cabo Rojo fought with axes against people from the adjacent town of Lajas. Because the people from Lajas apparently fought back by throwing stones they are known as tira piedras ("those who throw stones").
On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. In Lajas, over 270 residences lost their roofs. The hurricane destroyed Lajas' pineapple industry.
Geography
thumb|Picture of La Parguera, Lajas taken during [[Expedition 53|ISS Expedition 53]]
Lajas is located on the southern coast. Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge is a national protected area located in Lajas.
Barrios
thumb|Subdivisions of Lajas
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Lajas is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as .
- Candelaria
- Costa
- Lajas
- Lajas barrio-pueblo
- Lajas Arriba
- Llanos
- Palmarejo
- Parguera
- París
- Plata
- Sabana Yeguas
- Santa Rosa
Sectors
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) and subbarrios, are further subdivided into smaller areas called (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.
Special Communities
(Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Lajas: El Papayo, El Tendal, Sector Sabana Yeguas, La Haya, Las Cuevas, Los Jovillos, Maguayo, Piñalejos, and Tokio.
Climate
Lajas features a tropical savanna climate (Aw/As), common for southwestern Puerto Rico. The record high for the town is .