Arroyo, Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia
Arroyo is a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located along the southern coast of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and bordered by the Caribbean Sea, east of the municipality of Guayama
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo...
and northwest of the municipality of Patillas
Patillas, Puerto Rico
Patillas is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 wards and Patillas Pueblo...
. Arroyo is spread over 5 wards and Arroyo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Guayama Metropolitan Statistical Area
Guayama metropolitan area
The Guayama Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau defined Metropolitan Statistical Area in southeastern Puerto Rico...
.
History
The town of Arroyo was officially founded on December 25, 1855. However, it is believed that there were previous settlements on the area even previous to the Spanish colonization. It is believed that the name of Arroyo (which means "creekStream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
" in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) is derived from a small water stream where travelers stopped to freshen up before continuing on their way.
It has been said that the town came to be formed when a small group of people from the neighbor town of Guayama
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo...
came to the region looking for a port to export and import merchandise. Still, a local newspaper called La Gaceta de Puerto Rico published in 1868 that Arroyo was founded in 1852. Between 1859 and 1860, City Hall signed agreements to open streets and build a town square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
and a sewer system for the town.
In 1858, Samuel Morse introduced wired communication to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
when he established a telegraph system in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, then a Spanish Colony. Morse's oldest daughter Susan Walker Morse (1821-1885), would often visit her uncle Charles Pickering Walker who owned the Hacienda Concordia in the town of Guayama
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded on January 29, 1736 and located on the Southern Coastal Valley region, bordering the Caribbean, south of Cayey; east of Salinas; and west of Patillas and Arroyo. Guayama is spread over 9 wards and Guayama Pueblo...
. During one of her visits she met and later married Edward Lind, a Danish merchant who worked in the Hacienda La Henriqueta in Arroyo. Lind purchased the Hacienda from his sister when she became a widow. Morse, who often spent his winters at the Hacienda with his daughter and son-in-law, set a two-mile telegraph line connecting his son-in-law's Hacienda to their house in Arroyo. The line was inaugurated on March 1, 1859 in a ceremony flanked by the Spanish and American flags. The first lines transmitted by Samuel Morse that day in Puerto Rico were:
"Puerto Rico, beautiful jewel! When you are linked with the other jewels of the Antilles in the necklace of the world's telegraph, yours will not shine less brilliantly in the crown of your Queen!"
Two decades after being founded, Arroyo had a population of 5,575. In 1902, Puerto Rico's Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
approved a law to consolidate certain municipalities. According to it, Arroyo would be merged with Guayama starting in July 1 of that year. However, the law was revoked in 1905 returning Arroyo to its municipal status.
Geography
Arroyo belongs to the alluvial plainAlluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
s sub-region of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
-Patillas
Patillas, Puerto Rico
Patillas is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 wards and Patillas Pueblo...
known as the Southern Coastal Valley. The area is very dry although its plains are productive thanks to artificial irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
.
Water features
The Nigua River crosses the municipality from north to south. Its hidrographic system is completed by a series of smaller rivers. There is also a mineral water spring in the Virella Colony.Barrios
The municipality of Arroyo is made up of 11 barrioBarrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
s:
- Arroyo Pueblo
- Ancones
- Barriada Marin
- Guásima
- Jardines
- La Palma
- Pitahaya
- Santa Catalina
- Yaurel
- Jacana
- Antigua
Tourism
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor of the telegraph.
Other landmarks are La Cora Hacienda, Las Palmas Beach, Punta Guilarte Beach, Punta de Las Figuras Lighthouse and the Arroyo Sugar Cane Train.
Festivals and events
The people of Arroyo celebrate a wide variety of festivals during the year. For example, a traditional carnavalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
is held during the month of February. Also, the "Fiesta Negra", which celebrates the African heritage of the island, is held during March. The Fiestas patronales
Fiesta patronal
The Fiestas patronales are yearly celebrations held in countries influenced by Spanish culture.A fiesta patronal is usually dedicated to a saint or virgin, who is the patron of whichever city holds the fiesta. Usually, town members adorn the town streets with colorful decorations and other things...
for Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
is held in July and the "Festival del Pescao" is celebrated in November.
Sports
Although Arroyo doesn't have a professional sports team, it has several amateur teams in Class AMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
category.
Economy
During past centuries, Arroyo was known for the production of sugarSugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
in the Laffayette Sugar mill. The owner of Lafayette was known as Federico Basora Aldecoa. The fishing industry in the town has also been one of the most important.
In recent years, manufacture and pharmaceutical industries have taken control of the economy of Arroyo. Stryker Corporation, a developer of medical implants and other surgical equipment, has a production plant in the town.
Government
Since its foundation, Arroyo's municipal government has been led by a mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, with its first mayor being Marcelino Cintrón. The current mayor is Basilio Figueroa de Jesús. The city also has a municipal legislature that handles local legislative matters.
Symbols
Arroyo's flag has two horizontal bands of equal size. The upper band is color orange, while the lower one is black. In the middle of the flag lies Arroyo's coat of arms.The coat of arms is also split in two sections. The upper section features a church in a blue field a church with a rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
to the right and a flower to the left. The lower section features two silver telegraph poles on green hills. At the bottom, waving stripes of blue and silver, with a fish below them. Above the shield, lies a crown of three towers filled in with purple. Below there's a banner with the motto, Arroyo Pueblo Grato.
Education
Education is handled by the Puerto Rico Department of Education. Arroyo has close to six elementary schools, three junior high schools, and only one high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
.
Transportation
Rail transport in Puerto Rico
Rail transport in Puerto Rico currently consists of a passenger metro system in the island's metropolitan area of San Juan and a small short-line freight railroad in the southern city of Ponce. Its history can be traced back to the mid-19th century with the construction of a limited passenger line...
of the island, with trains hauling production to other municipalities in the island. A small portion of that train remained in use until recently for tourism purposes, under the name of Tren del Sur
Tren del Sur
The Tren del Sur — or Train of the South in English — is a historic narrow gauge heritage railroad operating within the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico in Arroyo...
.
Puerto Rico Highway 3
Puerto Rico Highway 3 ' at nearly 101 miles long, is the second longest highway on Puerto Rico . It connects the San Juan neighborhood of Rio Piedras to downtown Salinas indirectly around the eastern coast of the island...
. However, there are other rural roads available to reach the municipality.