Corozal () 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 in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 barrios and Corozal Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city name is derived from the "''palma de corozo''" (grugru palm, '' Acrocomia media'') which abounds in the Cordillera Central zone of the Island.

History

Corozal's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was named Orocobix and his tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino. Corozal was founded in 1795 and officially became a town in 1804. Commonly known as ''La Cuna del Volibol'' or ''Volleyball's Cradle''. It takes its name from the '' Acrocomia media'', in Puerto Rican . Puerto Rico was ceded by

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 ...

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 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 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 Corozal was 11,508. From 1902 to 1905 Corozal became one with Toa Alta, an adjoining municipality. In 2000 census the population of Corozal was 36,867, and it had a land area of . Intense wind and rainfall from

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 Corozal, and bridges and homes were destroyed. Some residents of Corozal had to resort to collecting spring water as access to potable water was limited after the devastation caused by the hurricane. During the event, the police station in Corozal suddenly became flooded by the Cibuco River while there were nineteen officers inside. The officers climbed up and standing on the rooftop, made a human chain so as not to be swept away by the hurricane winds. Seeing them, several young people began a rescue operation by cutting tree limbs and debris to allow the river to subside just enough. With a firehose in hand, they waded in waters up to their necks and were able to help the officers get to dry land. File:Puerto Rico National Guard (36848158523).jpg, Hurricane Maria relief work in Corozal by the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide ...

File:Landslides in Corozal, Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria in September, 2017.png, Landslides caused by Hurricane Maria in Corozal File:Power outage in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.png, Some of Puerto Rico had power 5 days later

Geography

Corozal is located in the mountainous region near the center of the island. Quebrada Jacinta is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in Corozal. Updated flood zone maps (as of 2019) show that Corozal is extremely vulnerable to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

, along with Humacao, Rincón, Barceloneta, and Toa Baja. Due to its large number of rivers and streams, Corozal is regarded as being extremely vulnerable to damage from major hurricanes.

Hydrography

Rivers and streams of Corozal include Río Cibuco, Río Corozal, Río Dos Bocas, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Mavilla, Río Orocovis, and Río Unibón.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Corozal is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as # Abras # Cibuco #

Corozal barrio-pueblo Corozal barrio-pueblo is an urban barrio and the administrative center (seat) of Corozal, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,631. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a ''pueblo'' which contai ...

# Cuchillas # Dos Bocas # Magueyes #

Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band formed in 1981. Originally called Sombrero Verde, the current lineup of members is vocalist-guitarist Fher Olvera, drummer Alex González (musician), Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan ...

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

# Padilla # Palmarejo # Palmarito # Palos Blancos #

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

Sectors

Barrios (which are like 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 Corozal: Aldea Vázquez, Comunidad Los Indios, Cuba Libre-EI Idilio, El Guarico, La Escalera, La Mina, and Parcelas Medina.

Climate

Corozal experiences a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...

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 Turisteando'' ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Corozal page lists , , and , as places of interest. Corozal is home to the Historical Center of Cibuco, a park and museum with relics from the Puerto Rico's ( Taínos) as well as objects, paintings and artifacts of the town's history. El Balalaika is a cafeteria which opened its doors around 1962. Salto-grande

Landmarks and places of interest

* El Rancho Recreation Center * El Jíbaro Centro Recreativo * Cine-Teatro San Rafael de Corozal, a movie theatre which reopened in 2017 after being closed for 28 years. * Mavilla Bridge

Economy

Agriculture

One of Puerto Rico's major plaintain producers. New small businesses producing eggs and hydroponic crops (lettuce, recao) are emerging.

Business

Crafts, services. Several manufacture enterprises have reduced or moved operations in recent years.

Culture

Festivals and events

Corozal 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 in honor of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

and generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events celebrated in Corozal include: * Corozal

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

- June * San Juan Bautista Carnival - June * Plantain Festival - September * - October

Sports

Volleyball

* Plataneros de Corozal ( Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino) - 9 time LVSM national champions; recent title win was in 2009 * Pinkin de Corozal (

Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino The Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF) is a professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol, FPV). Current teams League c ...

) - record-setting 18 time LVSF national champions; recent title win was in 2022

Swimming

The Gold Fish Swim Team for kids and youth and a new Master's Swim Team created in 2008 under the direction of Arlene Ortiz.

Demographics

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 Corozal is Luis “Luiggi” 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 VI, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024, Rafael Santos Ortiz and Wilmer Reyes Berríos were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 26 bridges in Corozal. Mavilla Bridge in Corozal is listed on the US

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

Consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, yellow the top, green the middle and blue the bottom, and in some instances the middle stripe could have embroidered or printed the coat of arms. The flag is very similar to the provincial flag of Islas del Caró (I.D.C.) except that the yellow stripe is half the size as the green and blue stripes much like the flag of Colombia except that the red stripe is replaced by the green one at the bottom. It is unknown whether the flag was made to coincide with the densely populated province of El Conquistador or was created by natural and neutral causes.

Coat of arms

On a gold background three corozo palm trees, with clusters in their original color, planted on a green landscape and in front of a mountain range. At the bottom, blue and silver water waves sprinkled with gold nuggets. The three-tower-crown is gold with black stones. The corozo palms represent the name of the town and its river, whose ends were populated with palms. The mountains represent the high striking mountains of Corozal. The waves represent the

Corozal River The Corozal River () is a river of Corozal, Puerto Rico. See also * List of rivers of Puerto Rico References External links * USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region (1974) Rivers of Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-river-stub ...

and

gold nuggets Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, a metal that was panned. The gold background represents the hard labor and alludes to the gold of Corozal, appreciated long ago for its purity. The crown is an emblem used to designate the cities and towns.

Education

Public high schools in Corozal include Escuela Superior Emilio R. Delgado and Escuela Superior Porfirio Cruz García High School in Barrio Cuchillas. The only private high school is Colegio Sagrada Familia in Barrio Pueblo.

In popular culture

The following songs mention Corozal: * Controversia navideña * Guineítos con corned beef * Oubao Moin * Que nunca muera nuestra tradición

Notable "Corozaleños"

* Carmen E. Arroyo, first Puerto Rican woman elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

* Lunay, Reggaeton artist *

Maria del Carmen Arroyo Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

* Viviana Ortiz Pastrana, fashion model and Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2011 * Eddie Perez, politician served as mayor of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

from 2001 to 2010. * April Carrión, Drag queen and contestant on Rupaul’s Drag Race season 6 who would go on to place 11th overall. * Ashleyann Lozada, (born 1991) boxer

Gallery

File:Corozal, 00783, Puerto Rico - panoramio (7).jpg, Building in Corozal barrio-pueblo File:Corozal, 00783, Puerto Rico - panoramio (11).jpg, File:Corozal, 00783, Puerto Rico - panoramio (3).jpg, Statue in downtown Corozal File:Corozal, 00783, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, City hall

References

External links

Corozal and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Welcome to Puerto Rico! Corozal
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1795 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area 1795 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1795 establishments in North America