Ciales, Puerto Rico

Ciales, Puerto Rico
Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms
Nickname(s): "La Ciudada de la Cojoba", "La Tierra del Café", "Pueblo de los Valerosos"
Anthem: "El cantar de tus ríos es mensaje"

Location of Ciales in Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 18°20′10″N 66°28′08″W / 18.33611°N 66.46889°WCoordinates: 18°20′10″N 66°28′08″W / 18.33611°N 66.46889°W
Country United States
Territory Puerto Rico
Founded June 24, 1820
Government
  Mayor Juan José Rodríguez Pérez (PPD)
  Senatorial dist. 3 - Arecibo
  Representative dist. 13
Area
  Total 66.48 sq mi (172.17 km2)
  Land 66 sq mi (172 km2)
  Water 0.07 sq mi (.17 km2)
Population (2010)
  Total 18,782
  Density 280/sq mi (110/km2)
Demonym Cialeños
Time zone AST (UTC-4)
Zip code 00638

Ciales (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsjales]) is a municipality of Puerto Rico, located on the Central Mountain Range, northwest of Orocovis; south of Florida and Manatí; east of Utuado and Jayuya; and west of Morovis. Ciales is spread over eight wards and Ciales Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Ciales was founded on June 24, 1820 by Isidro Rodríguez.

Geography

Cityscape

Barrios

  • Ciales Pueblo
  • Cialitos
  • Cordillera
  • Frontón
  • Guavas
  • Hato Viejo
  • Jaguas
  • Pesas
  • Pozas
  • Toro Negro[1]

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

Culture

Festivals and events

Sports

Ciales is the home town of Juan "Pachín" Vicens - Puerto Rico's undisputed national basketball star, named Best Player in the World at the 1959 World Basketball Championship, Santiago de Chile (a.k.a., Juan "Pachín" Vicens, "Astro del Balón", "El Jeep"; younger brother of Puerto Rico's National Poet, Nimia Vicens, who also hailed from Ciales). Their middle brother, Enrique "Coco" Vicens, a former Puerto Rico Senator, was a track and field athlete in his own right.

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture; coffee & cattle

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Ciales is Juan José Rodríguez Pérez, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected at the 2012 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district III, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, José Emilio González Velázquez and Angel Martínez Santiago were elected as District Senators.[2]

Symbols

Flag

The flag is divided into seven unequal stripes described in sequence: yellow, red, yellow, purple, yellow, red, and yellow.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms consists of a gold shield with a lion standing on its rear legs and silverplated nails grasping a silver coiled parchment between its front claws. The lion also shows a red tongue. Above the lion in the superior part of the shield are located three heraldic roses arranged horizontally with red petals and green leaves. A golden crown of three towers rests on the shield. The three towers are united by walls, simulating masonry blocks. The shield is surrounded by a crown of coffee tree branches with their berries, all in natural colors.

See also


References