Marker Logo
THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Peñuelas in Municipio de Peñuelas, Puerto Rico — The Caribbean (The West Indies)
 

El Güiro

 
 
El Güiro Marker image. Click for full size.
By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 5, 2023
1. El Güiro Marker
Inscription.  
Es un instrumento vegetal de percusión asociado primordialmente a la usanza musical indígena. Los güiros tradicionales provienen de un calabazo seco, alagado y ranurado.

El güiro es un instrumento musical muy simple que se ejecuta raspando con un varillero o "raspa" la superficie rugosa o ranurada con mayor or menor velocidad, obteniendo así la emisión de diferentes sonidos.

Peñuelas es conocido como la capital del güiro debido a que aquí nació la única orquesta de güiros de Puerto Rico. Tradicionalmente se celebra el festival del güiro que incluye la competencia de trovadores, cuyo promotor inicial lo fue Don Aníbal Alvarado Negrón.

[English translation:]
The güiro is a vegetable percussion instrument associated primarily with indigenous musical tradition. Traditional güiros come from a dry, flattened, grooved gourd.

The güiro is a ery simple instrument that is played by scraping the rough or grooved surface with a rod or "scrape" with greater or lesser speed, thus obtaining different sounds.

Peñuelas is known as the güiro capital because the only güiro
Paid Advertisement
Click or scan to see
this page online
orchestra in Puerto Rico came from here. Traditionally, the Güiro Festival is celebrated, including a troubadour competition started by Aníbal Alvarado Negrón.
 
Erected by Municipio de Peñuelas.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & ArchaeologyArts, Letters, MusicIndigenous Peoples and CommunitiesNotable Events.
 
Location. 18° 3.418′ N, 66° 43.348′ W. Marker is in Peñuelas in Municipio de Peñuelas, Puerto Rico. It is at the intersection of Calle Pedro Velázquez Díaz (Route 383) and Calle Cotto, on the left when traveling west on Calle Pedro Velázquez Díaz. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Penuelas PR 00624, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Southern Coastal Zone and in the Greater Ponce Area. Globally, it is one of the Greater Antilles on the Caribbean Sea, in in the Atlantic Ocean, in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Leyenda del Río Guayanés (here, next to this marker); El Flamboyán (here, next to this marker); Monumento al Soldado Caído (here, next to this marker); Ángel Pacheco Alvarado (a few steps from this marker); Fuente Tipo "Bizcocho" (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Monumento al Soldado Caído (within shouting distance of this marker); La Locomotora "La Negra Cocola"
Paid Advertisement
(within shouting distance of this marker); Mariano Quiñones (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Peñuelas.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 259 times since then and 34 times this year. Photo   1. submitted on June 11, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
 
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Clear, daylight photos of the marker and its context. • Photo of a güiro. • Can you help?
m=225784

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisement
Jun. 12, 2026