Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Explained

Vega Baja
Native Name:Spanish; Castilian: Municipio Autónomo de Vega Baja
Native Name Lang:es
Settlement Type:City and municipality
Flag Alt:Flag of Vega Baja
Nickname:"Ciudad del Melao Melao"
Anthem: "A Vega Baja"
Mapsize:300px
Coordinates:18.4461°N -66.3875°W
Subdivision Type:Sovereign state
Subdivision Name: United States
Subdivision Type1:Commonwealth
Subdivision Name1: Puerto Rico
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:October 7, 1776
Parts Type:Barrios
Parts:14 barrios
P1:Algarrobo
P2:Almirante Norte
P3:Almirante Sur
P4:Cabo Caribe
P5:Ceiba
P6:Cibuco
P7:Puerto Nuevo
P8:Pugnado Adentro
P9:Pugnado Afuera
P10:Quebrada Arenas
P11:Río Abajo
P12:Río Arriba
P13:Pueblo
P14:Yeguada
Leader Party:Partido Popular Democrático
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Marcos Cruz Molina
Leader Title1:Senatorial dist.
Leader Name1:3 - Arecibo
Leader Title2:Representative dist.
Leader Name2:12
Area Total Km2:144.28
Area Land Km2:122
Area Water Km2:22.28
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:54,414
Population As Of:2020
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Vegabajeños
Timezone1:AST
Utc Offset1:-4
Postal Code Type:ZIP Codes
Postal Code:00693, 00694
Area Code:787/939
Blank Name Sec1:Major routes
Blank Info Sec1:

Population Rank:13th in Puerto Rico

Vega Baja (pronounced as /es/) is a town and municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It is north of Morovis, east of Manatí, and west of Vega Alta. Vega Baja is spread over 14 barrios. The population of the municipality was 54,414 at the 2020 census.[2] It is part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan statistical area.

History

The name Vega Baja in Spanish means 'lower valley' (Vega Alta meaning 'upper valley'). Historians believe that the name Vega Baja comes from La Vega. Vega is a surname of one of the families involved in the foundation of Vega Baja. It is also believed that the name comes from the region of Spain La Vega Baja del Segura. Additionally, in Caribbean Spanish, a vega is also a tobacco plantation.[3]

Although is generally believed that Vega Baja was founded in 1776, after the division of Vega Alta from La Vega (modern day Vega Alta) historians have verified that it was many years later when it was officially recognized by the Spanish government. The foundation day is October 7, and it is also the day of commemorating the Virgin of the Rosary. Vega Baja was originally known as Vega-baxa del Naranjal de Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Vega Baja of the Orange Grove of Our Lady of the Rosary).

Cibuco is one of the rivers that goes through Vega Baja, and is a variation of the name Sebuco, who was a chief or Cacique Taíno of the region. These small tribes of Taínos were known to settle in the vicinity of the rivers. Although the Cibuco River is prone to floods due to heavy seasonal rains, the benefits provided to the land by the river are numerous.

Taino rock carvings have been found on some of the exposed reefs in the vicinity of the Cibuco River. Among these carvings is one depicting a face and others shaped as fish. They are an indication that these reefs were frequented for spear fishing and perhaps other day-to-day activities. Other places like Carmelita, Maisabel, Cueva Maldita and Paso del Indio are known as archaeological sites where the aborigines established their communities.

Drug trafficking has been an issue in Vega Baja for many years[4] and in early 1990, $43 million dollars in cash was found buried in plastic barrels, thought to have been deposited by drug smugglers for later retrieval. The sudden wealth of a few Vega Baja residents attracted attention and prompted an investigation by FBI and local police.[5] By May 1990, the FBI had traced $11 million and seized and confiscated property and goods purchased with the money thought to belong to drug lord Ramon Torres Gonzalez.[6]

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico. With an area of about Vega Baja is a municipality on the north coast with some barrios on the coast and others in more mountainous areas. With an estimated population of 53,674 (2016, Census estimates) when Hurricane Maria struck, 48.5% were below poverty and 21.8% were people over the age of 60. The hurricane triggered numerous landslides in the municipality. Rivers were breached causing flooding of low-lying areas, and infrastructure including homes were destroyed. A tributary of the Cibuco River rose immediately putting 100 people's lives at risk. Many of those residents took refuge on roofs or sought out small boats to navigate the flooded waters and to help remove people who were trapped on roofs or inside residences. Then municipal staff picked people up in buses and took them to the shelter at the Lino Padrón school, where the electric generator nor school cistern worked. Telecommunications systems were destroyed causing state and municipal rescue officers to have to rely on radio communication signals, which were limited to a radius of a few miles. Radio signals did not reach Vega Baja and news, such as the fact that a curfew had been declared, only spread by word of mouth. The mayor, who lost his home, said the storm surge and hurricane winds destroyed most of the structures in Cerro Gordo, a coastal sector. The urban, downtown areas were impassable due to the large number of downed trees and power lines. The Cibuco River roe above PR-2 highway, preventing the passage to the adjoining town/ municipality of Vega Alta and heading west, a stretch could be covered with extreme difficulty, until it was also blocked with the rising of the Río Grande de Manatí. The mayor stated, “We don't know what happened on the mountain. We have not been able to get there yet,” and “The destruction is so great. I don't know how to explain seeing the despair of a mother or an elderly person right now. It is not easy what we are living.”[7] [8] [9]

Geography

Vega Baja is located on the northern coast.[10] The municipality is located along the Northern Karst region of Puerto Rico, and the town is located on the Northern Plains.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Vega Baja is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio called Spanish; Castilian: "Pueblo" (barrio-pueblo on the US Census).[11] [12] Note: While the US Census and the PR GIS data, indicate there are 14 barrios in Vega Baja, the Vega Baja government page seems to exclude Vega Baja barrio-pueblo in its list of barrios.[13]

  1. Algarrobo
  2. Almirante Norte
  3. Almirante Sur
  4. Cabo Caribe
  5. Ceiba
  6. Cibuco
  7. Puerto Nuevo
  8. Pugnado Adentro
  9. Pugnado Afuera
  10. Quebrada Arenas
  11. Río Abajo
  12. Río Arriba
  13. Pueblo
  14. Yeguada

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[14] and subbarrios,[15] are further subdivided into smaller areas called Spanish; Castilian: sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[16] [17]

Special Communities

See main article: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development.

Spanish; Castilian: Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Vega Baja: Alto de Cuba, Callejón Pérez and Sector El Hoyo in Barrio Algarrobo, Guarico Viejo, and La Trocha-Río Abajo.[18]

Demographics

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Vega Baja was 10,305.

Vega Baja - 2020 census[19]
RacePopulation%
White alone10,042 18.5
3,491 6.4
American Indian/Alaska Native460 0.8
Asian alone28 0.1
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone90.0
Some other race alone13,783 25.3
Two or More Races alone26,601 48.9

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 14 beaches in Vega Baja.[20] Some main attractions of Vega Baja include:

Economy

The abundant fertility of its soil has meant Vega Baja has much agricultural and farming land. In addition, Vega Baja has one of the most visited beaches of the northern coastline, Puerto Nuevo Beach (officially Mar Bella Beach). This beach attracts thousands of beachgoers annually, making it a center for local tourism, especially during the hot summer months. It boasts a natural rock formation of enormous proportions both in height and length colloquially named La Peña. This rock feature shelters the beach portion from the open seas just behind it. During rough marine conditions, the rock feature protects beachgoers, while the spectacle of waves crashing from behind and cascading down its face can be appreciated in the relative safety of the beach.[22]

Agriculture

Industry

Culture

Festivals and events

Vega Baja celebrates its patron saint festival in October. The Spanish; Castilian: Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Virgen del Rosario is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[24]

Other festivals and events celebrated in Vega Baja include:

Government

Vega Baja, like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, elect a mayor every four years to administer the city. The educator Marcos Cruz Molina is the mayor since 2013 and Rafael “Piro” Martinez is the President of the Municipal Legislature.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district III, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, José "Joito" Pérez and Ángel "Chayanne" Martínez were elected as District Senators. Rafael (Tatito) Hernández is the Eleventh District Representative and Hector Torres the Twelve District Representative at the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.

Transportation

There are 23 bridges in Vega Baja.[25]

Notable people

Symbols

The Spanish; Castilian: municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.[26]

Flag

Vega Baja's flag consists of a yellow cloth crossed by a green band. The band relates to the fertile valley and the river.[27]

Coat of arms

The Vega Baja coat of arms has a v-shaped green band with overlapping roses in silver and three oranges trees, with gold fruit. At the top part is a five-tower crown, silver, black and green. The main colors of the shield; green and gold are used traditionally in civic, scholastic and sports activities. The crown five tower indicates that the town holds the rank of "Villa" by royal decree.

Anthem

The anthem of Vega Baja is "A Vega Baja" with lyrics as written in 1974 by Adrián Santos Tirado and music by Roberto Sierra.

Education

The following schools are in Vega Baja:[28]

Higher education

Private School

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census. 2021-08-25. The United States Census Bureau. EN-US.
  2. Web site: Puerto Rico Population Declined 11.8% From 2010 to 2020 . 2022-04-11 . Census.gov.
  3. Web site: Vega . February 12, 2022 .
  4. Web site: 58 Indicted For Drug Trafficking in La Trocha Ward, Vega Baja . DEA.gov . 2008-11-25 . 2021-05-16.
  5. News: Lemoyne . James . Talk of a Puerto Rico Town: Buried Treasure, No Kidding . NYT . April 18, 1990 . February 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170815150828/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/18/us/talk-of-a-puerto-rico-town-buried-treasure-no-kidding.html . August 15, 2017 . live .
  6. Web site: FBI Seizes Houses, Cars, Trucks Bought with Buried Drug Treasure . AP NEWS . 1990-05-11 . 2021-05-16.
  7. Web site: Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico . USGS Landslide Hazards Program . USGS . 2019-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190303143147/https://landslides.usgs.gov/research/featured/2017/maria-pr/ . 2019-03-03 . live .
  8. Web site: Preliminary Locations of Landslide Impacts from Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico . USGS Landslide Hazards Program . USGS . 2019-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190303143147/https://landslides.usgs.gov/research/featured/2017/maria-pr/images/PR_Maria_LS_density_map.pdf . 2019-03-03 . live.
  9. News: El Nuevo Día: María, un nombre que no vamos a olvidar. Desalojos de emergencia por inundaciones en Vega Baja . Maria, a name we will never forget. Flood emergency evacuations in Vega Baja . El Nuevo Día . 2019-06-13 . es . 2022-09-11.
  10. Web site: Vega Baja Municipality. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). enciclopediapr.org. 2019-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20190509025917/https://enciclopediapr.org/en/encyclopedia/vega-baja-municipality/. 2019-05-09. live.
  11. Book: 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. . 1969 . San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969 . 2018-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226171916/https://archive.org/details/nuevageografad00pic/page/247 . 2018-12-26 . live .
  12. Book: Gwillim Law. Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. 25 December 2018. 20 May 2015. McFarland. 978-1-4766-0447-3. 300.
  13. Web site: Libro de Pintar "Te invito a conocer la ciudad de Vega Baja" . Municipio Autónomo de Vega Baja . 29 August 2014 . es . 23 January 2023.
  14. Web site: US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition . factfinder.com . US Census . 5 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170513190743/https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/barrio.htm . 13 May 2017 . dead .
  15. Web site: P.L. 94-171 VTD/SLD Reference Map (2010 Census): Vega Baja Municipio, PR . www2.census.gov . U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau . 22 August 2020 . 22 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200822190656/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/pl10map/vtd_sld/st72_spanish/c72145_vega_baja/PL10VTDSP_C72145_001.pdf . live .
  16. Web site: Agencia: Oficina del Coordinador General para el Financiamiento Socioeconómico y la Autogestión (Proposed 2016 Budget). Puerto Rico Budgets. es. 28 June 2019. 28 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190628234856/http://www.presupuesto.pr.gov/Presupuesto2015-2016/PresupuestosAgencias/229.htm. live.
  17. Web site: Leyes del 2001. Lex Juris Puerto Rico. es. 24 June 2020. 14 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180914224408/http://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/Leyes2001/lex2001001.htm. live.
  18. Web site: Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico. 8 August 2011. es. 24 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624004414/https://cpprbib.wordpress.com/biblioteca-virtual/guias-tematicas/comunidades-especiales/comunidades-especiales-de-puerto-rico/. 24 June 2019. live.
  19. Web site: PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census. August 25, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau. December 27, 2023.
  20. Web site: Las 1,200 playas de Puerto Rico [The 1200 beaches of Puerto Rico]]. April 14, 2017. Primera Hora. es. December 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191212200804/https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/las1200playasdepuertorico-1216285/. December 12, 2019. live.
  21. Web site: Vega Baja busca una Alianza Público Privada para la casona del balneario. 22 February 2019. El Nuevo Dia. es. 15 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190223141626/https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/vegabajabuscaunaalianzapublicoprivadaparalacasonadelbalneario-2478379/. 23 February 2019. live.
  22. Web site: ¿Te bañarías en esta playa con un rompeolas natural que parece un tsunami? (VIDEO). January 6, 2018. Diario Correo. October 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191022070832/https://diariocorreo.pe/miscelanea/playa-rompeolas-tsunami-video-795754/. October 22, 2019. live.
  23. Web site: Martinez family holds onto dairy heritage . 2020-08-03 . 2020-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200822190650/https://www.dairystar.com/Content/News/Daily-News/Article/Martinez-family-holds-onto-dairy-heritage/1/256/15905 . live .
  24. Web site: Puerto Rico Festivales, Eventos y Actividades en Puerto Rico . Puerto Rico Hoteles y Paradores . es . 2020-07-17 . 2020-02-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200226163727/https://www.puertoricohotelesparadores.com/festivales-eventos-actividades . live .
  25. Web site: Vega Baja Bridges. National Bridge Inventory Data. US Dept. of Transportation. 20 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190221224238/http://bridgereports.com/pr/vega-baja/. 21 February 2019. live.
  26. Web site: Ley Núm. 70 de 2006 -Ley para disponer la oficialidad de la bandera y el escudo de los setenta y ocho (78) municipios. . LexJuris de Puerto Rico . es . 2021-06-15.
  27. Web site: VEGA BAJA . LexJuris (Leyes y Jurisprudencia) de Puerto Rico . 19 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200219000350/http://www.lexjuris.com/pueblos/pueblos_files/VEGABAJA.HTML . 19 February 2020 . live . es . 17 September 2020.
  28. Web site: Search For Schools and Colleges . National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education . 6 October 2020.