Juncos, Puerto Rico

Juncos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈhuŋkos]) is one of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico and is located in the eastern central region of the island, south of Canóvanas and Carolina; southeast of Gurabo; east of San Lorenzo; and west of Las Piedras. Juncos is spread over 9 barrios and Juncos barrio-pueblo (the downtown area and administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Juncos

Municipio Autónomo de Juncos
Town and Municipality
Theater in Juncos
Flag
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
"La Ciudad del Valenciano", "Los Mulos del Valenciano"
Anthem: "Juncos Mi Pequeño París"
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Juncos Municipality
Coordinates: 18°13′39″N 65°55′16″W
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
FoundedAugust 2, 1797
Wards
Government
 • MayorAlfredo Alejandro Carrión (PPD)
 • Senatorial dist.7 - Humacao
 • Representative dist.33
Area
 • Total26.60 sq mi (68.89 km2)
 • Land26.59 sq mi (68.86 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total40,290
 • Density1,500/sq mi (580/km2)
Demonym(s)Junqueño
Ethnicity
(2000 Census)[1]
 • White93.5%
 • Black7.2%
 • American Indian/AN0.0%
 • Asian0.0%
 • Native Hawaiian/PI0.0%
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
ZIP Code
00777
Area code(s)787/939
Major routes

Juncos was founded on the request of Tomás Pizarro on August 2, 1797, having previously been a village which evolved from a small ranch, the Hatillo de los Juncos. This ranch was part of the Hato del Valenciano, which gave its name to the Río Valenciano which bisects the city before joining the Río Gurabo to the north of the settlement.

History

During the 17th century, large parts of the municipality were owned by the Hato Grande de los Delgado (The Delgados' Great Ranch). Another ranch, the Hato del Valenciano (Valencian's Ranch), was established and later divided into the Hatillo de los Lirios (Small Ranch of the Lilies) and the Hatillo de los Juncos (Small Ranch of the Reeds). This second one became the village of Juncos in the 18th century and was given the status of a town on August 2, 1797. Reeds, which gave the city its name, feature in the center of its flag and the bottom of its coat of arms. The Hato del Valenciano is remembered in the name of the Río Valenciano, as well as the coat of arms of Valencia featuring in Juncos' coat of arms, in addition to the city's two nicknames of La Ciudad del Valenciano (The Valencian's City) and Los Mulos del Valenciano (The Valencian's Mules).[2]

Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Juncos with the significant amount of rainfall.[3][4]

Symbols

On the flag of Juncos, on a gold field, blue waving stripes cross horizontally in the lower half. These represent the Río Valenciano which bisects the city. Green reeds with red buds appear in a central point above the stripes, representing the city's name (Juncos is Spanish for reeds).

Juncos' coat of arms is divided into four quarters, with the upper left and lower right containing vertical stripes gold (or yellow) and gules (red) in reference to the Spanish region of Valencia and to its denomination as "Town of Valencia". The upper right quarter is blue with twelve silver stars to represent the Virgin Mary, and also features a cross confirming the city as part of Christendom. The lower right is split vertically between an image of a tobacco plant to represent the city's agriculture and a chimney to represent industrialization and sugar cane processing. Like the flag, a waving blue line representing the Río Valenciano crosses the shield horizontally.

The shield is topped with a civic crown[5] in the shape of a three-towered castle. Underneath the shield lie the red-budded green reeds which gave the city its name, which features alongside its year of foundation (1797) at the very bottom.[2]

Geography

Juncos is in the central eastern part of the island.[6]

Barrios
Subdivisions of Juncos.

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Juncos is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located near the center of the municipality, in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".[7][8][9][10]

  1. Caimito
  2. Ceiba Norte
  3. Ceiba Sur
  4. Gurabo Abajo
  5. Gurabo Arriba
  6. Juncos barrio-pueblo[11]
  7. Lirios
  8. Mamey
  9. Valenciano Abajo
  10. Valenciano Arriba

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions)[11] in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[12][13][14]

Special Communities
Main article: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development

Of the 742 places on the list of Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Juncos: Flores, Santana 1 in Ceiba Norte, Canta Gallo, El Caracol, La Cuesta in Sector El Mangó, La Hormiga, Lirios Dorados in Hoyo Hondo and Rosalía in Sector El Mangó.[15][16]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19008,429—
191011,69238.7%
192013,15112.5%
193017,46932.8%
194019,46411.4%
195021,65411.3%
196021,496−0.7%
197021,8141.5%
198025,39716.4%
199030,61220.5%
200036,45219.1%
201040,29010.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[17]
1899 (shown as 1900)[18] 1910-1930[19]
1930-1950[20] 1960-2000[21] 2010[9]

Tourism
El Tenedor restaurant
  • Juncos Sugar Mill
  • Old Tobacco Farm
  • Juncos Plaza Shopping Center
  • Paseo Escuté
  • El Tenedor Restaurant[22]
  • Casa Vieja Cafe
  • Teatro Junqueño (Juncos Theater)
  • Hacienda Toro Al' Diente Restaurant

Culture

Festivals and events

Juncos celebrates its patron saint festival in December. The Fiestas Patronales Inmaculada Concepcion de Maria is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[6]

Other festivals and events celebrated in Juncos include:

  • Modesto Carrión International Marathon - November
  • La Mina Christian Music fest - July
  • Plenazo Junqueño - February

Economy

In the fertile plains of the Río Valenciano, coffee, fruits, sugar cane and tobacco are grown. The lower left quarter of the municipal coat of arms pay homage to tobacco cultivation and sugar cane processing.

Apparel, electronic machinery and electrical equipment, scientific instruments, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries

Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company, has developed its largest manufacturing site in Juncos. It is a biotechnology campus for bulk manufacturing, with laboratories and manufacturing facilities that employs close to 3000 people.[23] Amgen Puerto Rico received FDA approval for bulk manufacturing facilities for Nepogen (filgrastim), Neulasta (pegfilgrastim), Aranesp and Epogen. Amgen is also adding manufacturing capacity in Juncos to produce Denosumab.

In addition to Amgen there is a Medtronic and Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd. in Juncos. The Colgate pharmaceutical facility has closed and production shifted to Mexico.

Government
Juncos Mayoral House.

Alfredo Alejandro Carrión of the People's Democratic Party is the incumbent mayor of the municipality of Juncos.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VII, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, Jorge Suárez and José Luis Dalmau were elected as District Senators.[24]

Transportation

There are 28 bridges in Juncos.[25]

Under the administration of Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro, Juncos started a collective ferry-on-wheels transportation system.

Sports

Roberto Clemente Walker, later a double-World Series winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates, played baseball for Juncos before signing with the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico's Professional League. As is the national norm, volleyball and basketball are biggest sports in Juncos. In the year 2006-2007 the Valencianas de Juncos won the women's basketball and volleyball superior league national championship. In 2009, Juncos became the home of the 2008 Puerto Rico Soccer League champions, Sevilla Bayamon FC. The club is now known as Sevilla-FC Juncos since being relocated to the city. The team moved to Juncos due to ownership and financial problems and currently play in the Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro Stadium.

Notable Natives
Further information: List of Puerto Ricans

See also

References
  1. "Demographics/Ethnic U.S 2000 census" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2012-09-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico". USGS Landslide Hazards Program. USGS. Archived from the original on 2019-03-03. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  4. "Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico" (PDF). USGS Landslide Hazards Program. USGS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-03. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  5. http://www.gencat.cat/municat/escuts/heraldica/timbres.htm Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine (in Catalan)
  6. "Juncos Municipality". enciclopediapr.org. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH.
  7. Picó, Rafael; Buitrago de Santiago, Zayda; Berrios, Hector H. Nueva geografía de Puerto Rico: física, económica, y social, por Rafael Picó. Con la colaboración de Zayda Buitrago de Santiago y Héctor H. Berrios. San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  8. Gwillim Law (20 May 2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. McFarland. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-4766-0447-3. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  9. Puerto Rico:2010:population and housing unit counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  10. "Map of Juncos at the Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  11. "US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition". factfinder.com. US Census. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  12. "Agencia: Oficina del Coordinador General para el Financiamiento Socioeconómico y la Autogestión (Proposed 2016 Budget)". Puerto Rico Budgets (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  13. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza: Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997-2004 (first ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  14. "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  15. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza:Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997-2004 (Primera edición ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, p. 273, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  16. "Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  17. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  18. "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  19. "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  20. "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  21. "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  22. Túa, Lynet Santiago. "El Tenedor, delicioso steak house en Juncos con mucha historia". Metro. Archived from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  23. Inc, Poseida Therapeutics. "Poseida Therapeutics Appoints Kerry Ingalls as Chief Operating Officer". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  24. Elecciones Generales 2012: Escrutinio General Archived 2013-01-15 at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
  25. "Juncos Bridges". National Bridge Inventory Data. US Dept. of Transportation. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
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