Atalaya is a barrio in the municipality of Aguada, Puerto Rico.

[3][4][5] Atalaya was in Spain's gazetteers[6] until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an unincorporated territory of the United States.

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the combined population of Atalaya barrio and Jagüey barrio was 1,195.

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[14] in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English).

During the 2019-2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes the Lydia Meléndez School in Asomante barrio served as a refuge for residents from Atalaya, Cerro Gordo, and Las Marías (nearby barrios), who had to leave their damaged homes.