Carolina (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

located on the northeast coast of

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 ...

. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and

Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Truji ...

; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 barrios plus Carolina Pueblo (the downtown area and administrative center). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area, and home to Puerto Rico's main airport, the

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín) is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muñoz ...

History

The town was founded by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

colonists in 1816 as Trujillo Bajo ("lower Trujillo"), along with its counterpart

after Trujillo, Spain. In 1857 it was renamed to San Fernando de la Carolina, later shortened to ''Carolina'', after

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War ...

. The city is known as ''"Tierra de Gigantes"'' (Land of Giants), not only for well-known Carolina resident Don Felipe Birriel González (who was 7'11"), but also in honor of other people from Carolina, including

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Julia de Burgos Julia de Burgos García (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953) was a Puerto Rican poet. As an advocate of Puerto Rican independence, she served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationa ...

and most notably the first

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

player named to

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

's Hall of Fame,

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

. Carolina was also home to

Jesús T. Piñero Jesús T. Piñero Jiménez (April 16, 1897 – November 19, 1952) was the first and only native Puerto Rican to be appointed governor of Puerto Rico by the Government of the United States. Early years Jesús Toribio Piñero Jiménez was born i ...

, the first Puerto Rican to be appointed as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

by 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 territori ...

government. The city is also known as ''"El Pueblo de los Tumba Brazos"'' (The Arm Hackers' Town). During the late 1800s, the town's major export was sugarcane. 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 a territory of the

. 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 Carolina was 11,965. Flooding i n Carolina (37322170706)

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 caused flooding in Carolina. The Río Grande de Loíza floods left around 500 homes uninhabitable. The Roberto Clemente stadium lost its roof and many other structures, bridges and roads were damaged to a toll of $87 million. Given the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is in Carolina, the destruction in Carolina created a challenge and the airport remained closed for three days. Two weeks after, the airport was attempting to operate a more regular schedule, but electricity was inconsistent and on October 10, nearly a month after the hurricane the airport was running on generators again.

Geography

Carolina municipality has a number of rivers such as the

Río Canovanillas The Canovanillas River ( es, Río Canovanillas) is a river of Carolina and Loíza, Puerto Rico. See also *List of rivers of Puerto Rico A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) O ...

Río Grande de Loíza The Rio Grande de Loíza (English: ''Great River of Loíza'', ''Grande de Loíza'', or just ''Loíza River'') is a river in the island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. It is situated on the north coast of ...

, La Torrecilla, Piñones Lagoons.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Carolina 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. # Barrazas #

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

# Cacao # Cangrejo Arriba # Canovanillas #

Carolina barrio-pueblo Carolina barrio-pueblo is a Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrio and the administrative center (Seat of government, seat) of Carolina, Puerto Rico, Carolina, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,201. As was customary in Spain, i ...

# Carruzos # Cedro # Martín González # Sabana Abajo # San Antón # Santa Cruz #

Trujillo Bajo Trujillo Bajo is a barrio in the municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 8,805. 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 be ...

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 Carolina: Colo, Martín González, Buena Vista, Buenaventura, Canovanillas (Estancias del Parque), Cuesta Quiles, Eduardo J. Saldaña - La Cerámica, La Villas (Justicia y Esperanza), Sabana Abajo Norte, Sabana Abajo Sur, Saint Just, San Antón, and Villa Caridad.

Tourism

Carolina is one of Puerto Rico's most important tourist centers.

, the territory's main airport, is located in Isla Verde. Also located in Carolina are a large group of hotels, which sit by Carolina's large beach area of Isla Verde. There are several well-known hotels on the coast of Carolina (Isla Verde area), including the El San Juan Resort and Casino,

InterContinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group ( ...

San Juan Hotel and the

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

San Juan Hotel, Spa, and Casino. Isla Verde has an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

synagogue,

Chabad of Puerto Rico Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

, the only Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Puerto Rico, which serves the island's Jewish residents and visiting tourists.

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 4 beaches in Carolina, including . *Buena Vista Ruins *Carolina Beach *Loíza's Big River *Isla Verde Club Gallístico *Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport *Jesús T. Piñero Monument *Julia de Burgos Park *Piñones Beach *Roberto Clemente Ciudad Deportiva

Economy

Carolina is the home of

Plaza Carolina Plaza Carolina is an enclosed shopping mall located in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Anchored by JCPenney, TJ Maxx, Caribbean Cinemas, Burlington and Forever 21, it features 161 stores, making it the second largest mall in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean ...

, one of

's largest

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Executive Airlines Executive Airlines, Inc. was a Puerto Rican regional airline headquartered at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the main airport for the United States territory, near the capitol of San Juan. The airline was a w ...

, an

aircraft ground handling In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and (usually) parked at a terminal gate of an airport. Overview Many airlines subcontract ground handling to airports, handling agents o ...

company and subsidiary of

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, is headquartered on the grounds of

in Carolina.

Industrial

Manufacturing (pharmaceutical, medical equipment and chemical) and commerce.

Culture

Festivals and events

Carolina 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 late May / early June. 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 Carolina include: * Jazz Night – third Friday of the month * Bohemia Night – second Thursday of the month * Youth Night – first Friday every two months * Artisans' Market – one Sunday a month * Roberto Clemente Week – August

Sports

In recent years, Carolina has seen the building of the ''Ciudad Deportiva

'' or ''Roberto Clemente Sports City'', a sports and recreation facility that aims to become a youth sports school, and the

Roberto Clemente Stadium Roberto Clemente Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Roberto Clemente) is a multi-purpose stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It is currently used mostly for baseball games and is the home of Gigantes de Carolina. The stadium holds 12,500 people and w ...

, host to many entertainment events and to the 2003 and 2007

Caribbean World Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. It has also played host to the '' Coliseo Guillermo Angulo'', where the BSN's '' Gigantes de Carolina'' play, as well as the Gigantes of Puerto Rican women's professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, the Gigantes of men's professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, and the

Gigantes In Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Giganto ...

of women's professional

. The Gigantes de Carolina professional

team use the

as their home field. There is also another team with the same name, the Giants de Carolina, a professional soccer team that plays in the

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 ...

. That team also uses the

as its home field. Professional horse jockey Emanuel Jose Sanchez was born in Carolina. Riding the mare Mark Me Special he captured the 7th race at Colonial Downs on June 19, 2005. Puerto Rico was ceded by

in the aftermath of the

under the terms of the

and became a territory of the

. In 1899, the United States conducted its first

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Carolina was 11,965.

Demographics

Puerto Rico was ceded by

in the aftermath of the

under the terms of the

and became a territory of the

. In 1899, the United States conducted its first

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Carolina was 11,965.

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, elected every four years. The current mayor of Carolina is

José Aponte Dalmau José Carlos Aponte Dalmau (born March 2, 1965) is a Puerto Rican politician and current mayor of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Aponte is the son of longtime mayor of Carolina, José Aponte de la Torre and Carmen Idalia "Daly" Dalmau. He completed his ...

, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected in 2007, after a special election, succeeding his late father,

José Aponte de la Torre José Ernesto Aponte de la Torre (December 5, 1941 – May 5, 2007) was a Puerto Rican politician, and was the mayor of Carolina, Puerto Rico for 22 years. Biography Aponte de la Torre was born and raised in Cayey, Puerto Rico in 1941. He was ...

. Aponte de la Torre was elected mayor in 1984 and served for 23 years. 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. The Carolina Police Department, with most of its precincts in the northern half of the city due to the density of the population, handle law enforcement responsibilities.

Puerto Rico Police Department The Puerto Rico Police Department ( es, Policía de Puerto Rico), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department ...

also has jurisdiction in Carolina, especially for narcotics enforcement, with four precincts positioned on all four points of the city. Carolina created the first municipal fire department in Puerto Rico. The Carolina Fire Department in collaboration with the Carolina Municipal Emergency Management use two engine trucks, one ladder track and one special hazard engine truck. Their headquarters are located in the tourist district of Isla Verde. Also, the Puerto Rico Fire Department have a fire station and regional office in town, located on the Roberto Clemente Avenue.

Transportation

There are 72 bridges in Carolina. The

Teodoro Moscoso Bridge The Teodoro Moscoso Bridge is a bridge in Puerto Rico. It works as an extension of PR-17, also known as the Jesus T. Piñero Expressway, connecting this road with the Román Baldorioty de Castro Expressway ( PR-26). It crosses the San José Lag ...

connects Carolina to San Juan.

Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

is located in Carolina.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag consists of three vertical bands, the laterals white and the middle red. The laterals are seeded with black ermine tails in the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

way as for the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. The middle band of the flag shows a red field with the sword and crown of the coat of arms.

Coat of arms

The crown over the sword is the main attribute for royalty and for that reason it occupies a privileged position in the coat of arms. The sword is not only a symbol for military service, but also one of justice, recalling the virtues of

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

. The coat of arms has a wide edge of silver, a cultivated field of small tails of ermine shown in the conventional heraldic manner. The red symbolizes the first patriotic developments made for Puerto Rico's freedom under Spanish dominion.

Notable people from Carolina

Gallery

Beach in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico.jpg, Beach in Carolina Islaverdeskyline.jpg, Isla Verde skyline in Carolina Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort.jpg, Courtyard by Marriott in Isla Verde Beach Resort Roberto Clemente statue.jpg, Statue of Roberto Clemente located at entrance of Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente Carolina, Puerto Rico (aerial).JPG, Aerial view of the city

References

Carolina and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Books

''Carolina, Puerto Rico: Land of Giants'' (2012) by Greg Boudonck and Maria Ruiz O'Farrill

External links

Puerto Rico Government Directory
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area Populated places established in 1816 1816 establishments in the Spanish Empire