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Aibonito (Aibonito)

Aibonito is a small mountain town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range, north of Salinas; south of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Coamo; and west of Cidra, and Cayey. Aibonito is spread over 8 barrios and Aibonito Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Aibonito is located at a relatively high elevation (its main square is the highest in the island at 2,401 ft [731 m] above sea level), which makes its climate cooler than most of Puerto Rico's towns.

There are several theories and stories regarding the name of the town. Some people say that it is derived from the Taíno word Jatibonicu, which was the name of a legendary cacique (chief) of the area, but most likely was the name of the tribe lead by chief Orocobix.

The name Aibonito is possibly a combination of Spanish and Taíno from Hatibon or Jatibon, which the native name of the Aibonito River. Jatibon most likely translates to "black river" or "night river", the indigenous name of the river which was later turned into a diminutive in Spanish (Jatibon-ito). It is common to have native place names in Puerto Rico be historically adopted and modified into the Spanish language such as Mucarabones for example, which is a plural of Mucarabon, meaning "owl river" in Taíno.

There's also a legend that tells of a Spanish soldier called Diego Alvarez who on May 17, 1615, reached one of the highest peaks in the area and upon watching the view, exclaimed "¡Ay, qué bonito!" ("Oh, how pretty!") which eventually was turned into the name of the region. If this is the case, it would be considered folk etymology.

Some of the municipality's nicknames include Ciudad de las Flores ("City of Flowers") and Jardín de Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rico's Garden") after the region's floral industry and annual festival, and Ciudad Fría ("Cold City") and Nevera de Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rico's refrigerator") after the fact that the municipality has recorded some of the island's lowest temperatures.