BLOG POST 7/16/2025

The downtown of Boquerón known as El Poblado is known for its gastronomy and its nightlife. It is home to many restaurants offering local, international, and fusion cuisine which feature the excellent seafood which Cabo Rojo is famous food.   El Poblado is also populated by bars for every preference from pool halls to holes in the wall many providing a variety of flavored mojitos and other mixed drinks.

According to local folklore, after the Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí shared some of his treasure with his family and friends, he would hide what was left over in a cave located in the Barrio just north of Boquerón Bay.

Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), better known as El Pirata Cofresí, was a pirate from Puerto Rico.  Cofresí worked at sea from an early age which familiarized him with the region’s geography, but it provided only a modest salary, and he eventually decided to abandon the sailor’s life and became a pirate’s life. 

At the height of his career, Cofresí evaded capture by vessels from Spain, Gran Colombia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and the United States.   He commanded several small-draft vessels, the best known was a fast six-gun sloop named Anne, and he preferred speed and maneuverability over firepower.  According to 19th-century reports he had a rule of engagement that when a vessel was captured, only those willing to join his crew were permitted to live.

On March 5, 1825, the authorities set a trap which forced his sloop Anne, into a naval battle. After 45 minutes, Cofresí abandoned his ship and escaped to land where he was recognized by a resident who ambushed and injured him. Cofresí was captured and imprisoned, but he made a last unsuccessful attempt to escape by trying to bribe an official with part of his hidden stash. The pirates were sent to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they were found guilty and on March 29, 1825, Cofresí and most of his crew were executed by firing squad at Fort San Felipe del Morro.

He inspired numerous stories and myths after his death which has grown into legend and commonly accepted as fact.  Mostly, emphasizing Pirata Cofresí as a Puerto Rican Robin Hood – “steal from the rich & give to the poor” philosophy.  Cofresí’s influence extended to a large number of civil informants and associates, forming a network which took 14 years after his death to fully dismantle.

Historical and mythical accounts of his life have inspired songs, poems, plays, books, and films.  In Puerto Rico, several caves, beaches, and other alleged hideouts or locations of buried treasure have been named after Pirata Cofresí.