| Toa Baja, Puerto Rico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Nickname(s): "Ciudad de los Valles del Toa", "Ciudad Bajo Aguas", "Los Llaneros" | |||
| Anthem: "Espléndido Toa Baja, jardín de mis amores" | |||
| Location of Toa Baja in Puerto Rico | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Territory | Puerto Rico | ||
| Founded | 1745 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Aníbal Vega Borges (PNP ) | ||
| • Senatorial dist. | 2 - Bayamón | ||
| • Representative dist. | 10 | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 41.7 sq mi (108.0 km2) | ||
| • Land | 23.2 sq mi (59.99 km2) | ||
| • Water | 18.5 sq mi (48.01 km2) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 89,609 | ||
| • Density | 2,148.9/sq mi (829.7/km2) | ||
| Demonym | Toabajeños | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| Zip code | 00949, 00950, 00951, 00952 | ||
| Website | toabaja.gobierno.pr | ||
Toa Baja (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈto.a ˈβaxa]) is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over 5 wards and Toa Baja Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Toa Baja considered to be a part of the Metropolitan Area. It shares its metropolitan area status with San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Cataño, Carolina and Trujillo Alto.
Toa Baja is located fifteen minutes by car from San Juan and one hour from Ponce.
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Called La Ciudad Bajo Aguas, Toa Baja was founded in 1745.
According to a publication of the Municipality of Toa Baja, the official flag of this Municipality consist of two (2) vertical bands: the left side is green and the right side is yellow. The green band has two (2) keys one in yellow and the other in white color. The green band represent the mountains and the yellow band represent the "Valley of Toa", also symbolize the rays of the sun. The keys symbolizes the Saint or "Patron" of the City: San Pedro el Apostol).
The waving stripe represents the Toa River, one of the first mentioned in the history of Puerto Rico, and in whose shores Juan Ponce de Leon tried to settle the first population of Puerto Rico.
The keys, crossed in vane, symbolize Saint Peter, patron saint of the town. In similar form they appear in the altar of the Parochial Church San Pedro Apostle, of Toa Baja. The F and the J, represent Don Fernando II of Aragón and V of Castile, and his daughter, Doña Juana, sovereign of Castile and Leon.
The handfuls of yucca refer to one of the main crop of this area, and constitute a symbol of the Indians who cultivated it, and whose main food was cassava or bread of yucca. The sugar cane stems refer to the cultivation and industry, that represented the main source of wealth of Toa Baja; the wealth is represented by gold of the field of the shield.
Manufacturing (metal, plastic, concrete, textile, electrical and electronic machinery and rum).
Anibal Vega-Borges, a lawyer, was elected Mayor of the city in 2004 for the first time and re-elected in 2008. Also, Betito Marquez Garcia, a businessman and a college professor, was elected Representative of Toa Baja in 2004 for the first time and re-elected again in 2008.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district II, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, Migdalia Padilla and Carmelo Ríos were elected as District Senators.[2]
In 2009 an order was given by Governor Luis G. Fortuño to shut off essential services, such as water and electricity, to Villas del Sol, a village within the municipality of Toa Baja. Villas del Sol consists of homes built illegally on flood-prone State land. The Federal Emergency Management Agency bought these homes from the Puerto Rican Government in order to keep them from being used further. In January 2010 the Puerto Rican government began demolishing some of the homes. The village is composed of both US citizens and illegal aliens, mainly of Dominican origin.
Llaneras de Toa Baja - female volleyball team from the Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino.
Llaneros de Levittown - PeeWee Reese Categorie baseball team from the Pro-Deportes / American Amateur Baseball Congress.
Each year, Toa Baja hosts both the Pee Wee Reese World Series (for baseball players of ages 12 and under) and the Willie Mays World Series (for baseball players of ages 10 and under).