The town was founded by Spanish colonists in 1816 as Trujillo Bajo, along with its counterpart Trujillo Alto after Trujillo, Spain. In 1857 it was renamed to San Fernandode la Carolina, later shortened to Carolina, after Charles II of Spain. The city is known as "Tierra de Gigantes", not only for well-known Carolina resident Don Felipe Birriel González, but also in honor of other people from Carolina, including poetJulia de Burgos and most notably the first Latin American player named to baseball's Hall of Fame, Roberto Clemente. Carolina was also home to Jesús T. Piñero, the first Puerto Rican to be appointed as governor by the United States government. The city is also known as "El Pueblo de los Tumba Brazos". During the late 1800s, the town's major export was sugar cane. Sugar cane workers solved their issues by fighting with their machetes, and therefore many lost their arms. In 1899, Carolina had a total population of 11,965.
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Carolina is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.
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 were in Carolina in 2014: Colo, Martín González, Buena Vista, Buenaventura, Canovanillas, Cuesta Quiles, Eduardo J. Saldaña - La Cerámica, La Villas, Sabana Abajo Norte, Sabana Abajo Sur, Saint Just, San Antón, and Villa Caridad.
Carolina is one of Puerto Rico's most important tourist centers. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, the territory's main airport, is located in Isla Verde. Also located in Carolina are a large group of hotels, which sit by Carolina's large beach area. There are several well-known hotels on the coast of Carolina, including the El San Juan Resort and Casino, InterContinentalSan Juan Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa, and Casino. Isla Verde has an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, Chabad of Puerto Rico, the only Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Puerto Rico, which serves the island's Jewish residents and visiting tourists.
Landmarks and places of interest
There are 4 beaches in Carolina, including Balneario de Isla Verde.
Carolina celebrates its patron saint festival in late May / early June. The Fiestas Patronales de San Fernando is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events celebrated in Carolina include:
Jazz night- third Friday of the month
Bohemia night – second Thursday of the month
Youth night- first Friday every two months
Artisans' Market- one Sunday a month
Roberto Clemente’s week- August
Sports
In recent years, Carolina has seen the building of the Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente or Roberto Clemente Sports City, a sports and recreation facility that aims to become a youth sports school, and the Roberto Clemente Stadium, host to many entertainment events and to the 2003 and 2007 Caribbean World Series. It has also played host to the Coliseo Guillermo Angulo, where the BSN's Gigantes de Carolina play, as well as the Gigantes of Puerto Rican women's professional basketball, the Gigantes of men's professional volleyball, and the Gigantes of women's professional volleyball. The Gigantes de Carolina professional baseball team use the Roberto Clemente Stadium as their home field. There is also another team with the same name, the Giants de Carolina, a professional soccer team that plays in the Puerto Rico Soccer League. That team also uses the Roberto Clemente Stadium as its home field. Professional horse jockeyEmanuel Jose Sanchez was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Riding the mare Mark Me Special he captured the 7th race at Colonial Downs on June 19, 2005.
Demographics
Government
All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Carolina is José Aponte Dalmau, of the Popular Democratic Party. He was elected in 2007, after a special election, succeeding his late father, José Aponte de la Torre. Aponte de la Torre was elected mayor in 1984 and served for 23 years. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VIII, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Pedro A. Rodríguez and Luis Daniel Rivera were elected as District Senators. The Carolina Police Department, with most of its precincts in the northern half of the city due to the density of the population, handle law enforcement responsibilities. Puerto Rico Police Department also has jurisdiction in Carolina, especially for narcotics enforcement, with four precincts positioned on all four points of the city. Carolina created the first municipal fire department in Puerto Rico. The Carolina Fire Department in collaboration with the Carolina Municipal Emergency Management use two engine trucks, one ladder track and one special hazard engine truck. Their headquarters are located in the tourist district of Isla Verde. Also, the Puerto Rico Fire Department have a fire station and regional office in town, located on the Roberto Clemente Avenue.
Transportation
There are 72 bridges in Carolina.
Symbols
Flag
The flag consists of three vertical bands, the laterals white and the middle red. The laterals are seeded with black ermine tails in the heraldic way as for the coat of arms. The middle band of the flag shows a red field with the sword and crown of the coat of arms.
Coat of arms
The crown over the sword is the main attribute for royalty and for that reason it occupies a privileged position in the coat of arms. The sword is not only a symbol for military service, but also one of justice, recalling the virtues of San Fernando. The coat of arms has a wide edge of silver, a cultivated field of small tails of ermine shown in the conventional heraldic manner. The red symbolizes the first patriotic developments made for Puerto Rico's freedom under Spanish dominion.
