Arasibo

Arasibo was a Taíno cacique whose community lived beside the river called Abacoa, later known as the Río Grande de Arecibo, on Puerto Rico’s northern coast. The river runs from the interior mountains to the Atlantic, opening onto a coastal plain where Indigenous people cultivated and fished.

After the Spanish conquest, Arasibo and members of his community were placed under the encomienda system. A settlement developed near the river mouth, and in 1616 Governor Felipe de Beaumont recognized it as the town of San Felipe del Arecibo. Its name preserves that of the Taíno leader and the older community whose lands became part of the colonial settlement. The river remained a defining feature of the town, linking the coastal plain with the mountainous interior of the island.