Fernando Pacheco y Matos

Fernando Pacheco y Matos (also referred to as Fernando Pacheco or Fernando Pacheco de Matos) was an 18th-century Puerto Rican local official who led the petition that resulted in the formal establishment of the town and municipality of Yauco in 1756 under Spanish colonial rule, and is commonly identified in local historical writing as the town's founder and first municipal leader.^[1]

In the mid 18th century, settlers in the Yauco region sought formal municipal recognition. Later planning and historical summaries produced for the municipality describe the Crown's authorization of the settlement under the name Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Yauco, with the founding dated to 29 February 1756.^[2]

Yauco was formally granted by Royal Cédula on February 29, 1756, Don Fernando Pacheco de Matos was named Teniente a Guerra to administer, protect and oversee the new town (a role combining municipal and military responsibilities under Spanish colonial government).^[3]

In Yauco, his name remains part of the civic landscape. A 1984 the town plaza was renamed as Plaza Fernando Pacheco de Matos in his honor as founder.^[4] Today, the plaza is central to many events and activities in the town, including the Yauco National Coffee Festival.^[5]

In some ways, the town's identity has been connected to the Pacheco family name, noting the use of the Pacheco coat of arms in Yauco's heraldry in reference to the town's founder and early local authority.^[6]