Río Grande () 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 eastern edge of the Northern Coastal Valley, north of Las Piedras, Naguabo and

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eight barrios and Río Grande Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. A big portion of

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest (), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. While there are both temperate and tropical rainforests in other states and terri ...

, including El Yunque's peak, is located within the municipality.

History

Río Grande was founded on July 16, 1840, by Desiderio and Quilimaco Escobar, with the approval of Governor Miguel López. It was named after the Río Grande and is located where the Río Grande and the Río Espíritu Santo join. In 1894, there were two sugar cane

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

s and 256

estancias An estancia or estância is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias are located in the southern South American grasslands of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia, while the ''pampas'' have historically bee ...

growing minor fruits.

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 Río Grande with the significant amount of rainfall. Infrastructure was destroyed, trees were ripped out of the ground, and rivers were breached causing property losses to approximately 5000 people. Of the

Puerto Rican amazon The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot ( Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'' (Taíno), is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neotro ...

, 230 in captivity did survive.

Geography

Río Grande is on the northeastern coast of the island north of the Sierra de Luquillo. A large portion of

and some of the highest points of the Sierra de Luquillo are located within Río Grande including El Yunque and El Toro, which at 3,474 feet (1,070 m) is the highest point in eastern Puerto Rico.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Río Grande is subdivided into barrios (which mean ''barrios'' or ''boroughs'' or ''neighborhoods'' in Spanish). The municipal buildings, central square and a large Catholic church are located in a small, central barrio called barrio-pueblo or simply . # Ciénaga Alta # Ciénaga Baja # Guzmán Abajo # Guzmán Arriba # Herreras # Jiménez # Mameyes II # Río Grande barrio-pueblo #

Zarzal Zarzal () is a city and municipality in the north of the department of Valle del Cauca in Colombia. Its economy is based primarily on the extensive cultivation of sugar cane, on small and medium enterprises in the metallurgic sector, and on uti ...

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 Río Grande: Sector Montebello and Sector El Hoyo in Malpica, Las Dolores, La Ponderosa, Villa Realidad, Estancias del Sol, and Hong Kong.

Demographics

In 1894, while a Spanish colony, the population of Río Grande was 6,237. 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 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 Río Grande was 12,365.

Tourism

Río Grande is home to one of the largest secluded areas with beach access (Coco Beach) on the entire island. Major hotels in the area include Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Resort and Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve. Every March, Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve plays host to the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open. Within a ten-minute drive is

, the only tropical rain forest within the United States National Forest System.

Hotels

*The Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa * Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve * St. Regis Bahía Beach Resort & Golf Club

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 27 beaches in Río Grande. Main attractions of Río Grande are: *Coco Beach * El Yunque *Indio Cave *Las Picúas Beach

Economy

Agriculture

The municipality has agricultural activity that produces fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants, tobacco, and cattle.

Business

Local retail stores are aside highway PR-3. There is one large shopping mall located on 65th Infantry expressway and 956th street. The northeastern area of Puerto Rico has attracted hotels, shopping malls, sport venues among others. In 2012 the Puerto Rico Highway 66, which provides easy access to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, was opened which runs along the municipality. In 2019, volunteers and police who formed a group called celebrated their 32nd year aiding local businesses with security issues. This group works to ensure the safety and security of business patrons in the downtown area of Río Piedras.

Culture

Festivals and events

Río Grande 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. Other festivals and events celebrated in Río Grande include: *Río Grande Carnival – July *Stuffed Potato Festival – April *Las Picúas Festival – September

Sports

Baseball,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and handball are popular sports in Río Grande.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Río Grande include: * Antonio Bachour - Named one of the ten best pastry chefs in America * Raymond Burgos - Major League Baseball pitcher * Ovidio de Jesús - Puerto Rican male sprinter who competed at international events * Luis Pizarro - Puerto Rican boxer who at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow * Rafael Quintero - Puerto Rican diver who competed in the men's 10 m platform event at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Río Grande is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Angel "Bori" González, who was first elected in a special election on September 14, 2014, and has since been re-elected three times, most recently at the 2024 Puerto Rican general elections. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VIII, which is represented by two Senators. In 2024, Marissa Jiménez and Héctor Joaquín Sánchez Álvarez were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 48 bridges in Río Grande.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The Río Grande flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal size, upper one is green with lower one been blue, and united by a white triangle placed on the side of the mast. On the white triangle is a Puerto Rican parrot.

Coat of arms

In a silver field, two Puerto Rican parrot (''Amazona vitatta''), accompanied by a waving blue stripe, a green mountain with three peaks. The top portion of the shield is blue, with an opened silver book, accompanied on each side by five gold coins. Topped by a three tower gold crown outlined in black with green openings.

Gallery

Sites around Río Grande: Radar towers atop a mountain at El Yunque rain forest - panoramio.jpg, Radar towers atop a mountain at El Yunque rain forest Puerto Rico beach at the Gran Melia Golf Resort, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, U.S.jpg, Beach in Río Grande Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, Río Grande, Puerto Rico.jpg, Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa Evening at El Yunque - panoramio.jpg, Evening at El Yunque Winding road at El Yunque - panoramio.jpg, Winding road at El Yunque Waterfall in El Yunque.jpg, Waterfall in El Yunque Baño Grande, Río Grande, Puerto Rico.jpg, Bridge in Baño Grande Baño Grande en El Yunque, Puerto Rico.jpg, Waterfall at Baño Grande

References

External links

Río Grande and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Puerto Rico Government Directory - Rio Grande
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Grande Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1840 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area