Ceiba (ˈθeiβa) is a small town in northeast 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...

. It is named after the famous Ceiba

Ceiba

Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America, South America, The Bahamas, Belize and the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia...

 tree. Ceiba is located in the east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Naguabo

Nagüabo, Puerto Rico

Naguabo is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 wards and Naguabo Pueblo...

, south 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 Río 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...

. It is located about one hour's driving distance 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...

. Ceiba is spread over 7 wards and Ceiba Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Ceiba, situated near Fajardo, used to be home of an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military air-base, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States military air base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site is run today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport.-History:...

. Most of the units there were relocated and the base was closed in 2004. Ex-governor Sila María Calderón

Sila María Calderón

Sila María Calderón Serra is a Puerto Rican politician and businesswoman who served as the seventh Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first and, to date, only woman elected to that office...

 suggested turning the property into a major international airport, to serve as a relief to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles southeast of San Juan. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to FAA reports . It is owned and managed by the Puerto Rico Ports...

 in 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...

, and to increase the number of international airlines that operate into Puerto Rico. She was met with skepticism about these plans from such groups as environmentalists, economists and others, but in 2008, José Aponte de la Torre Airport

José Aponte de la Torre Airport

José Aponte de la Torre Airport is a public use airport owned by Puerto Rico Ports Authority and located from the central business district of Ceiba, a town in Puerto Rico....

 was inaugurated at the base's former site.

Locals are commonly known as "Los Come Sopa" (The Soup Eaters). Even though there is no official reason as to why they are called this, a few stories have been suggested. Among the tales is the belief that since the town did not have a local meat market people had to travel long distances in order to buy some meat and therefore mostly ate soup.

Ceiba is also known as "La Ciudad del Marlin

Marlin

Marlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...

" (The town of the Marlin).

History

Ceiba was founded on April 7, 1838 by Luis de la Cruz. Ceiba derives its name from an Indian word Seyba, which is the name for a famous tree that grows in the island, the Ceiba pentandra,(Kapok

Kapok

Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae , native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and to tropical west Africa...

).

Flag

Ceiba's flag derives its design and colors from the municipal coat of arms. This maintains the same symbolism given to the coat of arms. It is made of two vertical lines of the same width, red in the left side and green on the right. The red side depicts a yellow cross.

Coat of arms

It depicts a shield with golden field with a Ceiba tree in the middle. In the upper part of the shield it has a red horizontal line with a golden cross in the middle and two golden flowers in each side. The cross symbolizes the Christian faith as well as a recognition to Don Luis de la Cruz who founded the town. The golden flowers represent sugar cane flowers. Above the shield there is a golden Spanish fort.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Ceiba Pueblo
• Chupacallos
• Daguao
• Guayacán
• Machos
• Quebrada Seca
• Río Abajo
• Saco

Religion

As in most towns of Puerto Rico it was founded on the Christian ideas and faith statements of the Catholic Church which prevailed in previous centuries through Spaniard tradition. The town still maintains a central Catholic church which can be found in the town square.

Geo/Topography

Ceiba is home of the Ceiba Forest (787) which extends along the coastline between Ceiba and Fajardo. 95% of the forest is classified as mangrove. Various species of birds can be seen as well as turtles and manatees. Its rivers includes; Río Daguao

Río Daguao

-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico...

, Río Demajagua

Río Demajagua

-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...

 and Río Fajardo

Río Fajardo

-See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...

.

The municipality extends northwest into the seas between Fajardo and Culebra

Culebra

Culebra may refer to:* Culebra, Puerto Rico, an island* Isla Culebra, the Spanish name of Sedge Island, part of the Falkland archipelago* Culebra Peak, the southernmost fourteener in Colorado, United States...

 and thereby includes the reefs and islets named Arrecifes Hermanos and Arrecifes Barriles. The reef are closest to the coastal barrio (ward) of Machos, but barrio boundaries are not defined in that area.

Landmarks and places of interest

• Ceiba Historic Mural
• Los Machos Beach
• Medio Mundo Beach
• Roosevelt Roads Base (a former United States Navy installation which is now closed)
• The great cellist Pablo Casals
  Pablo Casals
  Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
  
   lived in Ceiba.

Festivals and events

• Enamorado (Lovers) Marathon - February
• Air Show - April 2/3
• Marlin
  Marlin
  Marlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...
  
   Festival - May - June
• Fiestas Patronales-San Antonio de Padua (Patron Saint Festivities) - June
• Fiesta Nacional de la Raza (Race) - October
• Marathon Del Pavo - November

Sports

Former IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

 world Jr. Middleweight boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 champion Carlos Santos hails from Ceiba. Ceiba also has an amateur AAA baseball team Los Marlins de Ceiba.