Peñuelas, Puerto Rico


Peñuelas is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Adjuntas, east of Guayanilla, west of Ponce and north of the Caribbean Sea. Peñuelas is spread over 12 wards and Peñuelas Pueblo. It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area. Peñuelas is known as "La Capital del Güiro" and "El Valle de los Flamboyanes". Penuelas has about 20,000 inhabitants.

History

In 1754, a group of workers had settled over the bay of Tallaboa. Later gradually retreated deeper into the valley, heading towards the most fertile land which would then be part of the town of Peñuelas. For the year 1788, approximately 80 families inhabiting the valley, which focused mainly on agriculture and livestock.
Peñuelas Township was founded August 25, 1793 by Diego de Alvarado. In 1874, the town had been developed and already had 9.206 inhabitants, according to a census of that year. The town already had four main roads, some streets, a brick church and the town hall, which also served as a prison, barracks and even cemetery and carnage.
On March 1, 1902 the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico approved a law to consolidate certain municipal districts, so Peñuelas neighborhoods were attached to the town of Ponce. In 1905, the same Assembly repealed the law and it became again the municipality.
The first incident of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s occurred during the early hours of October 29, 1950, in Peñuelas, when the insular police of that town surrounded the house of the mother of Melitón Muñiz Santos, the president of the Peñuelas Nationalist Party in the bario Macaná, under the pretext that he was storing weapons for the Nationalist Revolt. Without warning, the police fired upon the Nationalists in the house and a firefight between both factions ensued, which resulted on the death of two Nationalists and the wounding of six police officers. Nationalists Meliton Muñoz Santos, Roberto Jaume Rodriguez, Estanislao Lugo Santiago, Marcelino Turell, William Gutirrez and Marcelino Berrios were arrested and accused of participating in an ambush against the local insular police.''

Geography

Peñuelas is located on the southern coast, slightly west of the center.
Rivers near Peñuelas include:

Hurricane Maria

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in northern side of Peñuelas with the significant amount of rainfall.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Peñuelas is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".
  1. Barreal
  2. Coto
  3. Cuebas
  4. Encarnación
  5. Jaguas
  6. Macaná
  7. Peñuelas barrio-pueblo
  8. Quebrada Ceiba
  9. Rucio
  10. Santo Domingo
  11. Tallaboa Alta
  12. Tallaboa Poniente
  13. Tallaboa Saliente
Within barrios are communities: Santo Domingo community in Santo Domingo barrio and Tallaboa community in the barrio of Encarnación.

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 Peñuelas: Maldonado neighborhood, Santo Domingo barrio, Comunidad Caracoles, and Comunidad La Moca in Tallaboa Alta.

Demographics

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 and conducted its first census of Puerto Rico, finding that the population of Peñuelas was 12,129.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 15 beaches in Peñuelas.
The main attractions in Peñuelas are:

Industry

Manufacturing

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Peñuelas is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Gregory Gonsález Souchet, from the Popular Democratic Party. Gonsález was elected at a special election in 2018 after the incumbent Walter Torres Maldonado stepped down from the mayoral position.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district V, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Ramón Ruiz and Martín Vargas Morales, from the Popular Democratic Party, were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

Flag

It has a rectangular bottom in canary yellow and stands for the sun, symbol of the physical life. In the center it has a purple or violet cross: symbol of Christianity and its ecclesiastical order; it represents the spiritual life. The cross purple extends to all the points of the yellow rectangle.

Coat of arms

The adornment above the shield, a stone wall, represents the perpetuity. The cross represents Santo Cristo de la Salud that stopped the sea that flooded Peñuelas. The purple arm represents the priesthood and the town of Peñuelas. The canary yellow represents the sun. The blue and white symbolize the choppy sea and the regal ensign represents the faith in Christianity, "In God We Trust".

Culture

Literature

There are several poems that allude to the people of Peñuelas. Among them are the book, The Literature Peñuelas "Yagrumal" or "The Cultural History Peñolano Almanac, " which is classified into several volumes and contain poetry about the different neighborhoods and sections of the people of Peñuelas. Some of the poets who took the time to create works in relation to this southern town are E. Myriam Rodríguez Hernández, Manuel Díaz Rodríguez, Karina Arroyo, Carlos J. Velazquez Cruz, Elan Rafael Novoa, Miguel Feliciano Román, Silvio Echevarría Rodríguez, Rigoberto Ramirez Cruz, Marcos Ortiz Gelpi, Peter J. Ramos, Ramon Rivera, among others.

Festivals and events

Peñuelas celebrates its patron saint festival in late October / early November. The Fiestas Patronales de San Jose 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 Peñuelas include:
Peñuelas AA Amateur Baseball team is called Los Petroleros de Peñuelas The origin of this name dates back to the days when Peñuelas was home to a major petro-chemical complex known as CORCO. Although CORCO closed operations in 1980, the name stuck throughout the years.
Also known as Luis "Tite" Arroyo's hometown, a baseball hero.
Another hometown hero is Ivelisse Echevarria, who was inducted into the International Federation Softball Hall of Fame in 2003 and is considered by many to be the greatest softball pitcher born in Puerto Rico. Myrian "Betty" Segarra, who was inducted into the International Federation Softball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the best first base in the woman softball in Puerto Rico.

Transportation

Public bus service which connects you to Ponce city and Guayanilla.
There are 24 bridges in Peñuelas.

Education

6 Elementary schools, 4 Intermediate Schools, 1 High School

Prominent "Peñolanos"