Maricao: Where Coffee Meets the Cloud Forest
Coffee tree atop the Maricao mountains in Puerto Rico. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Summary
Maricao is a mountain municipality in western Puerto Rico, founded in 1874. In the nineteenth century it was one of the island's leading coffee districts: by 1877 it had 234 of Puerto Rico's 843 coffee haciendas. It is home to the Maricao State Forest, known as Monte del Estado, and to one of the only two populations of the elfin-woods warbler, a bird found nowhere else in the world. Its coffee festival is held every February.
Coffee History
Maricao was founded as a municipality in 1874. According to the historian Luis Pumarada O'Neill, Puerto Rico had 843 coffee haciendas by 1877, and 234 of them were in Maricao.
Maricao's nickname is "Pueblo de las Indieras", the town of the Indian villages. Legend: the name comes from a story that Taíno people took refuge in the area during the Spanish colonisation.
The Puerto Rican poet Luis Lloréns Torres wrote a well-known line in praise of Maricao's coffee.
The Maricao State Forest
The Maricao State Forest, commonly called Monte del Estado, was proclaimed on December 22, 1919, and lies in the municipalities of Maricao, Sabana Grande and San Germán. Its soils are derived almost entirely from serpentinite, an unusual rock. BirdLife International, citing a 2016 US Fish and Wildlife Service estimate, gives the forest about 368 hectares of elfin woodland and 3,441 hectares of palo colorado forest. Visitors can camp or stay at the Monte del Estado Ecological Park and the Centro Vacacional Monte del Estado.
The Elfin-Woods Warbler and Shade Coffee
The elfin-woods warbler (Setophaga angelae) is a small black-and-white bird found only in Puerto Rico; it was discovered in 1968. It now lives in just two places: El Yunque National Forest in the east, and the Maricao State Forest and nearby private land in the west. BirdLife International estimates the Maricao population at about 2,000 birds.
On June 22, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the warbler as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The listing came with special rules that exempt certain shade-coffee practices, and critical habitat for the bird took effect on July 30, 2020. BirdLife International names the conversion of forest to sun-grown coffee on private land next to the Maricao forest among the threats to the bird. Shade-grown coffee supports the warbler, though at lower densities than its natural forest.
The Coffee Festival
Maricao celebrates its coffee every February. Discover Puerto Rico, the island's official tourism organisation, calls it the Fiesta del Acabe del Café, a festival where more than 200 artisans exhibit, with dozens of food and drink stalls and live music. A second event, Maricao Sabe a Café, is held at the Centro Vacacional Monte del Estado; in 2026 it is scheduled for November 14 and 15. Dates can change, so check with the municipality before travelling.
On Film
The Library of Congress film below, made by Russell Oliver, who received a 2022 Community Collections Grant from the American Folklife Center, follows Puerto Rico's coffee farmers.
Watch: El Motor: Coffee and the Heart of Puerto Rico — Library of Congress
Key Facts
- Founded: 1874
- Coffee haciendas, 1877: 234 of Puerto Rico's 843
- Maricao State Forest: proclaimed December 22, 1919; soils derived almost entirely from serpentinite
- Elfin-woods warbler: found only in Puerto Rico; listed as threatened on June 22, 2016
- Coffee festival: every February
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does Maricao matter for coffee history? By 1877 it had 234 of Puerto Rico's 843 coffee haciendas, more than a quarter of the island's total.
Q: What is the elfin-woods warbler? A small bird found only in Puerto Rico, in El Yunque and in the Maricao forest. It was listed as threatened in 2016, and the conversion of forest to sun-grown coffee is named among its threats.
Q: When is the Maricao coffee festival? Every February. Dates can change, so check with the municipality before travelling.
Sources
- Gobierno de Puerto Rico, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, "Municipios: fundación" (map, after the Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico). Supports: Maricao founded in 1874.
- Pumarada O'Neill, Luis, on Puerto Rico's coffee haciendas. Supports: 843 haciendas by 1877, 234 of them in Maricao.
- Discover Puerto Rico, "Maricao". Supports: the nickname and its legend; the line by Luis Lloréns Torres; the Monte del Estado Ecological Park and Centro Vacacional; the February festival with more than 200 artisans. Tourism material.
- Discover Puerto Rico, event listing "Festival Maricao Sabe a Café". Supports: the November 14–15, 2026 dates at the Centro Vacacional Monte del Estado.
- Wikipedia, "Maricao State Forest". Supports: the proclamation of December 22, 1919; the three municipalities; serpentinite soils. A tertiary source, used only for these points.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, final rule listing the elfin-woods warbler as threatened (81 FR 40534, June 22, 2016), the press release on the listing "with exemptions for shade coffee", and the final critical-habitat rule (effective July 30, 2020). Supports: the listing date; the two populations; the shade-coffee exemptions; the critical habitat.
- BirdLife International, species factsheet "Elfin Woods Warbler Setophaga angelae" (2024). Supports: discovery in 1968; about 2,000 birds in the Maricao forest; 368 hectares of elfin woodland and 3,441 hectares of palo colorado forest; conversion to sun-grown coffee as a threat.
- Birdwatching magazine, "Elfin-woods Warbler added to endangered species list" (2016). Supports: shade-grown coffee supporting the warbler at lower densities.
- Stefano, Michelle, "Homegrown Foodways Film Premiere: El Motor: Coffee and the Heart of Puerto Rico", Folklife Today, Library of Congress, 25 June 2025. Supports: the film by Russell Oliver and its 2022 grant.
Claims this encyclopedia could not source
The following statements appear in published material about Maricao. This encyclopedia could not trace them to a reliable source:
- Specific elevations for Maricao's farms and peaks; published figures contradict one another.
- That Maricao has the highest coffee farms in the Caribbean, the most biodiverse forest on the island, or the most refined coffee.
- That Maricao's coffee has a particular flavour profile.
- That the February festival draws tens of thousands of visitors or includes a coffee judging competition.
- That the Puerto Rican vireo is endangered, or that Maricao is the primary location of any bird species globally beyond what is stated above.
- That a "Vivero Nacional" run by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources operates in Maricao.
- That Maricao is the smallest coffee municipality.
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