Río Grande () 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 o ...

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 ...

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 ...

located on the eastern edge of the Northern Coastal Valley, north of Las Piedras, Naguabo and

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of

Luquillo Luquillo () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 barrios and Luquillo Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the ci ...

. Río Grande is spread over eight barrios and Río Grande Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. A big portion of

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United S ...

, including El Yunque's peak, is located within the municipality.

History

Río Grande was founded on July 16, 1840, by Desiderio and Quilimaco Escobar, with the approval of Governor Miguel López. It was named after the

Río Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

and is located where the Río Grande and the Río Espíritu Santo join. In 1894, there were two sugar cane

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchard ...

s and 256 estancias growing minor fruits.

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 ...

on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Río Grande with the significant amount of rainfall. Infrastructure was destroyed, trees were ripped out of the ground, and rivers were breached causing property losses to approximately 5000 people. Of the

Puerto Rican amazon The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...

, 230 in captivity did survive.

Geography

Río Grande is on the northeastern coast of the island north of the

Sierra de Luquillo The Sierra de Luquillo is a mountain range located in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. Also known as the Luquillo Mountains, these are steep-sided, densely-forested mountains rising to elevations of around , the highest point being the summit ...

. A large portion of

and some of the highest points of the Sierra de Luquillo are located within Río Grande including El Yunque and El Toro, which at 3,474 feet (1,070 m) is the highest point in eastern Puerto Rico.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Río Grande is subdivided into barrios (which mean ''barrios'' or ''boroughs'' or ''neighborhoods'' in Spanish). The municipal buildings, central square and a large Catholic church are located in a small, central barrio called barrio-pueblo or simply . # Ciénaga Alta # Ciénaga Baja # Guzmán Abajo # Guzmán Arriba # Herreras # Jiménez #

Mameyes II Mameyes II is a barrio in the municipality of Río Grande, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,732. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and ...

Río Grande barrio-pueblo Río Grande barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Río Grande, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,772. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ''pueblo' ...

Zarzal Zarzal () is a town and municipality in the north of the department of Valle del Cauca in Colombia. Its economy is based primarily on the extensive cultivation of sugar cane, on small and medium enterprises in the metallurgic sector, and on uti ...

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 ...

) in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (which means ''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 Río Grande: Sector Montebello and Sector El Hoyo in Malpica, Las Dolores, La Ponderosa, Villa Realidad, Estancias del Sol, and Hong Kong.

Demographics

In 1894, while a

Spanish colony The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

, the population of Río Grande was 6,237. 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") , ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In 1899, the United States conducted its first

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 inc ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Río Grande was 12,365.

Tourism

Río Grande is home to one of the largest secluded areas with beach access (Coco Beach) on the entire island. Major hotels in the area include Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Resort and

Hyatt Regency Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

Grand Reserve. Every March, Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve plays host to the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open. Within a ten-minute drive is

, the only tropical rain forest within the United States National Forest System.

Hotels

*The Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa *

Grand Reserve * St. Regis Bahía Beach Resort & Golf Club

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 27 beaches in Río Grande. Main attractions of Río Grande are: *Coco Beach * El Yunque *Indio Cave *Las Picúas Beach

Economy

Agriculture

The municipality has agricultural activity that produces fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants, and cattle.

Business

Local retail stores are aside highway PR-3. There is one large shopping mall located on 65th Infantry expressway and 956th street. The northeastern area of Puerto Rico has attracted hotels, shopping malls, sport venues among others. In 2012 the

Puerto Rico Highway 66 Puerto Rico Highway 66 (PR-66) is a main Toll road, tollway which parallels Puerto Rico Highway 3 going from the city of Carolina, Puerto Rico via a 3 loops cloverleaf interchange with PR-26 and PR-3, a major exit in the form of a Trumpet interc ...

, which provides easy access to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, was opened which runs along the municipality. In 2019, volunteers and police who formed a group called celebrated their 32nd year aiding local businesses with security issues. This group works to ensure the safety and security of business patrons in the downtown area of Río Piedras.

Culture

Festivals and events

Río Grande 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 July. 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 Río Grande include: *Río Grande Carnival – July *Stuffed Potato Festival – April *Las Picúas Festival – September

Sports

Baseball,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and handball are popular sports in Río Grande.

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Río Grande is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Angel "Bori" González, who was elected in a special election on September 14, 2014. González is replacing Eduard Rivera Correa, who was elected at the 2004 general election. However, Rivera Correa stepped down from office after being indicted on federal charges. The city belongs to the

Puerto Rico Senatorial district VIII Puerto Rico Senatorial District VIII, also known as the Senatorial District of Carolina, is one of the eight senatorial districts of Puerto Rico. It is currently represented by Henry Neumann and Nitza Morán (both from the New Progressive Party ...

, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, Pedro A. Rodríguez and

Luis Daniel Rivera Luis Daniel Rivera Filomeno is a Puerto Rican politician from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Rivera was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico in 2012. Rivera was born in Carolina. He has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. Rivera h ...

were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 48 bridges in Río Grande.

Symbols

Escudo de Río Grande, Puerto Rico, Ciudad de El Yunque

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The Río Grande flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal size, upper one is green with lower one been blue, and united by a white triangle placed on the side of the mast. On the white triangle is a Puerto Rican parrot.

Coat of arms

In a silver field, two

Puerto Rican parrot The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...

(''Amazona vitatta''), accompanied by a waving blue stripe, a green mountain with three peaks. The top portion of the shield is blue, with an opened silver book, accompanied on each side by five gold coins. Topped by a three tower gold crown outlined in black with green openings.

Gallery

Sites around Río Grande: Radar towers atop a mountain at El Yunque rain forest - panoramio.jpg, Radar towers atop a mountain at El Yunque rain forest Puerto Rico beach at the Gran Melia Golf Resort, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, U.S.jpg, Beach in Río Grande Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, Río Grande, Puerto Rico.jpg, Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa Evening at El Yunque - panoramio.jpg, Evening at El Yunque Winding road at El Yunque - panoramio.jpg, Winding road at El Yunque Waterfall in El Yunque.jpg, Waterfall in El Yunque Baño Grande, Río Grande, Puerto Rico.jpg, Bridge in Baño Grande Baño Grande en El Yunque, Puerto Rico.jpg, Waterfall at Baño Grande