Salinas (, ) 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' ...

in the southern part of

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 southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. Salinas is spread over 5 barrios and Salinas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It has long been a fishing spot for

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

, known for its beaches, fish variety and the birthplace of the famous "

mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

isleño". Although Salinas doesn't have any commercial airports, there is a military training area there, Camp Santiago, which is one of the training centers of 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 ...

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

, State Guard, U.S. Army

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

, U.S. Army Reserve and the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

also conduct military training at Camp Santiago.

History

Salinas was founded in 1840. On July 22, 1841, its first municipal council was established by Don Agustín Colón Pacheco as Mayor, Don Jose Maria Cadavedo as Sargent of Arms, Don Juan Colon as Captain of the Civil Guard and five hacendados which were Don Antonio Semidey, Don Antonio Morelli, Don Francisco Secola, Don Julio Delannoy and Don Jose Antonio Torres. In 1847 it was annexed to the municipality of Guayama until 1851 when it regained its status as a municipality. 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 conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Salinas was 5,731 In the 21st century the availability of clean drinking water has become an issue for Puerto Rico and especially for Salinas which is located in a dry region of the island. On September 20, 2017

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 ...

struck the island of Puerto Rico. In Salinas, 2800 homes were destroyed by the winds, flooded rivers, and ocean surge. During Hurricane Fiona on September 18, 2022, flood waters from of rain caused the river to flood neighborhoods and destroy homes in Salinas.

Geography

Salinas is on the southern coast. * Gorges: The Callao, La Palma y Majada and Pasto Viejo. *Lagoons: Mar Negro and Punta Arctias. *Rivers: Río Jájome, Río Jueyes, Río Lapa and Río Nigua (Río Salinas). *Mountains: Cerro Las Tetas, Montes Oscuros

Barrios

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

Quebrada Yeguas Quebrada Yeguas is a barrio in the municipality of Salinas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,528. History Quebrada Yeguas was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under ...

# Río Jueyes #

Salinas barrio-pueblo Salinas barrio-pueblo is a Barrios of Puerto Rico, barrio and the administrative center (Seat of government, seat) of Salinas, Puerto Rico, Salinas, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,453. As was customary in Spain, in P ...

Sectors

Barrios (which are like 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 Salinas: Las Mareas, Playita, el Coco, Comunidad Aguirre, El Coquí, Parcelas Vázquez, San Felipe, Sector Borinquén, and Sector Villa Cofresí.

Climate

According to data provided by the Aguirre weather station, Salinas has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Aw''). The annual average temperature of Salinas is , of which August is the hottest month with an average temperature of , and January is the coolest month with an average temperature of . There are about 105 days with a temperature above every year, and there are 4 hot days with a temperature above every year; at the same time, there are also 4 nights with a temperature below every year. The annual precipitation in Salinas is , of which the rainy season is from May to November, and the precipitation accounts for about 82.5% of the whole year. Among them, September is the wettest, and the precipitation can reach . The temperature extremes ever recorded in Salinas ranged from on December 3, 2013 to on September 18, 2016.

Economy

Agriculture

Salinas is one of the main agricultural producers on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. It has large banana and

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

farms in its Lapa and Aguirre barrios. The Río Jueyes barrio is one of the main producers of beef in the south, counting with La Hacienda Las Carolinas which supplies Ganaderia Santiago, a slaughter house, with meat. Salinas also is headquarters for Canto Alegre, a company which specializes in poultry. This company supplies most of Puerto Rico's supermarkets with fresh poultry.

Business

*Apparel *Commercial fishing: Salinas has a private marina with a hotel and convention center.

Industry

The Aguirre Sugar Cane Mill was the last operational

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

mill in Puerto Rico and closed its doors in 1993. The

Central Aguirre Historic District The Central Aguirre Historic District, in Aguirre, Salinas, Puerto Rico was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Following the acquisition of Puerto Rico by the U.S. government in 1898, as a colonial consequence of the Span ...

is listed on the National Register of Historic places but there are no current plans to renovate the area and is now mostly in ruins. Some other industries in Salinas include electrical and electronic machinery, plastics, sunglasses.

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 17 beaches in Salinas. Some of Salina's main attractions are: * Albergue Olímpico (Olympic Hostel), is a sports complex and hostel with air-conditioned rooms. * Antigua Central Aguirre (Sugar Cane Mill) * Camp Santiago * Montes Oscuros * Monumento al Jíbaro

Culture

Festivals and events

Salinas 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 Salinas include: * Abey Carnival – February to celebrate Abey – Cacique (Chief) of Yucayeque, a former Taino village in the area of Abeyno, Salinas * – June *

Demographics

Government

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. Karilyn Bonilla Colón (of the Popular Democratic Party) was elected as mayor at the 2012 general election, succeeding Carlos Rodríguez Mateo. 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 41 bridges in Salinas.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

On a green rectangular field, five white isosceles triangles equal in size, placed in the center of the flag and forming a row that covers the extent of the background. The green represents the land and the triangles hills of salt from which the name of the town is derived.

Coat of arms

The shield uses the traditional colors of the town; green and silver. The salt knolls indicate in graphical form the name of the town: Salinas. The fish refer to the fishing. The sugar cane leaves that surround the shield, symbolize the sugar cane plantations.

Notable people

* Angel "Cholo" Espada - former

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

(WBA) welterweight champion of the world * Evelina Lopez Antonetty - Puerto Rican civil rights activist and founder of United Bronx Parents * Zuleyka Rivera -

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss U ...

* Héctor Santiago-Colón -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Jay Wheeler José Ángel López Martínez (born April 25, 1994), known by his stage name Jay Wheeler, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Wheeler first became widely known after a video of him singing went viral video, viral in 2016, after which he beg ...

- reggaeton singer * Georgina Borri - )born 1954) actress

Gallery

File:Trees in Salinas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Trees in Salinas File:Beach in Salinas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Beach in Salinas File:Cordillera Central, Salinas, Puerto Rico.jpg, Montes Oscuros File:Alcaldia Municipal (City Hall) of the Municipality of Salinas, Puerto Rico (1920) - photograph - page 151.jpg, The Town hall building in 1920

References

External links

Puerto Rico Government Directory – Salinas
• https://www.salinaspuertorico.com • http://www.caneydelafamasalinas.com {{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated coastal places in Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1841 1841 establishments in the Spanish Empire