Cayey is celebrating its 250th birthday as part of next month’s annual traditional town festival.
Central-eastern municipality prepares for annual festivities
By RICHARD GUTIERREZ
richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com
Many municipalities hold local festivals every year, a tradition that dates back to the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico centuries ago. Although the festivities have a Catholic background to them; many people who aren’t Catholics also take part in them.
Cayey is no exception to the celebration of these annual events. The town is working extra-hard to get things done for this year’s festivities, which are particularly exciting residents because the town is also celebrating a milestone birthday and will celebrate the festivities in honor of Mother Mary as a Marian dedication.
“This year is very special, because we are honoring the very first residents of Cayey, who worked really hard 250 years ago for the creation of this city, which now is home to more than 40,000 residents,” said one of the festival organizers.
This year’s festivities are slated to begin Tuesday, Aug. 15 and will end on Sunday, Aug. 20 with an extensive musical, sports and cultural agenda. Soon the details will be released through social media regarding the musical and artistic offerings.
However, it has already been confirmed that the well-known Golden Coquí 8K road race will take place on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m., when racers will take their marks at Pedro Montañez Municipal Stadium. Registration will be $15 and there will be prizes awarded by category. The race will be quite inclusive in terms of age range; there will be categories from the ages of 20 to 29 years of age as well as a category that goes up to 70 years or older. Prizes will vary in terms of the category, in a spirit of fairness. There will also be a special category for residents with special needs and a wheelchair category as well.
Earlier in the day, at 2 p.m. the children and teen race will take place. Unlike the adult race, registration for this one is free. Categories range from ages 4 and 5 to ages 18 and 19. The event will raise funds for The Athletics Club of Cayey.
The classic coronation ceremony will take place a day before on Saturday, Aug. 19. Registration will be at 1 p.m. and grouping will begin at 4 p.m. The parade will start at 4:30 p.m. from the public transport terminal “Leonides ‘Johnny’ Toledo.” The event will also have multiple prizes for all resident queens of Cayey. There will also be prizes for queens from other towns.
Cayey is known for its dance groups and parade floats, which is part of why so many people from around the island come to the festivities. The best youth queen representation will be chosen at the end of the event.
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