| Official Name: | Loíza barrio-pueblo |
| Native Name: | Pueblo de Loíza |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality Seat |
| Pushpin Map: | Caribbean |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates: | 18.4331°N -65.878°W |
| Coordinates Footnotes: | [1] |
| Subdivision Type: | Commonwealth |
| Subdivision Name: |  Puerto Rico |
| Subdivision Type1: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name1: | Loíza |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 0.66 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 0.52 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.14 |
| Population As Of: | 2010 |
| Population Note: | Source: 2010 Census |
| Population Total: | 3875 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 7451.9 |
| Timezone: | AST |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 10 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
Loíza barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Loíza, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 3,875.[2] [3] [4] [5]
As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called pueblo which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year.[6] 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" (celebrations, festivities) (Spanish; Castilian: a propósito para las fiestas), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors (Spanish; Castilian: grandeza proporcionada al número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain.[7]
Located across the central plaza in Loíza barrio-pueblo is the Spanish; Castilian: Parroquia Espíritu Santo y San Patricio, a Roman Catholic church.[8]
Loíza barrio-pueblo was in Spain's gazetteers[9] until 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 an unincorporated territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Pueblo was 833.[10]
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[5] in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[11] [12]
The following sectors are in Loíza barrio-pueblo:[13]
Spanish; Castilian: Las Cuevas (Carreteras [[Puerto Rico Highway 187|187]], 951, 957), Loíza Home For The Elder, Residencial Brisas de Loíza, Residencial Jardines de Loíza, Residencial San Patricio, Residencial Yuquiyú, Sector Hacienda Grande (Villa Álvarez, Villa Vaca), Sector La Planta, Sector Los Plaza, Sector Los Salgado, Sector Villa Cañona, Sector Villa Cañona II, Urbanización Jardines de Loíza, and Spanish; Castilian: Urbanización Santiago (Villa Repollo).