Añasco (, ), named after one of its settlers, Don Luis de Añasco, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

located on the west coast of the island bordering the

Mona Passage The Mona Passage () is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal. The Mona Pas ...

to the west, north of Mayagüez, and Las Marias; south of Rincón, Aguada, and Moca and west of

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

and Las Marias. It is part of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology and nicknames

The name ''Añasco'' comes from Don Luis de Añasco, former owner of the land where the

and municipality were founded. This family name is of Spanish origin from the province of

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. Some of the municipality's nicknames include: ''La ciudad donde los dioses mueren'' ("The city where gods die") and ''Los nativos'' ("the natives") are a reference to the legend of Spanish conquistador Diego Salcedo, who according to the story was drowned by the indigenous

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

in order to prove that the European colonizers were not immortal deities; and ''Pueblo del Hojaldre'' ("

Puff Pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

Town") after the '' hojaldre'', a type of puff pastry the municipality is famous for.

History

Although the ''Bahía de Aguada (Aguada Bay)'' in the neighboring town of Aguada, commonly known as the ''Ciudad del Descubrimiento'' ''(City of the Discovery)'', has historically been recognized as the location where

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

first landed in

during his second voyage on 19 November 1493, it is believed by most historians that ''Bahía de Añasco (Añasco Bay)'' near the mouth of the Río Grande de Añasco in Añasco was the place of Columbus’ first landing and stay of two days in Puerto Rico before continuing to

La Navidad La Navidad ("The Nativity", i.e. Christmas) was a Spanish fort that Christopher Columbus and his crew established on the northwest coast of Hispaniola (near what is now Caracol, Nord-Est, Caracol, Nord-Est (department), Nord-Est Department, Hait ...

, first European settlement in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

. The town of Añasco was founded on October 18, 1733, and named after Don Luis de Añasco, a colonist from the

region of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

who came to Puerto Rico with

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...

. Añasco was founded by the initiative of rich landowner Don José de Santiago, who wanted to establish the villa in properties owned by Don Luis de Añasco. The property was located on the margins of the río '' Guaorabo'', as the Taínos called it. Añasco town was preceded by the first original location of the settlement of San Germán. This settlement was attacked and destroyed several times by the Taínos and pirates before moving to the current location. In November 1511,

handed over governorship to

Juan Cerón Juan Cerón was a Spanish conquistador and the second and fourth governor (1509–1513) of Puerto Rico when the island was still called San Juan. He was born in Écija, Spain. Biography Cerón's legacy in the history of the island is tain ...

, a lieutenant of the viceroy Diego Colon (son of Cristobal Colon or Cristopher Columbus). Cerón ordered Miguel de Toro, a lieutenant of Juan Ponce de León, to create a "Christian Village" in western Borinquen, calling it San Germán. This was the second attempt of foundation given in 1511 at the mouth of the Guaorabo River (present day Rio Añasco), near the area known today as Añasco, Puerto Rico. This first settlement was attacked in 1528, 1538, and again in 1554. A fort to protect this town began in 1540, but its construction was suspended in 1546 when the people decided to move inland being tired of attacks. Attacks by Carib Indians forced the population to move south inland to the present site of the present town of San Germán. The Añasco River is also claimed to be the site of the popular legend of the drowning of the Spaniard Diego Salcedo in 1511 at the hands of the Taínos, proving the Spanish soldiers were not gods and igniting a revolt. It is believed that the revolt was led by the cacique "

Cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

Chayoán" (Uruyoán) and suppressed by Spanish soldiers. Many of the first settlers to the area came from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and the south of

. The

1918 San Fermín earthquake The 1918 San Fermín earthquake, also known as the Puerto Rico earthquake of 1918, struck the island of Puerto Rico at on October 11. The earthquake measured 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale and IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. ...

destroyed Añasco's parish church, the town hall and other buildings, almost eliminating most of the historic downtown structures. Hurricane María on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Añasco. In some areas of Añasco there were more than 25 landslides per square mile due to the significant amount of rainfall. Barrio Playa was particularly affected with about 96% of the homes under water. Bridges in and around Añasco sustained extensive damage as a result of Hurricane María.

Geography

Añasco is located in the Coastal Plains of the west, bordered by the Río Grande de Añasco. It is bordered in the north by Rincón, Aguada, and Moca; Mayagüez to the south; and

and Las Marías to the east. The

lies to the west of the town. The Añasco terrain is mostly plain but features a series of hills and mountains like Canta Gallo (1,194 feet, or 364 meters), Gordo and Pichón (both at 1,115 feet, or 340 meters). It is also crossed by several rivers like Icaco River, Caguabo River, La Balsa, and others.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Añasco 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. # Añasco Abajo # Añasco Arriba # Añasco barrio-pueblo # Caguabo #

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...

# Carreras # Casey Abajo # Casey Arriba # Cerro Gordo # Cidra # Corcovada # Dagüey # Espino # Hatillo # Humatas # Marías # Miraflores #

Ovejas Ovejas is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia where the traditional Cumbia (also called Gaita) festival "Francisco Llirene" takes place in October. Songwriter Graciela Arango de Tobón was born in Ovejas. ...

# Piñales # Playa # Quebrada Larga # Río Arriba # Río Cañas

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) 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. In the EU context, the Euro ...

. 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 Añasco: Cerro Gordo, Corcovada, Hatillo, Miraflores, and Caguabo barrios, , and Zumbadora sector in Río Arriba barrio.

Demographics

Like most of the people of

, the Añasco population originated with the Taino Indians and then by immigrants from

that settled the central highland, most prominently the Andalusian and Canarian Spanish migration who formed the bulk of the jibaro or

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

peasant stock of the island. The Andalusian and Canarian Spaniards also influenced much of the

Puerto Rican culture The culture of Puerto Rico is the result of a number of internal and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's rich history and help create an identity that is uniquely Puerto Rican - Taí ...

which explains the Southern Spanish dialect, and the Spanish colonial architecture. Puerto Rico was ceded by

in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

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, was signed by Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the ...

and became a territory of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1899, the United States conducted its first

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Añasco was 13,311.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 18 beaches in Añasco. Tres Hermanos Beach is a well-known Añasco beach which remained closed for more than two years after Hurricane Maria destroyed it in September 2017. It was set to reopen in 2020 after many renovations which continued into February 2020. Some other beaches and places of interest in Añasco include: *Añasco Beach *Autodrome *El Salto de la Encantada *Hacienda La Eugenia * Río Grande de Añasco * San Antonio Abad Parish Church *Villa Pesquera To stimulate local tourism during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico The COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico was an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pa ...

, the

Puerto Rico Tourism Company The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (, or simply ''Turismo'') is the government-owned corporation in charge of tourism matters and regulations in Puerto Rico. The company was created during Governor Luis A. Ferré's administration (1969-1973) to coo ...

launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Añasco passport page lists , , and restaurants on Puerto Rico Highway 115 as places of interest.

Culture

Festivals and events

Añasco celebrates its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

festival in January. 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 Añasco include: * Mayuco Festival – January * Fine Arts Festival ( – January *

Three Kings Day Epiphany ( ), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally ...

Festival in

and Corcovada barrios – January * Saint Anthony's Marathon – January * Antique Car Fair – January * Theater Festival – May * Youth Festival – July * Festival in Honor of Saint Rose of Lima – August * Añasco Triathlon – September * Chipe Festival – October

Sports

Añasco has a AA baseball team called the Fundadores de Añasco. It is also known for being the hometown of some

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

prospects like Samuel Figueroa.

Notable people

Mariana Bracetti Mariana Bracetti Cuevas (also spelled Bracety) (July 26, 1825 – February 25, 1903) was a patriot and leader of the Puerto Rico independence movement. In 1868, she sewed the ''Grito de Lares'' flag that was intended to be used as the nationa ...

- (1825–1903) was a revolutionary leader of the Puerto Rico independence movement in the 1860s. She is attributed with having knitted the flag that was intended to be used as the national emblem of Puerto Rico in its attempt to overthrow the Spanish government on the island, and to establish the island as a sovereign republic. *

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggae ...

- Singer * Aristides Gonzalez - boxer, Olympic bronze medalist in 1984 * Young Miko- rapper and singer-songwriter.

Economy

In 2016 the municipal government reported a budget surplus of $1.3 million nonetheless the government also indicated that the municipal debt was $13 million.

Agriculture

Sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

had been cultivated in Añasco as early as the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

. The earliest known

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

("ingenios") operator around the Añasco area was Tomás de Castellón in 1523. Añasco has also been a place for fruits and

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

cultivation.

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

, elected every four years. The current mayor of Añasco is Kabir Solares García, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was first elected at the 2020 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district IV, which is represented by two Senators. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Jeison Rosa and Karen Michelle Román Rodríguez, both from the New Progressive Party (PNP), were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 22 bridges in Añasco, and many sustained damages on September 20, 2017, when Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico.

Education

The

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of five jurisdiction-wide public education systems in the United States, with Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa being the others. The PRDOE is the state education ...

operates several public schools in the municipality, including two bilingual schools, Antonio Gonzalez Suarez Regional Bilingual Elementary School and Sergio Ramirez de Arellano-Hostos Regional Bilingual Secondary School, the first public bilingual schools on the island. There are also private bilingual schools in the municipality, such as Colegio de la Salle and MAS Integrated School.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag colors, design and symbolism are taken from the Añasco's coat of arms, with the only exception the silver parts on the coat of arms are white on the flag.

Coat of arms

The green field of the shield contains a saber cross massed in black, outlined in silver, and has a gold scallop shell in each quadrant formed by a

cross fleury A cross fleury (or flory) is a cross adorned at the ends with flowers in heraldry. It generally contains the fleur-de-lis, trefoils, etc. Synonyms or minor variants include ''fleuretty'', ''fleuronny'', ''floriated'' and ''flourished''. In early ...

. A gold mural crown of three towers crests the shield.

References

External links

Añasco coastline on GettyimagesWelcome to Puerto Rico! Añasco
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anasco, Puerto Rico Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1733 Aguadilla–Isabela–San Sebastián metropolitan area