Corozal, Puerto Rico Explained

Official Name:Corozal
Native Name:Spanish; Castilian: Municipio Autónomo de Corozal
Native Name Lang:es
Settlement Type:Town and Municipality
Nicknames:"La Capital del Voleibol", "Los Plataneros"
Anthem:"En Dios y Corozal todos unidos"
Mapsize:300px
Subdivision Type:Sovereign state
Subdivision Name: United States
Subdivision Type1:Commonwealth
Subdivision Name1: Puerto Rico
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1795
Parts Type:Barrios
Parts:13 barrios
P1:Abras
P2:Cibuco
P3:Corozal barrio-pueblo
P4:Cuchillas
P5:Dos Bocas
P6:Magueyes
P7:Maná
P8:Negros
P9:Padilla
P10:Palmarejo
P11:Palmarito
P12:Palos Blancos
P13:Pueblo
Leader Party:PNP
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Luis “Luiggi” García
Leader Title1:Senatorial dist.
Leader Name1:6 - Guayama
Leader Title2:Representative dist.
Leader Name2:28
Area Total Km2:109
Area Land Km2:109
Area Water Km2:0
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:34,571
Population As Of:2020
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Corozaleños
Timezone1:AST
Utc Offset1:-4
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:00783
Area Code:787/939
Blank Name Sec1:Major routes
Population Rank:35th in Puerto Rico

Corozal (pronounced as /es/) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 barrios and Corozal Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city name is derived from the "palma de corozo" (grugru palm, Acrocomia media) which abounds in the Cordillera Central zone of the Island.

History

Corozal's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was named Orocobix and his tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino.[2]

Corozal was founded in 1795 and officially became a town in 1804. Commonly known as La Cuna del Volibol or Volleyball's Cradle. It takes its name from the Acrocomia media, in Puerto Rican Spanish; Castilian: palma de corozo.

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 Corozal was 11,508.[3]

From 1902 to 1905 Corozal became one with Toa Alta, an adjoining municipality.[4]

In 2000 census the population of Corozal was 36,867, and it had a land area of 430NaN0.

Intense wind and rainfall from Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Corozal,[5] [6] and bridges and homes were destroyed.[7] Some residents of Corozal had to resort to collecting spring water as access to potable water was limited after the devastation caused by the hurricane.[8] During the event, the police station in Corozal suddenly became flooded by the Cibuco River while there were nineteen officers inside. The officers climbed up and standing on the rooftop, made a human chain so as not to be swept away by the hurricane winds. Seeing them, several young people began a rescue operation by cutting tree limbs and debris to allow the river to subside just enough. With a firehose in hand, they waded in waters up to their necks and were able to help the officers get to dry land.[9]

Geography

Corozal is located in the mountainous region near the center of the island. Quebrada Jacinta is a valley in Corozal.[10]

Updated flood zone maps (as of 2019) show that Corozal is extremely vulnerable to flooding, along with Humacao, Rincón, Barceloneta, and Toa Baja. Due to its large number of rivers and streams, Corozal is regarded as being extremely vulnerable to damage from major hurricanes.[11]

Hydrography

Rivers and streams of Corozal include Río Cibuco, Río Corozal, Río Dos Bocas, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Mavilla, Río Orocovis, and Río Unibón.[12]

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Corozal is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as Spanish; Castilian: "el pueblo."[13] [14] [15]

  1. Abras
  2. Cibuco
  3. Corozal barrio-pueblo
  4. Cuchillas
  5. Dos Bocas
  6. Magueyes
  7. Maná
  8. Negros
  9. Padilla
  10. Palmarejo
  11. Palmarito
  12. Palos Blancos
  13. Pueblo

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions)[16] are further subdivided into smaller areas called Spanish; Castilian: sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[17] [18]

Special Communities

See also: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development.

Spanish; Castilian: Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Corozal: Aldea Vázquez, Comunidad Los Indios, Cuba Libre-EI Idilio, El Guarico, La Escalera, La Mina, andParcelas Medina.[19]

Climate

Corozal experiences a tropical climate.

Tourism

To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Corozal page lists Spanish; Castilian: [[Monte Choca State Forest|Reserva Natural Monte Choca]], Spanish; Castilian: Tres Cruces, and Spanish; Castilian: Gran Mural de la Cultura Corozaleña, as places of interest.[20]

Corozal is home to the Historical Center of Cibuco, a park and museum with relics from the Puerto Rico's (Taínos) as well as objects, paintings and artifacts of the town's history.

El Balalaika is a cafeteria which opened its doors around 1962.[21] [22]

Landmarks and places of interest

Economy

Agriculture

One of Puerto Rico's major plaintain producers.New small businesses producing eggs and hydroponic crops (lettuce, recao) are emerging.

Business

Crafts, services. Several manufacture enterprises have reduced or moved operations in recent years.

Culture

Festivals and events

Corozal celebrates its patron saint festival in January. The Spanish; Castilian: Fiestas Patronales de la Sagrada Familia is a religious and cultural celebration in honor of the Holy Family and generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[24]

Other festivals and events celebrated in Corozal include:

Sports

Volleyball

Swimming

The Gold Fish Swim Team for kids and youth and a new Master's Swim Team created in 2008 under the direction of Arlene Ortiz.

Government

See main article: Mayoralty in Puerto Rico.

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Corozal is Luis “Luiggi” García, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected at the 2020 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.[28]

Transportation

There are 26 bridges in Corozal.[29] Mavilla Bridge in Corozal is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places:[30]

Symbols

The Spanish; Castilian: municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.[31]

Flag

Consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, yellow the top, green the middle and blue the bottom, and in some instances the middle stripe could have embroidered or printed the coat of arms.[32]

The flag is very similar to the provincial flag of Islas del Caró (I.D.C.) except that the yellow stripe is half the size as the green and blue stripes much like the flag of Colombia except that the red stripe is replaced by the green one at the bottom. It is unknown whether the flag was made to coincide with the densely populated province of El Conquistador or was created by natural and neutral causes.

Coat of arms

On a gold background three corozo palm trees, with clusters in their original color, planted on a green landscape and in front of a mountain range. At the bottom, blue and silver water waves sprinkled with gold nuggets. The three-tower-crown is gold with black stones. The corozo palms represent the name of the town and its river, whose ends were populated with palms. The mountains represent the high striking mountains of Corozal. The waves represent the Corozal River and gold nuggets, a metal that was panned. The gold background represents the hard labor and alludes to the gold of Corozal, appreciated long ago for its purity. The crown is an emblem used to designate the cities and towns.

Education

Public high schools in Corozal include Escuela Superior Emilio R. Delgado and Escuela Superior Porfirio Cruz García High School in Barrio Cuchillas. The only private high school is Colegio Sagrada Familia in Barrio Pueblo.

In popular culture

The following songs mention Corozal:

Notable "Corozaleños"

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bureau. US Census. PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census. 2021-08-25. The United States Census Bureau. EN-US.
  2. Cayetano Coll y Toste. Prehistoria de Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Tipografía Boletín Mercantil. 1907. p.298. (Reprinted by Editorial El Nuevo Mundo. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2011. . Also reprinted by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, in 1948, in the Handbook of South American Indians: The Circum-Caribbean Tribes, Julian H. Steward, ed., volume 4, for the Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, for their Bulletin 143.)
  3. Book: Joseph Prentiss Sanger. Henry Gannett. Walter Francis Willcox. Informe sobre el censo de Puerto Rico, 1899, United States. War Dept. Porto Rico Census Office. 1900. Imprenta del gobierno. 161. es. 2020-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20121115044918/https://archive.org/details/informesobreelc00joangoog. 2012-11-15. live.
  4. Web site: Corozal Memoria Núm. 61 . University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine . Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico - Oficina del Gobernador - Junta de Planificación . 2 November 2020 . 2 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201102141618/https://rcm2.rcm.upr.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/04/Memoria_61_Corozal-1955.pdf . live .
  5. Web site: Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico . USGS Landslide Hazards Program . USGS . 2019-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190303143147/https://landslides.usgs.gov/research/featured/2017/maria-pr/ . 2019-03-03 . live .
  6. Web site: Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico . USGS Landslide Hazards Program . USGS . 2019-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190303143147/https://landslides.usgs.gov/research/featured/2017/maria-pr/images/PR_Maria_LS_density_map.pdf . 2019-03-03 . live .
  7. Web site: Photos: Scenes of devastation in Puerto Rico after Maria. 26 September 2017. WTOP. 24 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624214857/https://wtop.com/media-galleries/2017/09/photos-scenes-devastation-puerto-rico-maria/. 24 June 2019. live.
  8. News: Baez . Alvin . The search for water in Puerto Rico . 15 January 2019 . Reuters . October 18, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190115234453/https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/the-search-for-water-in-puerto-rico-idUSRTS1H0TR . 15 January 2019 . live .
  9. News: María, un nombre que no vamos a olvidar. María desató al río Cibuco en Corozal donde se vivió un rescate de película . Maria, a name we will never forget. María released the Cibuco River leading to a dramatic rescue . El Nuevo Día. 2019-06-13 . es . 2021-09-19.
  10. Web site: Corozal Municipality. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). enciclopediapr.org.
  11. Web site: Alvarado León . Gerardo E. . Sobre 250,000 estructuras están en zonas inundables . Junta de Planificación - Gobierno de Puerto Rico . El Nuevo Día . 3 July 2019 . es . https://web.archive.org/web/20190613133412/http://jp.pr.gov/Portals/0/Noticias/Nuevo%20d%C3%ADa%20-%20Zonas%20Inundables%20%205.22.19.pdf?ver=2019-05-22-172159-483 . 13 June 2019 . live .
  12. Web site: GNIS. Geonames. 2019-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073942/https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:2:0::NO:RP::. 2018-09-13. live.
  13. Book: Picó . Rafael . Buitrago de Santiago . Zayda . Berrios . Hector H. . Nueva geografía de Puerto Rico: física, económica, y social, por Rafael Picó. Con la colaboración de Zayda Buitrago de Santiago y Héctor H. Berrios. . San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969 . 2018-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226171916/https://archive.org/details/nuevageografad00pic/page/247 . 2018-12-26 . live .
  14. Book: Gwillim Law. Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. 25 December 2018. 20 May 2015. McFarland. 978-1-4766-0447-3. 300.
  15. Web site: Map of Corozal at the Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20180324204920/http://welcome.topuertorico.org/maps/corozal.pdf . dead . 2018-03-24 . 2018-12-29 .
  16. Web site: US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition . factfinder.com . US Census . 5 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170513190743/https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/barrio.htm . 13 May 2017 . dead .
  17. Web site: Agencia: Oficina del Coordinador General para el Financiamiento Socioeconómico y la Autogestión (Proposed 2016 Budget). Puerto Rico Budgets. es. 28 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190628234856/http://www.presupuesto.pr.gov/Presupuesto2015-2016/PresupuestosAgencias/229.htm. 28 June 2019. live.
  18. Web site: Leyes del 2001. Lex Juris Puerto Rico. es. 24 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180914224408/http://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/Leyes2001/lex2001001.htm. 14 September 2018. live.
  19. Web site: Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico. 8 August 2011. es. 24 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624004414/https://cpprbib.wordpress.com/biblioteca-virtual/guias-tematicas/comunidades-especiales/comunidades-especiales-de-puerto-rico/. 24 June 2019. live.
  20. Book: Pasaporte: Voy Turisteando . Compañia de Turismo de Puerto Rico . 2021. es.
  21. Web site: Hernandez . Zulaika . Restaurants in Puerto Rico: Balalaika . FoodieZoolee . May 7, 2021 . November 26, 2023.
  22. Web site: Balalaika El Oasis de Cibuco . Discover Puerto Rico . November 26, 2023.
  23. Web site: ¡Corozal está de película!. July 18, 2017. Primera Hora. October 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191022071140/https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/isla/nota/corozalestadepelicula-1236126/. October 22, 2019. live.
  24. Web site: J.D. . Corozal . Link To Puerto Rico.com . 2006-05-02 . es . 2020-07-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090615003634/http://www.proyectosalonhogar.com/Link%20P.R/www.linktopr.com/corozal.html . 2009-06-15 . live .
  25. Web site: La Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol está satisfecha con el torneo masculino 2019. August 31, 2019. El Nuevo Dia. October 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191022061459/https://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/voleibol/nota/lafederacionpuertorriquenadevoleibolestasatisfechaconeltorneomasculino2019-2515016/. October 22, 2019. live.
  26. Web site: Mucho en juego en el voleibol masculino. February 20, 2019. Primera Hora. October 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191022061459/https://www.primerahora.com/deportes/voleibol/nota/muchoenjuegoenelvoleibolmasculino-1327955/. October 22, 2019. live.
  27. Web site: Las Pinkin regresan en el siguiente torneo. September 22, 2019. Primera Hora. October 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191022061723/https://www.primerahora.com/deportes/voleibol/nota/laspinkinregresanenelsiguientetorneo-1365669/. October 22, 2019. live.
  28. http://div1.ceepur.org/REYDI_Escrutinio/index.html#es/default/SENADORES_POR_DISTRITO_GUAYAMA_VI.xml Elecciones Generales 2012: Escrutinio General
  29. Web site: Corozal Bridges. National Bridge Inventory Data. US Dept. of Transportation. 19 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190220122736/http://bridgereports.com/pr/corozal/. 20 February 2019. live.
  30. Web site: Puerto Rico: Registro Nacional de Lugares Históricos . geoisla.com . Government of Puerto Rico . 15 May 2021.
  31. Web site: Ley Núm. 70 de 2006 -Ley para disponer la oficialidad de la bandera y el escudo de los setenta y ocho (78) municipios. . LexJuris de Puerto Rico . es . 2021-06-15.
  32. Web site: COROZAL . LexJuris (Leyes y Jurisprudencia) de Puerto Rico . 19 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200219001731/http://www.lexjuris.com/pueblos/pueblos_files/COROZAL.html . 19 February 2020 . live . es . 16 September 2020.
  33. Controversia navideña, in "Al rescate de la Navidad". Tuna de Cayey. Tuna de Cayey, publisher. 2007. 5m 36s. Quote: "Soy el cantor del batey del pueblo de Corozal..."
  34. Guineítos con corned beef, in "José Nogueras: 27 éxitos... y la ñapa". José Nogueras. Música Estival, publisher. 2011. 3m 27s. Quote: "Mafafos yo traigo de Corozal..."
  35. Web site: Oubao-Moin (Juan Antonio Corretjer - Roy Brown).
  36. Que nunca muera nuestra tradición, single. Elied. Bajari Music, publisher. 2020. 3m 26s. Quote: "Vengo desde el campo, allá, en Corozal..."
  37. Web site: District 17. Rafael Salamanca Jr.
  38. Web site: SixtoFebus.com . 2015-03-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141222010833/http://sixtofebus.com/index.asp . 2014-12-22 .