Comerío () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

in the center-eastern region of island, north of Aibonito; south of Naranjito and Bayamón; east of

Barranquitas Barranquitas (, ) is a small mountain town and municipality located in the Cordillera Central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquit ...

; and west of Cidra and Aguas Buenas. Comerío is spread over 7 barrios and Comerío Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Comerio to Barranquitas Road, Puerto Rico

Comerío was founded on June 12, 1826. Originally named Sabana del Palmar, but later changed to ''Comerío''. In 1854, nearly 1000 acres (1000 ) of land were being used for agriculture. In 1894, there was one sugar and two coffee

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

( estates) in Comerío. In the early 20th century, Comerio residents, had a short but legendary territory war with residents of the city of

. Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain 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 = (cloc ...

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 a territory of the United States. 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 of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Comerío was 8,249.

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect t ...

on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Comerío. The flooded river went through the center of Comerío. A week later the hospital, trying to run via generator, was out of diesel but due to the landslides, travel and deliveries, into and out of Comerío was next to impossible. Over 4,000 homes were affected, and of those 1,537 completely destroyed. After the hurricane, the National Guard from Ohio were tasked with restoring water purification systems for the people of Comerío. Two months after the hurricane, the mayor of Comerío said no personnel had made it yet to attempt the restoration of electrical power to Comerío. On October 9, another landslide happened blocking transit on PR-167. On October 10, a group of doctors from New York announced they would travel to volunteer their services to Comerío and nearby mountain municipalities.

Geography

The rivers located in Comerío are

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and for ...

and Río Hondo.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Comerío is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , near the center of the municipality. # Cedrito # Cejas # Comerío barrio-pueblo # Doña Elena #

Naranjo Naranjo is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the ...

# Palomas # Piñas # Río Hondo # Vega Redonda

Sectors

Barrios (which are like

minor civil divisions A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCD ...

) and subbarrios, in turn, are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (''sectors'' in English). The types of ''sectores'' may vary, from normally ''sector'' to ''urbanización'' to ''reparto'' to ''barriada'' to ''residencial'', among others.

Special Communities

(Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipli ...

. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Comerio: Barriada Cielito, Sector Villa Brava in Piñas Abajo, El 26 in Palomas Abajo, El Higüero in Palomas Abajo, El Verde in Naranjo, La Juncia in Río Hondo II, La Pietra Cedrito, Río Hondo, and Vuelta del Dos.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

Some of the landmarks of Comerío include: *La Tiza Peak *La Mora Caves *La Plata River * Las Bocas Canyon *Las Pailas *Los Pilones *Media Luna Recreation Park *Tobacco Warehouse *The main town square *El Salto Hydroelectric Dams 1 and 2

Economy

Agriculture

*Tobacco (not as predominant in recent years). Comerío was known as "El Pueblo del Tabaco" (Tobacco Town), and its original flag had a tobacco plant in its center.

Culture

Festivals and events

Comerío celebrates its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. I ...

festival in August. The 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 Comerío include: *Spring Carnival – April *La Mora Cave Festival – June 1,2,3 *Jíbaro Festival – June *El Jobo Festival – July * San Andrés Apóstol Festivities – November *El Seco Marathon – December *Christmas Fantasy – December

Religion

First

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Church of Comerío was founded in 1904.

Demographics

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Comerío is José A. Santiago, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected at the 2000 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two senators. In 2012,

Miguel Pereira Castillo Miguel A. Pereira Castillo (born September 26, 1947) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney, and public servant. Throughout his career, he has served in various government positions like Director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, Superintende ...

and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

Quartered in cross, of green and white, and superimposed the right superior quarter is an anchored yellow cross.

Coat of arms

The Comerío coat of arms is made up quarters (4) bearing what is known as an escutcheon of displays a shield in the center. There's a green field with a golden cross in the left quarter which represents Holy Christ the Healer, the patron of the town. Green stripes on a silver field are on the lower left quarter, symbolizing the Comerío falls and the La Plata River. Three royal palms in the right quarter to remember the original name of the town, and an undulating line symbolizes the mist that often covers the town. A crown with Taino motifs represents the cacique. The tobacco plant is a reminder of what was once an important part of the economic activity of the municipality. Inscribed with "the pearl of La Plata" a reference is made to the location of Comerío, on the banks of the La Plata River and the turreted castle which is a symbol of municipalities of Puerto Rico.

Transportation

Public bus from Bayamón to Comerío at Centro de Estacionamiento de Bayamón is the main public transportation. There are 16 bridges in Comerío.

Notable ''Comerieños''

*Celestino J. Pérez – Pharmacist, lawyer and elected legislator *Claudio Torres – Composer *Juana Colón (1886–1967) – Founder of the Socialist Party in Comerío * Manuel A. Pérez (1890–1951) – Professor *María Arroyo – Teacher, President of the Teachers Association and Senator * Enrique Pérez Santiago – Hematologist *Arturo Perez, Mayor of Comerio elected by Partido Liberal

Gallery

File:Homes and mountainside in Comerío, Puerto Rico.JPG, View looking north from Vega Redonda barrio in Comerio File:Antigua Represa (69922135).jpeg, Old dam at El Salto, one of the oldest in Puerto Rico.