Corozal, Puerto Rico


Corozal is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 wards and Corozal Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The city name is derived from the "palma de corozo" which abounds in the central zone of the Island.

History

Corozal's local Taino Indian Cacique was named Orocobix and his tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino.
Corozal was founded in 1795 and officially became a town in 1804. Commonly known as La Cuna del Volibol or Volleyball's Crib. It takes its name from the Acrocomia media, in Puerto Rican palma de corozo.
The United States took control of Puerto Rico from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico in 1899 finding that the population of Corozal was 11,508.
In 2000 census the population of Corozal was 36,867, and it had a land area of.

Hurricane Maria

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Corozal with the significant amount of rainfall, bridges and homes were destroyed, and the people of Corozal had to resort to collecting spring water.

Geography

Corozal is a mountainous region near the center of the island. Quebrada Jacinta is a valley in Corozal.
Updated flood zone maps show that Corozal is extremely vulnerable to flooding, along with Humacao, Rincón, Barceloneta, and Toa Baja. For its large number of rivers and streams, Corozal ends up being extremely vulnerable when hit by a major hurricane.

Hydrography

Rivers and streams of Corozal include Río Cibuco, Río Corozal, Río Dos Bocas, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Mavilla, Río Orocovis, and Río Unibón.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Corozal is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".
  1. Abras
  2. Cibuco
  3. Corozal barrio-pueblo
  4. Cuchillas
  5. Dos Bocas
  6. Magueyes
  7. Maná
  8. Negros
  9. Padilla
  10. Palmarejo
  11. Palmarito
  12. Palos Blancos
  13. Pueblo

    Sectors

Barrios in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores. The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities

Of the 742 places on the list of Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods are in Corozal: Aldea Vázquez, Comunidad Los Indios, Cuba Libre-EI Idilio, El Guarico, La Escalera, La Mina, and
Parcelas Medina.

Climate

Tourism

Corozal is home to the Historical Center of Cibuco, a park and museum with relics from the Puerto Rican natives as well as objects, paintings and artifacts from the town's history.
Local interest:
El Balalaika is a cafeteria / liquor store which opened its doors around 1962 and hasn't been closed since, with the exceptions of Hurricane Hugo and the occasional political elections. It also serves as a Municipal Police Outpost.

Landmarks and places of interest

Agriculture

One of Puerto Rico's major plaintain producers.
New small businesses producing eggs and hydrophonic crops are emerging.

Business

Crafts, Artisans, services. Several manufacture enterprises have reduced or moved operations in recent years.

Culture

Festivals and events

Corozal celebrates its patron saint festival in January. The Fiestas Patronales de la Sagrada Familia is a religious and cultural celebration in honor of the Holy Family and generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.
Other festivals and events celebrated in Corozal include:

Volleyball

The Gold Fish Swim Team for kids and youth and a new Master's Swim Team created in 2008 under the direction of Arlene Ortiz.

Demographics

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Corozal is Sergio Torres Torres, of the Popular Democratic Party. He was elected at the 2012 general elections.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 26 bridges in Corozal.

Symbols

Flag

Consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, yellow the top, green the middle and blue the bottom, and in some instances the middle stripe could have embroidered or printed the Coat Of Arms.
The flag is very similar to the provincial flag of Islas del Caró of neighbour country of El Conquistador except that the yellow stripe is half the size as the green and blue stripes much like the flag of Colombia except that the red stripe is replaced by the green one at the bottom. It is unknown whether the flag was made to coincide with the densely populated province of El Conquistador or was created by natural and neutral causes.

Coat of arms

On a gold background three Corozo Palms, with clusters in their original color, planted on a green landscape and in front of a mountain range. At the bottom, blue and silver water waves sprinkled with gold nuggets. The three towercrown is gold with black stones.
It also has another flag the colors are red and white the white star and the blue outline.
The Corozo Palms represent the name of the town and its river, whose margins were populated with this palms. The mountains represent the high and striking Mountains of Corozal. The waves represent the Corozal River and gold nuggets, metal that until recently was panned in its rivera. The gold background represents the hard labor and alludes to the gold of Corozal, so appreciated long ago for its purity. The crown is an emblem used to designate the cities and towns.

Education

Public high schools in Corozal include Escuela Superior Emilio R. Delgado and Escuela Superior Porfirio Cruz García High School in Barrio Cuchillas. The only private high school is Colegio Sagrada Familia in Barrio Pueblo.

Notable "Corozaleños"