Loíza's Historic Cueva María de la Cruz Park will be closed for about 18 months to complete an improvement project that began this week, according to Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes. The $335,490.60 project, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3), will rehabilitate kiosks, repair and paint all surfaces, and rebuild the walking track.
The park, located on PR-188/951 in the Las Cuevas sector, is one of Puerto Rico's most important historical and cultural sites. Its main attraction, the Cueva María de la Cruz, was declared a historic monument and national heritage site on February 18, 1972, following archaeological investigations and findings by anthropologist Dr.
Ricardo Alegría. Archaeological sites found in the cave, which has also been studied by the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, England, provide evidence that life in Puerto Rico originated in its vicinity.