Carraízo is a

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 ...

in the municipality of

Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...

. Its population in 2010 was 16,399.

History

Carraízo was in Spain's

gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region, or co ...

s until Puerto Rico was ceded by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

under the terms of the

Treaty of Paris of 1898 The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United Stat ...

and became an

unincorporated territory of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

. In 1899, the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

conducted a

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Carraízo barrio was 1,159.

Carraízo Dam and Loíza Lake

The

Loíza Lake Loíza Lake, or Lago Loíza, is a reservoir located in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. It was formed by construction of the Carraízo Dam on the Río Grande de Loíza The Rio Grande de Loíza (English: ''Great River of Loíza'' ...

is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located in Carraizo, formed by the construction of the

Carraízo Dam Carraízo Dam is a concrete gravity dam located in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico within the flow of the Río Grande de Loíza. Its construction was completed in 1953. Carraízo Dam impounds Loíza Lake which serves as Puerto Ric ...

on the

Río Grande de Loíza The Rio Grande de Loíza (English: ''Great River of Loíza'', ''Grande de Loíza'', or just ''Loíza River'') is a river in the island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. It is situated on the north coast of ...

. It serves as the main water supply source of the San Juan metropolitan area.

Gallery

Carraízo, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico - panoramio (8).jpg Carraízo, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, View of Loíza Lake Shack next to lake Carraizo, Trujillo Alto, PR - panoramio (2).jpg, Shack near Loíza Lake

Popular culture

"Carraízo" is popularly used in Puerto Rican vernacular Spanish as a

minced oath A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" ...

to substitute for ''"carajo"'' (a vulgar term equivalent to "hell" in

Caribbean Spanish * Caribbean Spanish ( es, español caribeño, ) is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean region. The Spanish language was introduced to the Caribbean in 1492 with the voyages of Christopher Columbus. It resembles the S ...

). The expression ''"anda pa'l Carraízo"'' and its variants is equivalent to "go to heck" or "buzz off" in English. It is considered mild enough to use in polite company. The expression has spread to the Dominican Republic, probably due to the close ties between the two islands.

References

Barrios of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico {{TrujilloAltoPR-geo-stub

History

Carraízo Dam and Loíza Lake

Gallery

Popular culture

See also

References