San Juan (pronounced, in the local English dialect, "sah-wah") is a town in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Located in

San Juan–Laventille San Juan–Laventille is a region of Trinidad. It has a land area of 220.39 km². The San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation is headquartered at MTS Plaza in Aranguez, San Juan. Other urban areas include Barataria, Laventille Laventill ...

region in

Saint George County Saint George is a county in Trinidad and Tobago. It occupies the northwestern portion of the island of Trinidad and is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Gulf of Paria to the west, Caroni County to the south and Saint David County and ...

, it lies within the East-West Corridor Metropolitan Area, between Barataria and

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

General overview

San Juan is governed by the San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation. Pronounced "Sahwah" by the local people, San Juan is the first major stop along the East–West Corridor for maxi-taxis and buses. It is located east of Port of Spain, west of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus and away from

Piarco International Airport Piarco International Airport is an international airport serving the island of Trinidad and is one of two international airports in Trinidad and Tobago. The airport is located east of Downtown Port of Spain, located in the adjacent town of Pia ...

. Its suburbs are El Soccoro, Aranguez, Bourg Mulatrese, Febeau Village and Petit Bourg. The MTS Plaza in Aranguez is the home of the San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation. It is bordered by the Caroni Swamp in the south, Santa Cruz in the north, Barataria in the west, and Champ Fleurs in the east. The Priority Mall serves as a bus terminal for the town. The town was named after San Juan Baptista ( St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the town and namesake of the Roman Catholic Church on Cemetery Street and the Anglican church on the Eastern Main Road.)

Economy

San Juan is home to the internationally known beverage company Solo Beverages. Solo Beverages is a company that provides carbonated beverages that are considered a symbol of Trinidad and Tobago. In June 2010,

Japs Fried Chicken ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

opened its doors in San Juan. The popular supermarket, Ramesh and Leela is headquartered in the Croisee with another branch located in Febeau Village. Also located on El Socorro Main Road, is Geelal's Super Wholesalers & Distributors Ltd. which is a major import and wholesale outlet supplying the twin islands. El Socorro Road’s most prominent business families are the Geelal’s, the Chotoo’s, and the Chanka Maraj’s. El Socorro Road encompasses car-parts, hardware shops, and groceries, Aranguez Main Road hosts mainly fresh fruit and vegetable shops as well as garden supply stores. The area is always bustling with traffic due to the strong economy. The many businesses located on El Socorro Road has boosted the demand of taxi services which led to an expansion of the El Socorro Taxi Stand in the Croisee. The increased traffic has also allowed gas stations and auto repair shops to become successful in the area as well as many fast food restaurants.

Entertainment

The local nightlife includes many pubs and bars along the main streets of San Juan. The nightlife facilities are available daily until approximately midnight, on Fridays and Saturdays nightlife goes until 5am. Aranguez is home to one of the country's most popular savannahs, Aranguez Savannah. Aranguez Savannah hosts major celebrations and events including

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

Hosay Hosay (originally from Husayn) is a Muslim Indo-Caribbean commemoration that is popularly observed in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname. In Trinidad and Tobago, multi-coloured model mausoleums or mosque-shaped model tombs kno ...

, Carnival, cricket games, and The Samaan Tree Rock Festival among many other live concerts.

Notable residents

* Mahaboob Ben Ali, businessman *

Marvin Andrews Marvin Andrews CM (born 22 December 1975) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Andrews's career includes spells at Livingston, with whom he won the Scottish League Cup in 2004, and Rangers, where he ...

, footballer *

Sam Boodram Samdeo "Sam" Boodram (14 July 1933 – 30 June 2020) was a Trinidadian chutney, bhajan, Indian classical and folk singer, cocoa farmer, and Kabir panthi mahant. He recorded over 6,000 songs over the span of his career. Early life Sam Boodram wa ...

, singer *

Satnarayan Maharaj Satnarayan Maharaj , also known as Sat Maharaj, (; April 17, 1931 – November 16, 2019) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian Hindu religious leader, educationalist, and civil rights activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Secretary-General of t ...

, religious leader *

Charran Singh Charran Kamkaran Singh (27 November 1935 - 19 November 2015) was a West Indian cricketer who played in two Test matches in 1960. In his debut Test at Queen's Park Oval, Singh's run out dismissal was the trigger for the crowd to start a riot. S ...

, cricketer *

Eintou Pearl Springer Eintou Pearl Springer (formerly Pearl Eintou Springer) (born Cantaro village, Santa Cruz, Trinidad, 24 November 1944) is a poet, playwright, librarian and cultural activist from Trinidad and Tobago. In May 2002, she was named Poet Laureate of P ...

, poet

In popular culture

The 2017

chutney-soca In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a crossover style of music incorporating soca and calypso elements and English, Hindustani, and Hinglish lyrics, chutney music, with Western instruments such as the guitar ...

song "Ramsingh Sharma" sung by Omardath Maharaj and Raymond Ramnarine is about an

Indo-Trinidadian Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845. Indo-Trinidadians and ...

womanizing man from San Juan who enjoys drinking and gambling. The town is mentioned several times throughout the lyrics of the song. The song tied for first place in the 2017 Chutney-Soca Monarch with

Ravi Bissambhar Ravi Bissambhar, also known as Ravi B, (; born October 27, 1982) is a Trinidadian chutney musician. Personal life Ravi Bissambhar, born to a musical family in Sangre Grande but currently lives Cunupia, Trinidad and Tobago, attended the Sangre ...

's song "The Budget".

Gallery

File:TnT San Juan Bus Terminal 1.jpg, Bus terminal File:TnT San Juan Bus Terminal 2.jpg, The croisee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Juan, Trinidad And Tobago Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago