Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts

Caguana is a Taíno ceremonial center in the highlands of central Puerto Rico, east of the Tanamá River, where at least ten rectangular ball courts (bateyes) are bordered by stone slabs and upright monoliths, many carved with cemí figures: faces and bodies of Taíno beings. The courts were the setting for the ceremonial ball game and other gatherings of Taíno religious and social life in the centuries before and after Spanish colonization. Discover Puerto Rico's official tourism profile calls it the Caribbean's most important Taíno archeological site, and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña has administered and protected it since 1955. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The site carries recent history too. It was closed for years after Hurricane Maria and reopened by the ICP in 2021, and the ICP has since added a mobile app interpreting the monoliths. Taíno identity in Puerto Rico is living and contested in scholarly terms, but the site functions publicly as a place of Indigenous heritage and pride, and the ICP runs it as such.

Visiting

The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña manages the site; Discover Puerto Rico's official profile carries visitor details. The post-reopening schedule was announced as Thursday through Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, but hours have varied since; call (787) 894-7325 or (787) 894-7310 before going. Entry is about $3 to $5 (sources list $3.00 including the museum room and $5.00 for adults), so confirm on arrival. Walk the batey complex and view the carved monoliths and the small museum room.

Photo: Jbermudez, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caguana_Ceremonial_Ball_Courts_Site_-_Utuado_Puerto_Rico.jpg))