Bucaná is one of the 31

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

s of the municipality of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. Together with

Canas Canas or Cañas may refer to: Places * Canas (Lycia), a town of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey * Amatlán de Cañas, a municipality in Nayarit, Mexico * Cañas Canton, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica * Cañas, Costa Rica, capital of the Cañas (ca ...

, Playa,

Vayas Vayas is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Playa, Bucana, Canas and Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of Ponce's five coastal barrios. Together with Capitanejo, Vayas is also one of two rural coastal bar ...

, and Capitanejo, Bucaná is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian origin. It was founded in 1831.

History

Prior to being established as a barrio of Ponce, around 1597, the bay of Ponce had a small place populated by Christian European settlers that was called Bucaná. In 1800, Bucaná was known as Coto Bucaná, a type of grant of land suitable for farming to a resident by the Spanish king in recognition for some service provided by the resident to the King.

Location

Bucaná is an urban barrio located in the southern section of the municipality, within the Ponce city limits, and southeast of the traditional center of the city,

Plaza Las Delicias Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaza ...

. The

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

, or origin of the name, alludes to the river that makes its way through it, Río Bucaná.

Boundaries

Julio Monagas Park in Barrio Bucana, Ponce, PR (IMG 2745)

It is bounded on the North by Marginal Street/PR-578 (one block north of

PR-1 Puerto Rico Highway 1 (PR-1) is a highway in Puerto Rico that connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road heads east and follows a somewhat parallel route along the southern coast of the island heading towards Salinas. At S ...

), on the South by the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, on the West by

Rio Bucana Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

PR-2 Puerto Rico Highway 2 (PR-2) is a road in Puerto Rico that connects the cities of San Juan and Ponce. At 156 miles (230 km) long, it is Puerto Rico's longest singled-signed highway. The road runs counter-clockwise from San Juan to Ponce. ...

(roughly),

Rio Portugues Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, and the Portugues-Bucana Rivers Channel, and on the East by Bucara Street/Los Caobos Avenue,

PR-52 Puerto Rico Highway 52 (PR-52), a major toll road in Puerto Rico, is also known as ''Autopista Luis A. Ferré''. It was formerly called ''Expreso Las Américas''. It runs from PR-1 in southwest Río Piedras and heads south until it intersects wit ...

(roughly), and the Costa Caribe Country Club East Access Road. In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Bucaná is bounded in the North by Sabanetas, in the South by the Caribbean Sea, in the West by San Anton and Playa, and in the East by

Demographics

Bucaná has of land area and of water area. In 2000, the population of Bucaná was 3,963 persons, with a density of 2,958 persons per square mile. In 2010, the population of Bucaná was 3,630 persons, with a density of 2,669.10 persons per square mile. It has the shortest coastline of all five of Ponce's coastal barrios. The communities of Los Caobos and Camino del Sur are found in Bucana. Major roads in barrio Bucana are

, PR-578 and

.General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico.
Retrieved 14 November 2011.

Landmarks

Barrio Bucaná is home to the

Julio Enrique Monagas Family Park Parque Familiar Julio Enrique Monagas (English: ''Julio Enrique Monagas Family Park'') is Puerto Rico's largest passive park.List of communities in Puerto Rico In Puerto Rico, there are 78 municipalities and 902 municipio subdivisions made up of 827 barrios and 75 barrios-pueblo. There are also a number of subbarrios and communities. The following is a list of the 902 barrios, some of the subbarrios, i ...

References

External links

''Management Plan for La Esperanza Nature Preserve in Ponce, Puerto Rico.''
Matthew Bourque, Drew Digeser, Stephen Partridge, Hussein Yatim. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Worcester, Massachusttes. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucana Barrio Bucaná Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico 1831 establishments in Puerto Rico