Lares (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlaɾes], locally [ˈlaɾeʔ]) is a mountain town and municipality of Puerto Rico's central-western area.

Lares is located north of Maricao and Yauco; south of Camuy, east of San Sebastián and Las Marias; and west of Hatillo, Utuado and Adjuntas.

A city adorned with Spanish-era colonial-style churches and small downtown stores, Lares is located on a mountainous, breezy area that is about 1.5 hours from the capital San Juan by car.

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 a territory of the United States.

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Lares was 20,883.

[13][14] In early 2019, El Nuevo Día newspaper in Puerto Rico began listing the names of the cadavers that would be exhumed and moved to other cemeteries, a long and delicate process.

[15] On May 10, 2019, it was announced that a decision had been made to build a temporary wooden structure separating the affected area so that family members could visit the plots that were unaffected by the hurricane-triggered landslides.

[17] The December 2019 and January 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes caused 28 families in Lares to lose their homes.

[18] Lares is a mountainous municipality located in the central western part of the island of Puerto Rico.

The Fiestas Patronales de San Jose is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

[36] In 2016, Rural Opportunities Puerto Rico Inc. (ROPRI) in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) completed the building of 24 (one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom) units[37] in Lares, specifically for farmers (in Spanish: agricultores), and their families, to live and work.

[38] Like most of Puerto Rico, Lares population originated with the Taino Indians and then many immigrants from Spain settled the central highland, most prominently the Andalusian, Canarian and Extremaduran Spanish migration who formed the bulk of the Jibaro or white peasant stock of the island.

[46] His successor, José Rodríguez Ruiz, began serving his term as mayor of Lares on January 20, 2020.

The flag was first knitted by Mariana Bracetti at the behest of Ramón Emeterio Betances, leader of the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico.