| Añasco, Puerto Rico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Nickname(s): "La Ciudad Donde los Dioses mueren", "El Pueblo Del Hojaldre", "El Pueblo de los Morcilleros", "Los Nativos" | |||
| Anthem: "Añasco pueblo querido" | |||
| Location of Añasco in Puerto Rico | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Territory | Puerto Rico | ||
| Founded | October 18, 1733 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Hon. Jorge Estevez (PPD) | ||
| • Senatorial dist. | 4 - Mayagüez | ||
| • Representative dist. | 17 | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 35.5 sq mi (91.9 km2) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 29,261 | ||
| • Density | 824.3/sq mi (318.2/km2) | ||
| Demonym | Añasqueños | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| Zip code | 00610 | ||
| Website | anascopr.net | ||
Añasco (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈɲasko]), named after one of its settlers, Don Luis de Añasco, is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the west coast of the island bordering the Mona Passage to the west, north of Mayagüez, and Las Marias; south of Rincón, Aguada, and Moca and west of San Sebastián and Las Marias. It is part of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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The town was founded on October 18, 1733 and named after Don Luis de Añasco, a colonist from the Extremadura region of Spain who came to Puerto Rico with Juan Ponce de León. Añasco was founded by the initiative of rich landowner Don José de Santiago, who wanted to establish the "villa" in properties owned by Don Luis de Añasco. The property was located on the margins of the río "Guaorabo", as the Taínos called it.
Anasco town was proceeded by the first settlement of San German.In Novermber 1511, Juan Ponce de Leon handed over governorship to Juan Ceron, a lieutenant of the viceroy Diego Colon (son of Cristobal Colon or Cristopher Columbus).Ceron ordered Miguel de Toro, a lieutenant of Juan Ponce de Leon, to create a "Christian Village" in western Borinquen, calling it San German. This was the second attempt of foundation given in 1511 at the mouth of the Guaorabo River (present day Rio Anasco), near the area known today as Anasco, Puerto Rico. This first settlement was attacked in 1528, 1538, and again in 1554. A fort to protect this town began in 1540, but it's construction was suspended in 1546 when the people decided to move inland being tired of attacks. Attacks by Carib indians forced the population to move south inland to the present site of the present town of San German.
In the 18th century, Añasco was the fourth most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, after San Germán, San Juan, and others. The Añasco River is also claimed to be the site of the popular legend of the drowning of the Spaniard Diego Salcedo in 1511 at the hands of the Taínos, proving the Spanish soldiers were not gods and igniting a revolt. It is believed that the revolt was led by the cacique Chayoán and suppressed by Spanish soldiers.
Many of the first settlers to the area came from the Canary Islands and the south of Spain.
Añasco is located in the Coastal Plains of the west, bordered by the Río Grande de Añasco. It is bordered in the north by Rincón, Aguada, and Moca; Mayagüez to the south; and San Sebastián and Las Marías to the east. The Mona Passage lies to the west of the town.
The Añasco terrain is mostly plain, but features a series of hills and mountains like Canta Gallo (364 meters, or 1,194 feet), Gordo and Pichón (both at 340 meters, or 1,115 feet).[1] It is also crossed by several rivers like Icaco River, Caguabo River, La Balsa, and others.[2]
Añasco has a AA baseball team called the Fundadores de Añasco.[4] It is also known for being the hometown of some amateur boxing prospects like Samuel D. Figueroa and Jonathan Badillo. Samuel D. Figueroa is now a undefeated professional boxer and holds a record of 2-0, 1 KO.
Sugar cane had been cultivated in Añasco as early as the 16th century. The earliest known sugar mill ("ingenios") operator around the Añasco area was Tomás de Castellón in 1523.
Today, the town has a reputation for producing the best moonshine rum in Puerto Rico from sugar cane. Añasco is renowned for its "Pitorro rum" production. The word "pitorro" is actually a corruption of the word "pintorro", an Andalusian term used to depict inferior-quality wine or rum that had a weak color (hence the name).
Añasco has also been a place for fruits and coffee cultivation.
There are several industries established in the industrial zone around the town of Añasco.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district IV, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, Luis Daniel Muñiz and Evelyn Vázquez were elected as District Senators.[5]
The Puerto Rico Department of Education operates Antonio Gonzalez Suarez Regional Bilingual Elementary School.
The flag colors, design and symbolism is taken from the municipal Coat of Arms, with the only exception being that silver is painted white on the flag.
The green field of the shield contains a saber cross massed in black, outlined in silver, and has a gold scallop shell in each quadrant formed by the cross. A gold mural crown of three towers crests the shield.
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