Isla Verde, Puerto Rico
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Isla Verde is a district of Carolina, Puerto Rico. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west by the San Juan area of El Condado, to the south by Santurce (also a San Juan area) and to the east by downtown Carolina. Isla Verde has been, for decades, a main touristic area in Puerto Rico, hosting various hotels, casinos and discoteques.
Isla Verde is also the name of the tiny island some 400 meters north of Punta Medio, with a size of just 2,518 m² (0.6 acres). It is the island that gave name to the district. The island falls within Cangrejo Arriba barrio of Carolina. The district of Isla Verde is in fact the coastal area of Cangrejo Arriba.
Isla Verde has both very posh areas, as well as extremely poor places. The area has had a steady growth in crime numbers, particularly because of the presence of the Residencial Luis Llorens Torres and the nearby Las Casas and Ramos Antonini public housing areas, where drugs are distributed, generating many gang wars.
Most of Isla Verde, however, is filled with restaurants, hotels and mansions. Many celebrities have lived in Isla Verde's posh areas, including some former Menudos, among them, Robi Rosa and Roy Rossello. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, world boxing champion Wilfredo Gómez owned a discoteque (which was shaped like a Flying saucer) in the area, and Samuel Serrano also owned businesses there.
The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, which many people mistakenly think is situated in San Juan, is actually located at the Isla Verde area, which, as aforementioned, belongs to the city of Carolina. For almost four decades, the airport was given the unofficial "Isla Verde International Airport" title, both by locals and visitors.
Since the airport's creation and up until the September 11, 2001 attacks, aviation fans could enjoy a day at the beach and, at the same time, watch the aircraft land or take-off at a specially designed spot located near Pinones, another Carolina barrio. But after the September 11 tragedies, this spot was closed because the general public could also see general aviation activities take place, such as luggage handling, fuel filling and others. Another reason that this spot in particular was closed is that it could have provided a view for an attacker of a presidential aircraft or for terrorists. Roberto Clemente died in Isla Verde, soon after his aircraft took off on December 31, 1972. The plane nose-dived, falling into the beach in front of the airport. No bodies have actually been found.
Because of the airport's location in the Isla Verde area, Isla Verde's streets have had to be closed several times for welcomings; such were the cases of the times that any Puerto Rican has won the Miss Universe contest, whenever Felix Trinidad returns from a fight, when Pope John Paul II visited in 1984, and during the 1987 visit of Spain's royal family to Puerto Rico.
The Isla Verde area is rich in coconut palm trees.
