Naranjito () 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 region of the island, south of Toa Alta; north of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Corozal; and west of Bayamón. Naranjito is spread over 7 barrios and Naranjito Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The intention to form the municipality of Naranjito began in 1810. After a series of major incidents with powerful political interests of the time, on December 3, 1824, Don Braulio Morales successfully founded the town of Naranjito. The town was founded in the neighborhood of the same name, on a land donated by Doña Manuela Rivera and Don Braulio Morales. Morales was named "Captain Settler" and at the same time was appointed mayor of the town in development. The name "Naranjito" is derived from a small sour orange tree that served as a reference point for travelers looking for in the shortest way to the town of Toa Alta. At the time of its foundation, Naranjito consisted of five barrios/districts: Lomas, Guadiana, Achiote, Nuevo and Cedro. Cedro was divided in 1853 in Cedro Arriba and Cedro Abajo. The municipality's main urban zone is composed by the San Miguel, San Antonio and San Cristobal districts. 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 Naranjito was 8,101. On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. Naranjito was left in complete devastation and isolation, with no electrical power, no communication and no physical access due to destroyed highways. The Guadiana River caused severe flooding in the urban area of Naranjito. The storm triggered numerous landslides in Naranjito. Elderly, especially, struggled to recover.

Geography

Naranjito is located in the central mountainous region.

Hydrography

Rivers and streams of Naranjito include Río Cañas, Río Cibuco, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Guadiana and Río Mavilla.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Naranjito is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as . # Achiote # Anones # Nuevo # Cedro Abajo # Cedro Arriba # Guadiana # Lomas, also known as Lomas Garcia # Naranjito barrio-pueblo

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 Naranjito: La Pajona (Los Alvarado) in Cedro Arriba, Las Parcelas in Lomas García, Los Pampers (Sico Martínez) in Lomas García, Sector Benito Nieves/Los Quilés in Lomas García, Comunidad Lago La Plata, La Colina, San Antonio y San Cristóbal, Casco Urbano (Las Barriadas), Parcelas Hevia, Sector Mulitas, Comunidad Cayito Ríos, Lomas Jaguas, Los Pelusa in Cedro Abajo, Comunidades Riíto 1 y II in Cedro Arriba, Comunidad El Palmar, Los López in Cedro Abajo, Fondo del Saco in Achiote and La Sabana in Cedro Abajo.

Demographics

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

*Anones Park *Cancha Gelito Ortega *Cedro Abajo Falls (Las Lagrimas Falls) *La Marina Boardwalk * La Plata Lake *Las Avispas Hills *Municipal Swimming Pool *Trovador Plaza *Mirador de Anones * Puente Atirantado Jesús Izcoa Moure *El Cerro Community

Economy

Traditionally the main agricultural crops of Naranjito are coffee and the tobacco. In recent years have borne fruits such as bananas, oranges, papayas, and other tropical fruits; also in the town the poultry factory has been very popular, specifically the dairy cattle (fresh milk). Naranjito has many factories, most of these factories make garments (clothing).

Culture

Festivals and events

Naranjito 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 September. 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 Naranjito include: * Mothers Day - May *San Antonio Day - June * Chango Festival - June *Anon Festival - June *Volleyball Tournament - February - June * Archangel Saint Michael Day - September * The Turkey Marathon - November

Sports

The Naranjito Changos, better known as Los Changos De Naranjito, are a professional male volleyball team based in Naranjito. The team is one of the most successful sports franchises in Puerto Rico.

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Naranjito is Orlando Ortiz Chevres, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was first elected at the 2008 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 19 bridges in Naranjito.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

Naranjito's flag consists of an orange flag crossed by two narrow green stripes close to the superior and inferior edges. The orange color in the flag symbolizes the town of Naranjito (little orange tree), while the green symbolizes its green mountains.

Coat of arms

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 ...

is a red cross, the symbol of the angel Saint Michael, patron of Naranjito. The globe with the cross symbolizes the power and sovereignty of God. The gold and red stripes that appear in the second and third quarters, constitute the primitive baton of the Guadiana lineage. The lily twigs are a tribute of Saint

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

, confessor and doctor of the Church. The orange tree represents the small tree that gave the town's name, Naranjito. The crown is symbol of moral unit of the town.

Education

Naranjito includes several public and private schools distributed through several regions. Public education is handled by the Puerto Rico Department of Education

Elementary schools

*Bernarda Robles De Hevia *Don Manolo Rivera *Felipa Sanchez Cruzado *Jose Archilla Cabrera *Josefina Marrero *Francisco Roque Muñoz *Rosa Luz Zayas *Silvestre Martinez

Middle and junior high schools

*Coleen Vazquez Urrutia *Mercedes Rosado * S.U. Adolfo Garcia * S.U. Fidel G Padilla * S.U. Pedro Fernandez

High schools

*Francisco Morales *Vocacional Rubén Rodríguez Figueroa

Private schools

*Academia Santa Teresita (K-12)

Media

A foot pursuit of the movie Fast & Furious 5 in which Dominic Toretto ( Vin Diesel), Mia Toretto ( Jordana Brewster) and Brian O'Connor ( Paul Walker) are chased across favela rooftops by Luke Hobbs (

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

) and his team was filmed over the course of a week in Naranjito. The scene was considered difficult to shoot, as pathways were slippery from moist tropical heat and the scene involved actors and stunt doubles running while avoiding dogs, chickens and other stray animals loose in the area. To capture the scene, a 420-foot cable-camera rig was used to allow for a fast moving, birds-eye view of the action, and cameras on cranes were set up on rooftops and in alleyways. Walker and Brewster made multiple takes of the conclusion of the scene, requiring them to jump nearly 30 feet from a building onto a waiting safety mat. In total the production employed 236 technicians, 13,145 extras, and generated 16,824 room nights at hotels, contributing $27 million to the local community.

Notable people

* Francisco López Cruz, an important musicologist, musician, composer, and educator that dedicated his life to promote Puerto Rican Folk music. * Yazaira Lopez, the winner of Va por Ti co-production of

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

and

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

2014 * Christian Nieves, an internationally known

cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...

player * Barbara Serrano, recognized writer and first runner-up of Miss World Puerto Rico 2001.

Books about Naranjito

*''El Chango.'' Apuntes Historicos del Pueblo de Naranjito-1824-1998, Author: Silvestre J. Morales 1999

References

External links

*
Puerto Rico Government Directory - Naranjito
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1824 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area 1824 establishments in North America