Orocovis barrio-pueblo is a
barrio and the administrative center (
seat) of
Orocovis, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 682.
As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''
pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
'' which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church.
Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year.
The central plaza and its church
The central plaza was built on land donated by Juan de Rivera y Santiago, the founder of Orocovis.
The central plaza, or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The
Laws of the Indies
The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...
, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" (celebrations, festivities) ( es, a propósito para las fiestas), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors ( es, grandeza proporcionada al
número de vecinos). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain.
Located across the central plaza in Orocovis barrio-pueblo is the , a Roman Catholic church, which was inaugurated on October 29, 1838.
Orocovis 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 the central plaza each June. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.
History
By 1838, the town's Catholic church had been inaugurated after being built on land donated by Juan de Rivera y Santiago, the town's founder.
Then in 1898, 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 = (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 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, ...
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 in ...
of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Orocovis Pueblo (a barrio named Pueblo in Barros, as the municipality of Orocovis was called at the time) was 962.
In July 2020,
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
appropriated funds for repairs to Orocovis' plaza.
Gallery
Parroquia San Juan Bautista de Orocovis, Puerto Rico.jpg, San Juan Bautista Parish in Orocovis
See also
*
List of communities in Puerto Rico
References
Barrios of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
{{OrocovisPR-geo-stub