Juncos (, ) 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 ori ...

and one of the 78

municipalities of Puerto Rico The municipalities of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''municipios de Puerto Rico'') are the second-level administrative divisions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There are 78 such administrative divisions covering all 78 incorporated towns and cities ...

. It is located in the eastern central region of the island to the west of the

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...

Valley, south of Canóvanas and Carolina; southeast of Gurabo; east of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

; and west of Las Piedras. Juncos is spread over 9 barrios and

Juncos barrio-pueblo Juncos barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center ( seat) of Juncos, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,464. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo'' which ...

(the downtown area and administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. Juncos was founded on the request of Tomás Pizarro on August 2, 1797, having previously been a village which evolved from a small ranch, the ''Hatillo de los Juncos''. This ranch was part of the ''Hato del Valenciano'', which gave its name to the Río Valenciano which bisects the city before joining the Río Gurabo to the north of the settlement. ''Juncos'' is Spanish for

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

History

During the 17th century, large parts of the municipality were owned by the ''Hato Grande de los Delgado'' (The Delgados' Great Ranch). Another ranch, the ''Hato del Valenciano'', was established and later divided into the ''Hatillo de los Lirios'' and the ''Hatillo de los Juncos''. This second one became the village of Juncos in the 18th century and was given the status of a town on August 2, 1797. Reeds, which gave the city its name, feature in the center of its flag and the bottom of its coat of arms. The ''Hato del Valenciano'' is remembered in the name of the Río Valenciano, as well as the coat of arms of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

featuring in Juncos' coat of arms, in addition to the city's two nicknames of ''La Ciudad del Valenciano'' (The Valenciano City) and ''Los Mulos del Valenciano'' (The Valenciano's

Mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

s). 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 a territory of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 Juncos was 8,429. On September 20, 2017

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

struck Puerto Rico. Juncos had been declared a disaster zone a week earlier when

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

made landfall only to be hit again. Destruction to homes and infrastructure was estimated at $25 million. Maria triggered numerous landslides in Juncos with its significant wind and rainfall.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

On the flag of Juncos, on a gold field, blue waving stripes cross horizontally in the lower half. These represent the Río Valenciano which bisects the city. Green reeds with red buds appear in a central point above the stripes, representing the city's name (''Juncos'' is Spanish for

s).

Coat of arms

Juncos' coat of arms is divided into four-quarters, with the upper left and lower right containing vertical stripes gold (or yellow) and gules (red) in reference to the Spanish region of Valencia and to its denomination as "Town of Valencia". The upper right quarter is blue with twelve silver stars to represent the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

, and also features a cross confirming the city as part of

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

. The lower right is split vertically between an image of a tobacco plant to represent the city's agriculture and a chimney to represent industrialization and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

processing. Like the flag, a waving blue line representing the Río Valenciano crosses the shield horizontally. The shield is topped with a civic crown in the shape of a three-towered castle. Underneath the shield lie the red-budded green reeds which gave the city its name, which features alongside its year of foundation (1797) at the very bottom.

Geography

Juncos is in the central eastern part of the island.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Juncos is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located near the center of the municipality, in a barrio referred to as . # Caimito # Ceiba Norte # Ceiba Sur # Gurabo Abajo # Gurabo Arriba #

# Lirios # Mamey # Valenciano Abajo # Valenciano Arriba

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 discipline ...

. 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 Juncos: Flores, Santana 1 in Ceiba Norte, Canta Gallo, El Caracol, La Cuesta in Sector El Mangó, La Hormiga, Lirios Dorados in Hoyo Hondo and Rosalía in Sector El Mangó.

Climate

Demographics

Tourism

*Juncos Sugar Mill *Old Tobacco Farm *Juncos Plaza Shopping Center *Paseo Escuté *El Tenedor Restaurant *Casa Vieja Cafe *Teatro Junqueño (Juncos Theater)

Culture

Festivals and events

Juncos 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 perso ...

festival in December. 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 Juncos include: *Modesto Carrión International Marathon – November *La Mina Christian Music fest – July *Plenazo Junqueño – February

Economy

In the fertile plains of the Río Valenciano, coffee, fruits, sugar cane and tobacco are grown. The lower left quarter of the municipal coat of arms pay homage to tobacco cultivation and sugar cane processing. Apparel, electronic machinery and electrical equipment, scientific instruments, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company, has developed its largest manufacturing site in Juncos. It is a biotechnology campus for bulk manufacturing, with laboratories and manufacturing facilities that employs close to 3000 people. Amgen Puerto Rico received FDA approval for bulk manufacturing facilities for Nepogen (filgrastim), Neulasta (pegfilgrastim),

Aranesp Darbepoetin alfa (INN) is a re-engineered form of erythropoietin containing 5 amino acid changes (N30, T32, V87, N88, T90) resulting in the creation of 2 new sites for N-linked carbohydrate addition. It has a 3-fold longer serum half-life compare ...

and

Epogen Epoetin alfa is a human erythropoietin produced in cell culture using recombinant DNA technology. Authorised by the European Medicines Agency on 28 August 2007, it stimulates erythropoiesis (increasing red blood cell levels) and is used to treat ...

. Amgen is also adding manufacturing capacity in Juncos to produce

Denosumab Denosumab (trade names Prolia and Xgeva) is a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of osteoporosis, treatment-induced bone loss, metastases to bone, and giant cell tumor of bone. Denosumab is contraindicated in people with low blood calci ...

. In addition to Amgen there is a

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

and Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd. in Juncos. The Colgate pharmaceutical facility has closed and production shifted to Mexico.

Government

Alfredo Alejandro Carrión of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

is the incumbent mayor of the municipality of Juncos, since the year 2000. The city belongs to the Senatorial District of Humacao (District VII), which is represented by two senators. The current senators are Rosamar Trujillo Plumey (PPD) and Wanda Soto Tolentino ( PNP). The city is part of the 33 Representative District, which is represented by one representative. The current representative is Ángel Peña Ramírez of the New Progressive Party since 2008.

Transportation

There are 28 bridges in Juncos. Under the administration of Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro, Juncos started a collective ferry-on-wheels transportation system.

Sports

Roberto Clemente Walker, later a double-

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

winner for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, played baseball for Juncos before signing with the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico's Professional League. As is the national norm, volleyball and basketball are biggest sports in Juncos. In the year 2006–2007 the

Valencianas de Juncos The Valencianas de Juncos is the professional female volleyball team of Juncos, Puerto Rico. History The team was found in 2004. Current volleyball squad ''As of February 2011'' * Head Coach: Xiomara Molero Xiomara Molero Jiménez (born Ap ...

won the women's basketball and volleyball superior league national championship. In 2009, Juncos became the home of the 2008

Puerto Rico Soccer League The Puerto Rico Soccer League or PRSL is an association football league in Puerto Rico founded in 2008 and the first unified football league in the island's history. Association football had been growing in popularity in recent years, and this wa ...

champions, Sevilla Bayamon FC. The club is now known as Sevilla-FC Juncos since being relocated to the city. The team moved to Juncos due to ownership and financial problems and currently play in the Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro Stadium.

Natives

Félix Conde Falcón Félix Modesto Conde Falcón (February 28, 1938 – April 4, 1969) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Born in Juncos, Puerto Rico, he joined the United States Army in April 1963 in Chicago, Illinois. He was kil ...

Gisselle Gisselle Ortiz Cáceres, known simply as Gisselle (born March 28, 1969 in New York City, U.S.) is an American Merengue singer of Puerto Rican descent. Biography Musical career Gisselle was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. She ...

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

Alfredo Alejandro Carrión Alfredo "Papo" Alejandro Carrión (born November 11, 1948) is a Puerto Rican politician and the current mayor of Juncos. Alejandro is affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and has served as mayor since 2001. Early years and studi ...

* Rafael Celestino Benítez *

Juan Manuel López (boxer) Juan Manuel López Rivera (born June 30, 1983), often known as Juanma Lopez, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2019. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO junior featherweight tit ...

Felicitas Mendez In ancient Roman culture, ''felicitas'' (from the Latin adjective ''felix'', "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness. ''Felicitas'' could encompass both a woman's fertility an ...

María de Lourdes Ramos Rivera Maria de Lourdes Ramos Rivera (born August 6, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who currently serves in the Puerto Rican House of Representatives from the at-large district since 2005. She previously served in that position from 1996 to 2001. ...

José Luis Moneró José Luis Moneró (April 6, 1921 in Juncos, Puerto Rico – February 15, 2011) was a Puerto Rican musician and bandleader. Music career Moneró first sang at the Tapia Theater at age 17. He then went on to Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. And thereafter ...

*Jos é Raul Soto