During the 17th century, large parts of the municipality were owned by the Hato Grande de los Delgado. Another ranch, the Hato del Valenciano, was established and later divided into the Hatillo de los Lirios and the Hatillo de los Juncos. 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 and Los Mulos del Valenciano.
Hurricane Maria
on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Juncos with the significant amount of rainfall.
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' coat of arms is divided into four quarters, with the upper left and lower right containing vertical stripes gold and gules 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 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 at the very bottom.
Geography
Juncos is in the central eastern part of the island.
Barrios
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".
Caimito
Ceiba Norte
Ceiba Sur
Gurabo Abajo
Gurabo Arriba
Juncos barrio-pueblo
Lirios
Mamey
Valenciano Abajo
Valenciano Arriba
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 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.
Demographics
Tourism
Juncos Sugar Mill
Old Tobacco Farm
Juncos Plaza Shopping Center
Paseo Escuté
El Tenedor Restaurant
Casa Vieja Cafe
Teatro Junqueño
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. 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. Amgen Puerto Rico received FDA approval for bulk manufacturing facilities for Nepogen, Neulasta, 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.
, 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 leaguenational 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.
