Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Infobox Settlement
settlement_type =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = Territory
subdivision_name1 = Puerto Rico
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
timezone=AST
utc_offset=-4
timezone_DST=
utc_offset_DST=
unit_pref=Imperial
map_caption =Location of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico within Puerto Rico.
latNS=N
longEW=W
official_name = Aguadilla, Puerto Rico


nickname = El Nuevo Jardín del Atlántico", "La Villa del Ojo de Agua", "El Pueblo de los Tiburones


image_

blank_info = Aguadillanos
blank_name=Gentilic



map_caption = Location within the island of Puerto Rico
Country
Puerto Rico
established_date = 1775
leader_title = Mayor
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name = Carlos Méndez Martínez
leader_party = New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
political party display = NPP
leader_title1 = Senatorial dist.
leader_name1 = IV (Aguadilla-Mayagüez)
leader_title2 = Representative dist.
leader_name2 = 17 (Aguadilla-Moca)
area_magnitude = 1 E9
area_total_km2 = 197.7
area_land_km2 = 94.7
area_water_km2 = 100.9
elevation_ft = 326
population_as_of = 2000
population_note =
population_total = 64685
population_footnotes=
population_density_km2 = 683
population_blank2_title = Racial groups
(2000 Census) [ [http://www.topuertorico.org/pdf/2kh72.pdf Demographics/Ethnic U.S 2000 census] ]
population_blank2 = 83.6% White 5.0% Black 0.2% American Ind/AN 0.2% Asian 0.1% Native Haw/PI 8.2% Some other race 2.8% Two or more races|
timezone = AST
utc_offset = -4
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd=18
latm=25
lats=48
longd=67
longm=9
longs=16
website = [http://www.aguadilla.gobierno.pr City of Aguadilla]
footnotes =

Aguadilla IPA|/ˌaγwa'di.ja/ or /ˌaγwa'di.ʝa/ or /ˌaγwa'di.dʒa/, founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is spread over 15 wards and Aguadilla Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).

Aguadilla has been the recipient of the "Best Quality of Life Award," given by the National Mayor Association, in 2002 and 2004.

History

The present territory of the City of Aguadilla, was originally part of the territory of Aguada, which segregated around 1780 to form an independent party.

Formerly, all the section of Aguada's territory that today contitutes the Victoria and Higüey wards was known as Aguadilla. Long before 1770 in Higüey existed a village, which in 1776 Fray Iñigo Abbot, in his description of the towns of the island, mentions as the "new Town of San Carlos of the Aguadilla." Nevertheless, according to Dr. Agustín Stahl in his "Foundation of Aguadilla", it was not until 1780 that the town was officially founded. The construction of a new church and the proceedings to become independent from Puerto Rico and to constitute itself an independent party began in the 1775.

The population in the Village of Aguadilla continued to increase constantly mainly due to its excellent port and strategic location in the route of the boats. In 1776, when Santo Domingo became independent for the first time, the loyals to Spain emigrated to Puerto Rico, mainly to Aguadilla, which caused the population to continue increasing significantly. In 1831, according to Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova, the party of Aguadilla belonged to Aguada. At this time, the territorial organization of Aguadilla was as follows: Pueblo Norte (North Town), Pueblo Sur (South Town), Ceiba Alta, Ceiba Baja, Montaña, Malezas, Aguacate, Dos Palmas, Camaseyes, Plainela, Borinquen, Arenales, Higüey, Corrales, Victoria, and Mangual.

Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova mentions the road of Aguadilla formed by the Point of Borinquen and the Point of San Francisco, as the "fordeadero of the ships that travel from Europe to Havana and Mexico". He adds that its "port is the most frequented in the Island due to the proportions that it offers to refresh all class of ship."

In 1860, Aguadilla was officially declared a Village. Several years later, when the island was territorially organized into seven departments, Aguadilla became the head of the third department that included the municipalities of Aguada, Isabela, Lares, Moca, Rincon, and San Sebastián. In January 1841 a Royal Order transferred the judicial party from Aguada to the new Town of Aguadilla. In 1878, according to Don Manuel Ebeda y Delgado, the territorial organization of Aguadilla had varied a little. At this time Plainela, Higüey, and Mangual wards are not mentioned. The Dos Palmas ward appears as Palmar. Also at this time, three new wards are mentioned: Guerrero, Caimital Alto, and Caimital Bajo. In 1898, even with the change of sovereignty in the island, the territorial organization of Aguadilla is the same to that of 1878. Nevertheless, in the Census of 1899, downtown Aguadilla appears constituted by Higüey, Iglesia, Nueva, Santa Barbara, and Tamarindo wards. Malezas ward appears subdivided into Maleza Alta and Maleza Baja. From that time, the territorial organization of Aguadilla did not change, until 1948, when the Puerto Rico Department of Planning prepared the map of the City of Aguadilla and its wards and following instructions of city authorities, Higüey and parts of Caimital Alto wards are annexed to Downtown Aguadilla.

Ramey

Aguadilla was the site of the U.S. military's Ramey Air Force Base for almost five decades. During this period, Aguadilla was home to the Strategic Air Command 72d Bombardment Wing, Heavy equipped with B-52s, a very strategic facility during the Cold War.

Though the infrastructure still exists, it was handed over to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the 1973. The aerial facilities are now civilian controlled by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. The facilities now make up the Rafael Hernandez International Airport. The barracks now host the Faro Inn Suites, a 79-room hotel. The Officer's Club now hosts the Faro Conference Center, a convert|22000|ft|m|sing=on meeting facility. The hospital is being transformed to become the [http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bqncy-courtyard-aguadilla Courtyard by Marriott Punta Borinquen Resort & Casino] , a 150-room hotel with a casino and the first Marriott in Puerto Rico out of the San Juan Metropolitan Area.

Ramey also hosts the University of Puerto Rico - Aguadilla Campus and the [http://froebelbilingual.org/ Friedrich Froebel Bilingual School] (K-6). The High School became [http://ramey.jobcorps.gov Ramey Job Corps] Campus and the elementary school became the Esther Feliciano Mendoza Middle School. Centro de Adiestramiento y Bellas Artes (CABA) since 1979 has being the only plublic school of arts in Puerto Rico (7-12).

Ramey is also the site of the new Ramey Skating Park and a new "mariposario" (butterfly farm).

There is still an active part of the base that hosts the Coast Guard Borinquen Air Station. There are also other government agencies based at Ramey. They include the United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, and the United States Border Patrol, the "Fuerzas Unidas de Rápida Acción" (United Forces for Rapid Action) of the Puerto Rico State Police and the Puerto Rico National Guard.

There is also a post office, the "Centro de Servicios al Conductor" (Driver's Services Center), a bakery, and a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico location.

an Antonio

The beginning of San Antonio Village was back in the mid-19th century. It was composed by 60 families. Originally the place where these families were located was known as Bajura de Vadi, place later to be known as San Antonio.

In 1918, as a consequence of the San Fermín earthquake, the village was totally destroyed by a tsunami. The families suffered the struggles cause by this natural disaster, due by the proximity of the village to the shore.

The residents of the village decided re-localize the village in a higher area further from shore. The new location was what today is known as Ramey.

At this new location prosperity was not to be delayed. Various leaders and commercial owners of the time, took a step to carry the village forward. Most of the poor houses disappeared.

The village's infrastructure started its evolution. Luis R. Esteves and Juan Garcia established the first two theaters in the area. A new was social club form, known as "Luz del Porvenir" (Light of the Future). A new school system was the pride of the village because it offered them the opportunity to give their children an education without having to go convert|9|mi|km south downtown. There was also a new bakery and a post office, among other facilities. At this time, the village also began its Patron Festival.

The clothing industry was a major source of employment.

Prosperity and happiness came to an end, when the news that the Federal Government needed the land to built an air base that came to be known as Ramey Air Force Base.

Since the foundation, the village has suffered three expropriations as a result of expansions to Ramey Air Force Base. This expropriations delayed and ended the plans to turn San Antonio into a town.

Today, the population of San Antonio consists of approximately 10 thousand people. It has a modern square, a Puerto Rico State Police Station, a coliseum, an industrial park, public housing, a baseball park, a public school system, shops, and many other, charasteristics of a small town. Also, as a characteristic of a town, has a flag and an emblem. The creation of the flag and emblem was done by Roberto Román Acevedo.

Tragedy on election day in 1944

On the early morning hours of November 7, 1944, Puerto Rico suffered the most violent railroad accident in its history in Aguadilla. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~prsanjua/tren.htm "La Tragedia del 7 de noviembre de 1944"] (The Tragedy of November 7, 1944) by Haydee E. Reichard de Cancio, El Nuevo Dia, Por Dentro Section, Pg. 116, December 7, 1996, retrieved on July 31, 2006 es icon] Train No. 3 was traveling from San Juan to Ponce carrying passengers to their different hometowns for the island general elections to be held that same day. It stopped at the Jimenez Station in Aguadilla for a routine engineer and boilerman exchange with Train No. 4 which was heading towards San Juan. The engineer assigned to Train No. 3’s ride from Jimenez Station to Ponce was Jose Antonio Roman, an experienced freight train engineer, but who had never worked in passenger travel. When the train left the station at 2:00am, it was hauling 6 passenger cars with hundreds of commuters and two freight cars.

At 2:20 a.m. the train started to descend a hill section known as "Cuesta Vieja" (Old Hill) in Aguadilla at what some witnesses described as an exaggerated speed. When the train reached the leveling-off point at the bottom of the hill it derailed. The steam locomotive crashed into a ditch where it exploded and one of the freight cars crashed into one of the passenger cars, killing many inside. Witnesses described the scene as horrendous, with some accounts stating that parents were throwing their children out the windows to save them from the wreckage. Chief of Police Guillermo Arroyo stated that the locomotive (No. 72), the express car, and three second class passenger cars were completely destroyed. Oscar Valle, an Aguadilla correspondent to the local El Mundo newspaper, summarized the scene in a more dramatic way: “The locomotive suffered a terrible explosion as it derailed, and the impact was so strong that 3 passenger cars were converted into a fantastic mound of wreckage. In the end, 16 passengers lost their lives, including the engineer and the boilerman, and 50 were injured in the crash.

Demographics


* Aguadilla City Hall - Originally built in 1918. Reconstructed after the 1918 earthquake.
* Banyan Treehouse - Wooden House around a banyan tree. Any of its parts touches the tree.
* Campanitas de Cristal Fountain
* Cathedral San Carlos Barromeo
* Christopher Columbus Monument - Consists of a cross originally made of marble. It also had to be rebuilt after the earthquake.
* Cristobal Colón Park

Beaches

* Crash Boat Beach
* La Ponderosa Beach
* La Poza Beach
* La Saldinera Beach
* Surfer's Beach
* Wilderness Beach (Las Ruinas)

Festivals and Events

* Velorio de Reyes (Three Kings Watch)- January
* Festival de la Chiringa (Kite Festival) - April
* Fiestas San Antonio - April
* Verbena de Corrales - May
* Festival Playero (Beach Festival) - June
* Festival del Atún (Tuna Festival) - July
* Festival de la Música (Music Festival) - July
* Fiestas Patronales San Carlos (Patron Celebration) - October

Mayors

Education

Aguadilla is home to 16 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 3 high schools. Mostly owned & operated by the Puerto Rico Department of Education. It also hosts the Head Start Program for Aguadilla, Aguada, Moca, Rincón, and San Sebastián and a number of private institutions.

Higher Education

Aguadilla hosts the following universities:
* Metropolitan University - Aguadilla Campus
* [http://www.aguadilla.inter.edu/ Inter-American University of Puerto Rico - Aguadilla Campus]
* [http://www.uprag.edu/ University of Puerto Rico - Aguadilla Campus]
* [http://www.automeca.com/main.html Automeca Technical College]
* Century College
* La Reine Institute of Cosmetology & Esthetics
* Universal Technology College of Puerto Rico (UniTech)

The [http://ramey.jobcorps.gov/html/inside/?pid=about US Job Corps - Aguadilla Chapter] also serves those who want to attain a higher education.

Aguadilla Library System

There is an existent library in San Antonio Village and another one under construction in Downtown Aguadilla.

Health

There are two major medical facilities in Aguadilla.
* Hospital Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan Hospital)
* Aguadilla Medical Services

There are also a number of private doctor's offices.

ports

The Aguadilla Divas of the Female Superior Volleyball League play their home games in the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum in Downtown Aguadilla from January to March. Also in Aguadilla is Parque Colón and the Aguadilla Sharks of the Superior Baseball League (Double-A) plays its home games at Luis A. Canera Marquez Stadium from February to May.Aguadilla is also a place where many famous baseball players originate from. There are plans for a future ECHL Minor League Hockey franchise for the city. Also there are plans for a Miami Dolphins NFL Exhibition game to be held at the Luis A. Canera Marquez Stadium.

Notable "Aguadillanos"

* Ismael Pellot - Cook
* Agustín Stahl - Scientist
* Angelo Medina - Artistic mangagement, production, etc. (music business)
* Carmen Gómez Tejera (1890-1974) - Professor
* Carlos Delgado - Baseball player
* Luis A. "Canena" Marquez - Baseball player
* Jerome Mincy - BSN Player
* José de Diego - Poet
* José de Jesús Esteves - Poet
* Juana Torres Quinones "Juanita" - First female Umpire of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Teacher
* Luis R. Esteves - United States Army officer, graduate of the United States Military Academy
* Manuel Méndez Ballester - Journalist
* María Bibiana Benítez (1783-1875) - First female Puerto Rican poet
* Melba Ramos - Soprano Opera Singer
* Miguel A. García Méndez - Businessman
* Monserrate Deliz (1896-1969) - Professor
* Narciso Figueroa - Musician
* Pablo Fernández Badillo - Composer, novelist, and poet
* Plácido Acevedo - Composer
* Manny Montes - Composer and singer
* Rafael Alers - Danza composer, 1st Puerto Rican to compose a Hollywood musical
* Rafael Hernández Marín - Composer and singer
* Rafael del Valle - Doctor
* Saul Cordero - Journalist and Radio Personality
* Tomás Torres Torruellas "Willie Chan" - Boxing and Baseball Icon
* Albert Grajales - Hall of Fame Martial Artist and Protection Specialist
* Diabolico - Professional wrestler
* Crazy Rudy - Professional wrestler
* Rosie Perez - Actress
* Sonny Jack Houda-Fraternity Legend

References

External links

* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=05000US72005&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-PH1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-redoLog=false&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_CO2&-format=CO-2 Aguadilla and its barrios, United States Census Bureau]
* [http://www.aguadilla.com/ Aguadilla.com - Portada]
* [http://www.aguadillapr.com/ Mi Aguadillita Querida]
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Aguadilla/ WikiTravel: Aguadilla]
* [http://www.topuertorico.org/city/aguadilla.shtml Welcome to Puerto Rico Aguadilla]
* [http://www.puertohost.com/maps/aguadilla-map.php Map of Aguadilla Puerto Rico]
* [http://www.aguadillaweb.com/ Aguadilla Web]
* [http://www.gotoportadelsol.com/index.php?region=aguadilla/ Porta del Sol: Aguadilla]
* [http://travelandsports.com/agi.htm Travel & Sports: Aguadilla]
* [http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g580452-Aguadilla_Puerto_Rico-Vacations.html TripAdvisor: Aguadilla]


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