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Moca (Moca Municipio)

Moca is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the north-western region of the island, north of Añasco; southeast of Aguadilla; east of Aguada; and west of Isabela and San Sebastián. Moca is spread over 12 barrios and Moca Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center). It is part of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The name comes from the Moca tree (Andira inermis) which are very common in this region.

The Moca tree was officially adopted as the representative tree of the town on February 19, 1972. Moca is famous for its Mundillo lace. Mundillo is a Puerto Rican-style of handmade bobbin lace. Mundillo almost synonymous with the small town of Moca.

Moca, known as La Capital del Mundillo (The Mundillo Capital), is famous for its lace or Mundillo. It was founded by Don José de Quiñones on June 22, 1772. Diverse versions exist on the date of its foundation. Manuel de Ubeda and Delgado, in his "Isla de Puerto Rico. "Estudio histórico, geográfico y estadístico", published in San Juan in 1878, says Moca was founded in 1774. On the other hand, Cayetano Coll y Toste, in the "Boletín histórico de Puerto Rico", maintains it was founded on June 22, 1772.

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 population of Moca was 12,410.

On May 16, 2010, Moca was the epicenter of a strong 5.8 earthquake. The earthquake was felt in the entire island and also in the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands. Damage was reported in various towns.

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. In Moca, landslides and the flooding of the Río Culebrinas caused major destruction to bridges, roads and homes. About 1300 homes were impacted by landslides and flooding, bridges collapsed, and residents were left without access to electrical power, telecommunication services and basic necessities. Close to a month and a half later, 25% of the 31,117 residents of Moca had electrical power and access to drinking water and 75% did not.