Cataño () 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' ...

on the northeastern

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

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 ...

. It is west of the capital San Juan, east of Toa Baja, north of Bayamón and Guaynabo, and south of San Juan Bay. Part of the San Juan metropolitan area, Cataño is spread over 7 barrios and the downtown area and administrative center of Cataño Pueblo. It is the smallest municipality of Puerto Rico by land area.

History

Hernando de Cataño was chosen to offer his medical services in

during Francisco Bahamonde de Lugo's tenure as

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

(1564–1568). He was one of the first physicians who arrived in

during its

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

and, upon accepting his position, received as payment a piece of land across the San Juan islet. From that time, the region started to be recognized by the name of its original owner. As people started establishing in the area, Cataño was declared as a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

of Bayamón. However, there wasn't much success in the town's development during these years due to its

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

-like terrain. Still, around 1690, a hermitage was established to allow residents to receive religious services without having to travel to Bayamón. In the middle of the 19th century, a ferry company was founded to facilitate the transportation of merchandise and passengers through the San Juan Bay. This spurred a growth in the population of Cataño, transforming it into one of the most prosperous barrios of Bayamón. Still, attempts to separate themselves from Bayamón in 1839 were unsuccessful. On June 26, 1893, Bishop Antonio Puig y Montserrat separated the barrios of Cataño, Palo Seco, and Palmas from Bayamón's parish and established an independent parish for the residents of these sectors. In 1927, Cataño was officially declared a municipality with the name Hato de Palmas de Cataño, which overtime was simply shortened to Cataño. Politics played a crucial part in the foundation of the town, since Bayamón was controlled by an administration with opposing ideologies to those of the island's Legislature. The separation of Cataño from Bayamón was a strategy to weaken that opposition. With only of territory, Cataño is the smallest municipality in Puerto Rico. It is less than half the size of Hormigueros, the next-smallest in area. The people of Cataño were left in despair when Hurricane María struck on September 20, 2017, destroying their infrastructure and homes. With winds of the hurricane destroyed and flooded an estimated 650 homes and the roads became rivers (flooded). An estimated 80% of homes in the Juana Matos area of Cataño were destroyed.

Geography

Cataño consists mostly of flat plains that belong to the Northern region of

. Its northern shore falls on the San Juan Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.

Bodies of water

Located in Cataño are a number of rivers, streams, named and unnamed creeks, and channels including: * Caño La Malaria (Malaria Channel) * Río de Bayamón * Río Hondo

Barrios

Cataño is divided into only two barrios: Cataño barrio-pueblo, and Palmas.

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called (''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 Cataño: Cucharillas, Juana Matos, Puente Blanco, and Puntilla.

Culture

Festivals and events

Cataño 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 July. The is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Tourism

One of the main tourist attractions in Cataño is the boardwalk or that commands a view of the San Juan Bay, including views of

Fort San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro ( English: Promontory Castle of Saint Philip), most commonly known as ''El Morro'' (The Promontory), is a large fortress and citadel in the Old San Juan historic quarter of San Juan, the capital municipality of Pue ...

on the opposing side. There are several monuments and sculptures along the boardwalk, including a monument to

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 ...

culture called "India Taína". The Bacardi Distillery also offers tours of its facilities to visitors who want to learn about the rum manufacturing industry in the island and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the ''Voy Turistiendo'' ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Cataño page lists , , and , as places of interest.

Christopher Columbus statue

The town gained notoriety in 1998, when Mayor Edwin Rivera Sierra traveled to Russia and acquired a huge statue of

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 ...

called " Birth of the New World". The statue Columbus by Tsereteli was designed by artist Zurab Tsereteli and would measure when erected. Tsereteli had offered the statue to the United States as a gift in 1992 with the intention to use it for the celebrations of the 500th year of its voyage. However, it was rejected. The transportation of the statue from Russia to Cataño cost $2.4 million. After arriving on the island, the 2,700 bronze pieces of the statue were scattered in a terrain awaiting for funds for the project, but Rivera Sierra was unable to garner enough public support or funding for it. The statue was installed in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

Sports

Cataño has a number of professional sports teams, and there are several important sports facilities located in the town, including the Perucho Cepeda Stadium, the Pedro Rodríguez Gaya Boxing Coliseum, and the Cosme Beitía Salamo Coliseum.

Economy

Due to its location, Cataño has always played an important role as a port to the island. Fishing has also been a main source of economy for centuries. Bacardi, one of the largest

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

manufacturers of the world, has a distillery in Cataño. Other industries established in the town are refineries, commerce companies, transport and logistics, among others.

Demographics

Despite its small size, Cataño has a large population when compared to municipalities of similar areas. This is perhaps due to its location near the capital of San Juan. The population, according to the 2000 census, was 30,071 with a population density of . Although the current population is almost the double of what it was in the 1950 census, the current census reflects a small decrease of inhabitants. As a whole, Puerto Rico is populated mainly by people from a

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

(Of African and European descent) and European descent, with small groups of African and

Asian people "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...

. Statistics taken from the 2000 census shows that 66.9% of Catañenses have Spanish 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 ...

ancestry, 8.6% are

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.8% are

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

etc.

Government

After its initial establishment, Cataño belonged to the Bayamón region. From 1839 to 1845, there were some attempts to separate the barrio from Bayamón, but these were unsuccessful. However, on late 19th century, Bishop Antonio Puig y Montserrat managed to separate Cataño establishing their own parish. Cataño was finally declared a municipality on April 25, 1927, being its first mayor Alberto Dávila. In 1987, Edwin Rivera Sierra was elected as Mayor of Cataño. He remained in the position for 16 years, quitting in 2003. He was replaced by Wilson Soto, who was then officially elected at the 2004 elections in Puerto Rico. After losing a reelection bid in 2008 against José Rosario, Soto was indicted on nine charges. The current mayor of Cataño is Julio Alicea Vasallo, of the New Progressive Party (PNP) who has served as mayor since December 19, 2021 after the resignation of former mayor Felix "El Cano" Delgado. Alicea Vasallo was then subsequently elected at the 2024 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district II, which is represented by two senators. Migdalia Padilla and Carmelo Ríos Santiago have served as district senators since 2005.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag consists of nine horizontal stripes: four blue stripes and five white stripes (substituting for the silver color on the coat of arms). A white and green band traverses diagonally the drape in all its extension, from the upper hoist to the lower fly. The green color represents the

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

s that are also present in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. The flag was officially adopted during José Alvarez Brunet's tenure as mayor on September 5, 1974.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Cataño consists of nine horizontal stripes of same the width: four blue and five silver. The colors of the coat and the flag represent the coat of arms of the family of Don Hernando de Cataño, an Hidalgo to whom the town owes its name. The color silver represents nobility and the color blue was used by hidalgos on their armories. It symbolizes royalty and serenity. On top of the coat of arms, there's a crown with three towers distinct of others coat of arms. The coat itself is surrounded by two green

s, an allusion to one of the original names of the town: Hato de las Palmas de Cataño.

Name

Aside of its name, derived from its original owner, Cataño has several

nicknames A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

. The city is known as "La Antesala de la Capital" (the

Foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

of the Capital) because of its location across the bay from the capital-city of San Juan. In the 1960s, the residents of Cataño jokingly called it "Fanguito Town" because of its many muddy streets and shacks built on stilts over tidal flats.

Education

Cataño has several public and private schools managed by the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

Transportation

Puerto Rico Highway 22 provides access to Cataño from San Juan or from other adjacent towns. Like most other towns in the island, it has a public transportation system consisting of public cars. Taxis are also available around the town. Cataño also has a ferry service known as '' La Lancha de Cataño'', or the Ferry of Cataño. The ferry service, which has been working since 1853, operates a five-minute harbor route between Cataño and

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

, and vice versa daily. There is a large ferry terminal at Cataño, and tourists can enjoy the view of the Castillo del Morro and the large cruise ships docked at the old San Juan terminal during this journey. There are 16 bridges in Cataño.

Gallery

Vista Aerea, Cataño y Navieras de Puerto Rico y termoelectrica palo seco - panoramio.jpg, Aerial view of northeastern Cataño (upper left) Catano-muelle-min-2.jpg, View of the San Juan Bay,

, and Santurce from the Cataño shore Catano - view with statue of Taino girl - panoramio.jpg, Monument to

Culture, most commonly known as ''India Taína'' (Taíno Indian Woman)

References

External links

Cataño and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Cataño Municipality on Facebook