The town of Peñuelas, located in southern Puerto Rico, is a place where time passes slowly and the landscape is painted with green hues. The town's beauty captivated former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who visited in 1934 and nicknamed it 'El Valle de los Flamboyanes' due to the orange-red flowers that form a carpet on the roads.
Peñuelas is also known as 'La Capital del Güiro' because of its rich musical heritage, with the Orquesta de Güiros de Puerto Rico founded by Aníbal Alvarado Negrón and the creation of the electronic güiro by Frankie Pérez Matos. The town hosts the Festival del Güiro y el Flamboyán, which attracts thousands of people to enjoy traditional music, crafts, and local cuisine. However, there is more to Peñuelas than this iconic event, with a rich history and legends to explore, including the Casa de la Historia Ramón Rivera 'Bonyé' museum, which features pieces dating back 4,000 years.
The town also boasts the smallest road in America, Calle Alfonso Quiñones Quinn, measuring 37 feet and 11 inches long. Peñuelas played an important role in the island's coffee and sugar cane industry, with two of the 14 locomotives that existed in Puerto Rico. The town's history and culture are waiting to be discovered by tourists.