Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
||||||
| Nickname: "Ciudad de los Conquistadores", "Pueblo del Carnaval Mavó", "Primer Poblado de Puerto Rico" | ||||||
| Gentilic: "Guaynabeños" | ||||||
| Location | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||
| Government | ||||||
| Founded | 1769 | |||||
| Mayor | Hon. Héctor O'Neill Garcia | |||||
| Political party | PNP | |||||
| Senatorial district | 1 - San Juan | |||||
| Representative district | 6 / 9 | |||||
| Geographical characteristics | ||||||
| Area | ||||||
| Total | 70.2 km² | |||||
| Population | ||||||
| Total (2000) | 100,053 | |||||
| Density | 1,425.2/km² | |||||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | |||||
| Official website: http://www.guaynabocity.gov.pr | ||||||
| Anthem – "Guaynabo, pueblo querido" | ||||||
Guaynabo (gwei-NAH-bo; also known as Guaynabo City or GC) is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spread over 9 wards and Guaynabo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).
Guaynabo is considered, along with neighbors San Juan and the municipalities of Bayamón, Carolina,Cataño, Toa Alta, Canovanas , Caguas, Toa Baja and Trujillo Alto to be one of the cities of the Área Metropolitana (Metropolitan Area) of San Juan (the largest MSA in Puerto Rico; many Puerto Ricans erroneously consider it the only metropolitan area in the Commonwealth). The municipio has a land area of 70.26 km² (27.13 sq mi) and a population of 100,053 as of the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] History
Guaynabo was founded in 1769, after a struggle to be divide from the municipality of Bayamón. Previously, the city was known as "Buinabo", name that means in Taíno "He aquí otro lugar de agua dulce" or "Have here another place of sweet water".
[edit] Barrios (Districts/Wards)
|
|
[edit] Anthem
By Rafael Velázquez Pericas
Guaynabo, pueblo querido,
yo no te olvido, eres mi amor...
Guaynabo, eres mi encanto,
te quiero tanto, de corazón.
Tu gente, sencilla y noble,
tus hombres son recordados
por sus hazañas,
por su lealtad...
Recuerdo a Baldorioty,
hombre valiente
y sin igual.
Luchando por los esclavos
allá en las cortes
supo ganar.
Su nombre es respetado,
alláien los campos
y en la cuidad.
Guaynabo, eres mi pueblo
lleno de ensueños
y de bondad
[edit] Economic
Long considered to be just a mostly rural, drive-by town for drivers who were going from San Juan to the western part of Puerto Rico, Guaynabo went through a large economic revitalization in the 1950s and 1960s. As a consequence, parts of the city have also served as a San Juan suburb preferred by upper-middle and high income families. Perhaps due to this fact, today, Guaynabo has the highest per capita income in Puerto Rico. Torrimar, Garden Hills, Ext. Villa Caparra, San Patricio and Tintillo are among the upper class neighborhoods located in Guaynabo that where built in the 1950s and 1960s, with the notable exeption of Villa Caparra and Suchville, San Juan's first wealthy suburbs built in the 1920s. Construction continued between the 1970s and 1990s, where hundreds of new upper middle class developments continued weere built: Parkville, Tierra Alta, Villas Reales, Mansiones de Guaynabo, Mansiones Reales and Palmas Reales amomg many others. As a result of the proliferation of upper middle class and wealthy neighborhoods, Guaynabo has many of the most expensive private schools in Puerto Rico, including Colegio Marista Guaynabo, The Baldwin School and Academia San José. The first moden shopping mall built in the caribbean and Latin America was built in Guaynabo in 1963 in the San Patricio sector next to Villa Caparra.
Also the skyline of Guaynabo is filled with over a hundred high rise buildings. Most of the residential condominiums, but also various major headquarters for banks, and other businesses,
When Alejandro Cruz (a baseball coach in his spare time who eventually died of a heart attack after a game) was Guaynabo's mayor, many sport facilities were built, like Mario "Quijote" Morales Coliseum (then called Mets Pavilion). In addition, many manufacturing plants such as Hanes' plant were established in Guaynabo. Guaynabo has, at different times, been voted Most Picturesque and Cleanest Town in Puerto Rico.
Several businesses have their headquarters or local Puerto Rico branches in Guaynabo. El Nuevo Día, Santander Securities, Puerto Rico Telephone and many sales offices for large US firms (such as Texaco, Microsoft, American Airlines, Dell and others) have their Puerto Rican headquarters in Guaynabo. WAPA-TV and UNIVISION TELEVISION PUERTO RICO have its main studios in Guaynabo.
[edit] Mayors of Guaynabo
| Mayor | Term | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Santos Rivera | 1969-1979 | New Progressive Party |
| Alejandro Cruz Ortiz | 1979-1993 | New Progressive Party |
| Héctor O'Neill García | 1993-present | New Progressive Party |
Alcaldes de Guaynabo 1782 al 1969
Años Alcalde 1782 Cayetano de la Sarna 1800-1814 Pedro Dávila 1812-1820 Dionisio Cátala 1816-1838 Angel Umpierre 1818 Juan José González 1821-1826 Joaquín Goyena 1822 José María Prosis 1823 Simón Hinonio 1825 José R. Ramírez 1827 Antonio Guzmán 1828-1842 Genaro Oller 1836 Andrés Degal 1836 Agustín Rosario 1840 Francisco Hiques 1844 Martínez Díaz 1848 Tomás Cátla 1849 Andrés Vega 1852 Justo García 1856 José Tomás Sagarra 1857 Manuel Manzano 1859 Juan Floret 1859 José Francisco Chiques 1862 Segundo de Echeverte 1862 José de Murgas 1869 Juan J. Caro 1873 Benito Gómez 1874 Manuel Millones 1876 José Otero 1891 Juan Díaz de Barrio 1914 José Ramón 1914 José Carazo 1919 Narciso Val Llovera 1924 Zenón Díaz Valcárcel 1936 Dolores Vldivieso 1944 Augosto Rivera 1948 Jorge Gavillán Fuentes 1956 Juan Román 1964 José Rosario Reyes
[edit] Tourism
[edit] Landmarks and places of interest
- Baldorioty de Castro Statue
- Bellas Artes Center
- Caparra Ruins
- Caribe Recreational Center
- Mets Pavilion
- San Patricio Plaza
[edit] Festivals and events
- Three Reyes Festival - January
- Mabó Carnival - February
- Mothers Tribute - May
- Patron Festivities - May
- Salsa National Day - June
- Bellas Artes Camp - June
- Bomba & Plena Festival - October
- Christmas Lighting - November
[edit] Sports
Guaynabo's BSN team, the Guaynabo Mets, won national championships in 1980, 1982 and 1989, commanded by the player after whom the coliseum was named, Mario "Quijote" Morales.
[edit] Notable "Guaynabeños"
- Aurelio Maldonado
- Cesar Lopez
- Jose R. Carazo
- Jose "Pepito" Bonano (Gayest Latino)
- Lidio Cruz Moclova
- Silverio Pérez
- Rafael Martínez Nadal
- Román Baldorioty de Castro
- Francisco Valcarcel
- Eleuterio Quiñones (fictional character)
- Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri
- Adam Azulay (Academy Award Nominated Director)
- Robert Astrachan
Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel was actually born at the "Hospital del Niño" (Children's Hospital) in Guaynabo.
[edit] Diplomacy
Guaynabo serves as a host city three foreign consulates with business in Puerto Rico:
