Hacienda Lealtad: A Nineteenth-Century Coffee Hacienda in Lares

A restored two-storey wooden hacienda building with a balcony, on a stone base

Hacienda Lealtad, former coffee plantation in Lares, Puerto Rico, on 20 May 2019. Photo: The Eloquent Peasant / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Summary

Hacienda Lealtad is a historic coffee hacienda in Lares, in the mountains of western Puerto Rico. It was founded around 1830 by Juan Bautista Plumey, a French immigrant, and was worked by enslaved people and day labourers. It became the largest coffee plantation in Lares. Today the restored hacienda is a museum, hotel, restaurant and coffee producer, open to visitors on guided tours booked in advance.

History

Juan Bautista Plumey, a French immigrant, founded the hacienda around 1830. Its coffee was worked by enslaved people and by day labourers, and it grew into the largest coffee plantation in Lares. Over the following century and a half it changed hands and names several times before taking the name Lealtad.

The hacienda later fell into disrepair. Its current owner, the Lares businessman Edwin Soto, and his family have invested in restoring it and now operate it as a hotel, coffee shop and museum.

Lares and the Grito

Lares is known as the "Ciudad del Grito", the city of the cry. On September 23, 1868, an armed uprising against Spanish colonial rule, the Grito de Lares, brought together about 1,000 rebels. For the uprising and the town's coffee history, see Lares: Coffee, Revolution, and Heritage.

A green road bridge painted with the words Lares Ciudad del Grito and a Puerto Rican flag, with traffic below

"Lares Ciudad del Grito" painted on a bridge in Lares, Puerto Rico, on 10 May 2019. Photo: The Eloquent Peasant / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Visiting Today

According to Discover Puerto Rico, the island's official tourism organisation, a visit to Hacienda Lealtad takes you back to the 1800s, when coffee was one of Puerto Rico's main exports. The hacienda offers guided tours, farm experiences, lodging and a restaurant. Tours should be booked in advance; the travel magazine Platea advises contacting the Lares tourism office at (787) 897-2300.

The hacienda produces coffee under the Café Lealtad name. Discover Puerto Rico says the coffee served there is grown in municipalities of the central mountain range and packed on the property. For another Lares coffee hacienda, see Café Lareño.

On Film

Watch: Hacienda Lealtad - Un viaje al Puerto Rico del Siglo 19 - Lares, Puerto Rico | Ver Más Travel — Ver Más Travel

Key Facts

Location: Lares, western Puerto Rico
Founded: around 1830, by the French immigrant Juan Bautista Plumey
Labour: enslaved people and day labourers
Historic standing: the largest coffee plantation in Lares
Today: museum, hotel, restaurant and coffee producer (Café Lealtad), owned by Edwin Soto and his family
Visits: guided tours by advance booking

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who founded Hacienda Lealtad? Juan Bautista Plumey, a French immigrant, around 1830.

Q: Can I visit? Yes. The hacienda offers guided tours, lodging and a restaurant. Book in advance; Platea advises contacting the Lares tourism office at (787) 897-2300.

Q: Was Hacienda Lealtad part of the Grito de Lares? The Grito de Lares took place in Lares on September 23, 1868. This encyclopedia found no reliable source for a significant role played by the hacienda in the uprising.

Sources

Platea, "Guide to Lares: Things to Do and Where to Eat". Supports: founding in 1830 by Juan Bautista Plumey; the enslaved people and day labourers; the largest coffee plantation in Lares; Edwin Soto and his family's restoration and operation as hotel, coffee shop and museum; the Lares tourism office number.
Discover Puerto Rico, "Lares" and the profile "Hacienda Lealtad". Supports: the Grito de Lares on September 23, 1868, with about 1,000 rebels; the visit taking you back to the 1800s; the coffee grown in the central mountains and packed on site; Café Lealtad operating a revived nineteenth-century hacienda. Tourism material.
Welcome to Puerto Rico (topuertorico.org), "Puerto Rico's Historic Haciendas". Supports: the guided tours, farm experiences, lodging and restaurant.
Jaime Montilla, "Paraguas/La Esperanza/Paraíso/Lealtad – Lares", hacienda history research. Supports: the hacienda's changes of name and ownership.

Claims this encyclopedia could not source

The following statements appear in published material about Hacienda Lealtad. This encyclopedia could not trace them to a reliable source:

That the hacienda generated its own electricity in the mid-1800s.
That Hacienda Lealtad was a "revolution" hacienda or played a significant part in the 1868 Grito de Lares.
That it covers 583 acres and is among the largest or oldest coffee haciendas in the Caribbean.
That Juan Bautista Plumey held a specific number of enslaved people, or details of his marriage and children.
Personal details about the current owner, such as his wealth or his childhood work on the farm.
That the hacienda stands at 1,200 feet.

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This article is part of The Coffee Encyclopedia, sponsored by PuertoRicoCoffeeShop.com — the trusted source for authentic Puerto Rican coffee.