Comerío () 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 ...

in the center-eastern region of island, north of

Aibonito Aibonito () is a small mountain town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range, north of Salinas; south of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Coamo; and west of Cidra, and Cayey. Aibonito is spread over 8 ...

; south of Naranjito and Bayamón; east of Barranquitas; and west of Cidra and Aguas Buenas. Comerío is spread over 7 barrios and Comerío Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Comerío was founded on June 12, 1826. Originally named Sabana del Palmar, but later changed to ''Comerío''. In 1854, nearly 1000 acres (1000 ) of land were being used for agriculture. In 1894, there was one sugar and two coffee

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

( estates) in Comerío. In the early 20th century, Comerio residents, had a short but legendary territory war with residents of the city of Barranquitas. Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain 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. 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, als ...

conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Comerío was 8,249.

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Comerío. The flooded river went through the center of Comerío. A week later the hospital, trying to run via generator, was out of diesel but due to the landslides, travel and deliveries, into and out of Comerío was next to impossible. Over 4,000 homes were affected, and of those 1,537 completely destroyed. After the hurricane, the National Guard from Ohio were tasked with restoring water purification systems for the people of Comerío. Two months after the hurricane, the mayor of Comerío said no personnel had made it yet to attempt the restoration of electrical power to Comerío. On October 9, another landslide happened blocking transit on PR-167. On October 10, a group of doctors from New York announced they would travel to volunteer their services to Comerío and nearby mountain municipalities.

Geography

The rivers located in Comerío are

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and Río Hondo.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Comerío 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. # Cedrito # Cejas #

Comerío barrio-pueblo Comerío barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Comerío, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 3,657. Sectors Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil division ...

# Doña Elena #

Naranjo Naranjo (Wak Kab'nal in Mayan) is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. ...

# Palomas # Piñas # Río Hondo #

Vega Redonda Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is List of star systems wi ...

Sectors

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) and subbarrios, 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 Comerio: Barriada Cielito, Sector Villa Brava in Piñas Abajo, El 26 in Palomas Abajo, El Higüero in Palomas Abajo, El Verde in Naranjo, La Juncia in Río Hondo II, La Pietra Cedrito, Río Hondo, and Vuelta del Dos.

Tourism

To stimulate local tourism, 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, with a passport book and website. The Comerío page lists , , and , as places of interest.

Landmarks and places of interest

Some of the landmarks of Comerío include: *La Tiza Peak *La Mora Caves *La Plata River *

Las Bocas Canyon Las Bocas Canyon (Spanish: ''Cañón Las Bocas'') is a steep gorge carved by the Frío River, located on the town boundary between the municipalities of Barranquitas and Comerío in the central region of the main island of Puerto Rico. Situate ...

*Las Pailas *Los Pilones *Media Luna Recreation Park *Tobacco Warehouse *The main town square *El Salto Hydroelectric Dams 1 and 2

Economy

Agriculture

*Tobacco (not as predominant in recent years). Comerío was known as "El Pueblo del Tabaco" (Tobacco Town), and its original flag had a tobacco plant in its center.

Culture

Festivals and events

Comerío 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 August. 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 Comerío include: *Spring Carnival – April *La Mora Cave Festival – June 1,2,3 *Jíbaro Festival – June *El Jobo Festival – July * San Andrés Apóstol Festivities – November *El Seco Marathon – December *Christmas Fantasy – December

Religion

First

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Church of Comerío was founded in 1904.

Demographics

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Comerío is Irvin Rivera, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected at the 2024 general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024,

Rafael Santos Ortiz Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

and Wilmer Reyes Berríos were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

Quartered in cross, of green and white, and superimposed the right superior quarter is an anchored yellow cross.

Coat of arms

The Comerío coat of arms is made up quarters (4) bearing what is known as an

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

of displays a shield in the center. There's a green field with a golden cross in the left quarter which represents Holy Christ the Healer, the patron of the town. Green stripes on a silver field are on the lower left quarter, symbolizing the Comerío falls and the

La Plata River LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

. Three

royal palms Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

in the right quarter to remember the original name of the town, and an undulating line symbolizes the mist that often covers the town. A crown with Taino motifs represents the cacique. The tobacco plant is a reminder of what was once an important part of the economic activity of the municipality. Inscribed with "the pearl of La Plata" a reference is made to the location of Comerío, on the banks of the La Plata River and the turreted castle which is a symbol of municipalities of Puerto Rico.

Transportation

Public bus from Bayamón to Comerío at Centro de Estacionamiento de Bayamón is the main public transportation. There are 16 bridges in Comerío.

Notable ''Comerieños''

* Manuel A. Pérez (1890–1951) – Professor * Enrique Pérez Santiago – Hematologist * Lalah (born 2001) - singer-songwriter

Gallery

File:Homes and mountainside in Comerío, Puerto Rico.JPG, View looking north from Vega Redonda barrio in Comerio File:Antigua Represa (69922135).jpeg, Old dam at El Salto, one of the oldest in Puerto Rico.

References

External links

Puerto Rico Government Directory - Comerío

Municipalities at enciclopediapr.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comerio, Puerto Rico Municipalities of Puerto Rico San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area Populated places established in 1826 1820s establishments in Puerto Rico