Arecibo, Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Nickname: "La Villa del Capitán Correa", "Muy Leal", "Ciudad del Cetí", "Diamante del Norte" (the north diamond), "La Ribera del Arecibo" (the shore of the Arecibo)" | ||||||
| Gentilic: "Arecibeños" | ||||||
| Location | ||||||
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| Government | ||||||
| Founded | 1616 | |||||
| Mayor | Lemuel Soto | |||||
| Political party | NPP | |||||
| Senatorial district | 3 - Arecibo | |||||
| Representative district | 13, 14 | |||||
| Geographical characteristics | ||||||
| Area | ||||||
| Total | 443.46 km² | |||||
| Land | 326.31 km² | |||||
| Water | 117.15 km² | |||||
| Population | ||||||
| Total (2000) | 100,131 | |||||
| Density | 306.9 persons/km² | |||||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | |||||
| Anthem – "Arecibo" | ||||||
Arecibo (ah-re-SEE-boh) is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Arecibo is located on the north coast of the island of Puerto Rico, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of San Juan, or approximately a 1-hour trip by car.
The nearby Arecibo Observatory is known for housing the world's largest radio telescope.
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[edit] History
Arecibo, settled in 1556, was the island's third Spanish settlement, after Caparra (which later became San Juan), and San German. It is named after the Taíno Cacique Xamaica Arasibo, who ruled the Taino yucayeke (town), then named Abacoa. Arecibo was officially founded as a city by the Spanish crown May 1 1616, under the governorship of Captain Felipe de Beaumont y Navarra, when the King of Spain granted the land (and the Tainos living there) to Lope Conchillos.
Arecibo is known as El Diamante Del Norte (North's Diamond) as well as La Ribera del Arecibo (The shore of Arecibo).
Arecibo is also known as La Villa del Capitán Correa (Captian Correa's Villa) after the Puerto Rican hero Captain Antonio de los Reyes Correa, who as a member of the Spanish Army defended Arecibo from a British invasion led by Admiral Whelstone in August 5 1702.
Arecibo is the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arecibo.
[edit] Flag
The flag of Arecibo derives its composition and colors from the Shield of the City. It is divided vertically in two equal parts. The left side is blue having a belt that stands for "Captain Correa", a local military hero from Spanish times. The right side is made up of blue and yellow diamonds alternating in a checkerboard pattern.
[edit] Coat of Arms
The shield is divided by diagonal lines in golden and blue rhombuses with a blue stripe in the superior part, in which resides an opened five-point crown and which is adorned with drawings characterizing the art of the Taínos. This combination of symbols represents the Indian Cacique (Chieftain) from whom the population's name derives, the governor that erected the town and the hero Captain Correa who defended it.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Barrios (Districts/Wards)
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[edit] Geo/Topography
Cambalache Forest Reserve Dos Bocas Lake Río Abajo Forest Reserve La Cueva del Indio
[edit] Anthem
By José A. Monrouzeau
Villa y ciudad te conocí
acariciada por el mar
prodigio es ver cerca de tí
ríos formandose un collar
porque eres tú cuna gentil
de nuestro gran Pachín Marín,
Víctor Rojas también
de Campeche un jardín,
del Capitán Correa, el invicto,
fue un edén.
Arecibo, Arecibo
yo nunca te podré olvidar,
pueblecito de mis amores
que como tú no hay otro igual.
Por tus atletas y tus héroes
tus hijos te saben querer,
con sus mujeres en sus quereres
gratos recuerdos del ayer.
En el baseball estrellas son
Rodríguez Olmo con Pellot.
En basketball gran sensación
con John Padilla en Nueva York.
Así también cual campeón
Petaca Iguina es colosal.
Nuestros atletas son bravos
por su ideal por eso
gozan de fama y admiración.
Arecibo, Arecibo
yo nunca te podré olvidar,
pueblecito de mis amores
que como tú no hay otro igual.
Por tus atletas y tus héroes
tus hijos te saben querer,
con sus mujeres en sus quereres
gratos recuerdos del ayer.
[edit] Economic
[edit] Agriculture
[edit] Business
Arecibo's main shopping mall is Plaza del Atlántico.
[edit] Industrial
Arecibo is home to Fortune 500 corporations such as Merck & Co., Inc.,General Electric, and Pfizer. Other important company is Thermo King Corporation, a unit of Ingersoll Rand, which manufactures transport temperature control systems.
[edit] Tourism
[edit] Landmarks and places of interest
In 1898 the spaniards built the Arecibo Lighthouse which was automated in 1964 and is in use today.
Arecibo is known for the nearby world-famous Arecibo Observatory, the largest single-unit radio telescope ever constructed and one of the world's most powerful radar-radio telescope. While the observatory exists to support scientific studies, a number of Hollywood movies have been filmed there, most recently GoldenEye and Contact. The radio telescope was used in 1974 to send the Arecibo message to space.
Also nearby () is a facility for launching sounding rockets. Since 1966 many rockets of the Nike Apache, Nike Javelin, Nike Iroquois, Nike Tomahawk, Black Brant, Taurus Orion, and Terrier Orion types have been launched from this facility.
Places of Interest:
- Cambalache Forest Reserve
- Casa de Pesca
- Casa Ulanga
- Cueva del Indio Cavern
- Dos Bocas Lake
- Los Morillos Beach
- Los Negritos Beach
- Los Morrillos Lighthouse
- Olympic Swimming Facilities
- Poza del Obispo Beach
- Río Abajo Forest Reserve
- San Felipe Cathedral
- Las Tunas Beach
- Víctor Rojas Walk
- Manuel "Petaca" Iguina Coliseum
[edit] Festivals and events
- Bicycle Competitions - January
- Arecibo Carnival - February
- Patron Festivities San Felipe Apóstol - May
- Playero Festival - July
- Folklore Festival - July
- Craftsman Fair - September
- Ceti Festival - November
- Puerto Rico's Flag Centenial - December
[edit] Transportation
Arecibo has a small noncommercial airport, named Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport, which has not had airline flights in about two decades.
[edit] Sports
Arecibo has two professional sports franchises, the Lobos de Arecibo in baseball and the Capitanes de Arecibo in BSN basketball. The Lobos won the 1983 national baseball championship and the 1983 Caribbean World Series, the only time the franchise won both titles. At that time, they had MLB prospect Dickie Thon, then also of the Houston Astros, on their roster. Thon then suffered a life-threatening and career-affecting eye injury during an Astros game in 1984. The Lobos won a championship again in 1996.
The Capitanes have not had much luck in their basketball tournaments, but in 2002, they started to turn things around, reaching the semifinals. However, they lost the series to the Vaqueros by losing 4 straight games, after having a 3-0 game lead in the series. The Capitanes won the National Superior Basketball championship on 2005 beating the Vaqueros of Bayamón in 4 games. This was the first championship in 46 years.
[edit] Famous "Arecibeños"
- Antonio de los Reyes Correa
- Cayetano Coll y Toste (1850-1930) Doctor & historian
- José Gomez Brioso
- Francisco Gonzalo Marin (1897-1963) - Poet, politician & patriot
- Luisa Capetillo
- Manuel Zeno Gandía (1855-1930) Doctor, journalist & politician
- Maria Cadilla de Martinez (1894-1951) Professor & writer
- Myrta Silva Former Lead Vocalist of La Sonora Matancera
- René Marqués(1929-1979) - Dramatist
- Victor Rojas
- Trina Padilla de Sanz
- Wilnelia González - Volleyball player
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Arecibo Observatory Home
- Satellite photo of the Arecibo radiotelescope, with info
- Diagram explaining how Arecibo works
- Rocket launches from Arecibo
- University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo campus
- Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo campus
- Arecibo's BSN Basketball Team
- Map of Arecibo Puerto Rico
- Arecibo web portal in Spanish
