Trujillo Alto () 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 northeastern

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

on the boundary between the Northern Karst Belt and Sierra de Luquillo, it is north of Caguas and Gurabo, southeast of

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 ...

, and west of Carolina. Part of the San Juan metropolitan area, Trujillo Alto is spread over 6 barrios and the downtown area and administrative center of Trujillo Alto Pueblo. Trujillo Alto was officially founded in 1801, but gained more importance during the 20th century. Due to its proximity to the capital,

, the city has become a suburb of the metropolitan area, which has sparked its growth during recent years. The population of Trujillo Alto has increased through the last century from 9,576 (1930) to 74,482 (2010). According to the 2010 Census, it is Puerto Rico's tenth-most populated municipality. In 1953–54, the Carraízo

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

was constructed in Trujillo Alto by the Sumner Sollitt Construction Company of Chicago, under contract by the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority. The dam forms the Loíza Lake, a reservoir which serves as the main source of the water supply for

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

History

The region of what is now Trujillo Alto belonged to the

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

region of Cayniabón, which stretched from the northeast coast of Puerto Rico into the central region of the island. The region was led by

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

Canobaná. Archeological findings have identified two sites within the municipality of Trujillo Alto with archeological significance: Las Cuevas, which was studied by Irving Rouse, and Quebrada Grande. After the Spanish colonization, families started settling at both sides of the Río Grande de Loíza. During the 17th century, the Spanish crown granted Alonso Pizarro Hermona, from Trujillo in Spain, a vast ranch that covered the region. Residents began using his family name to refer to the location. Eventually, the inhabitants went to the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and asked for a permit to build a chapel, which was a requisite to officially found a town. Despite some opposition, Trujillo Alto was founded on January 8, 1801, under the name of . The town was settled on a meander of the Río Grande de Loíza. Around 1820, the name ''Trujillo Alto'' was used to differentiate the town from that of ''Trujillo Bajo'' (which later became known as Carolina). In 1826, communication to and from the town improved with the construction of two bridges: one into

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

, and the other into Río Grande. In 1844, Trujillo Alto was composed of only five barrios. A few years later, the first school was built. During that time, its population decreased notably due to an epidemic of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

. In 1898, when Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain, it became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the US Department of War conducted its first census of Puerto Rico and found that the population of Trujillo Alto was 5,683. In 1902, the

Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico () is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an uppe ...

approved a law for the consolidation of certain municipalities. As a result, Trujillo Alto was incorporated into the town and municipality of bordering Carolina. In 1905 the law was revoked returning Trujillo Alto to its status of municipality again. In 1952, along with the Carraízo Dam constructed in barrio Carraízo, a filtration plant was constructed in barrio Cuevas in Trujillo Alto. The proximity of the city to the capital,

, sparked significant growth and development in the region and during the 20th century, the population of Trujillo Alto increased dramatically. As of 2010, the city is the tenth-most populous city of

. Mayor José Luis Cruz Cruz, who has been serving since 2009, has labeled the city as "''The New Metropolis''".

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 Trujillo Alto, with its rain and winds. The hurricane winds and rain damaged infrastructure and caused almost the entire electrical system of Trujillo Alto to collapse, leaving its nearly 75,000 residents with no electrical power. Also, 90% of the residents lost access to clean,

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

Geography

Trujillo Alto sits on the Northern Coastal Plain region of Puerto Rico. It is bordered by the municipalities of

, Carolina, Gurabo, and Caguas. Trujillo Alto is a small municipality, covering only 21.47 square miles (55.6 km²). Trujillo Alto's terrain is mostly plain in the north, while the south features small hills. Heights can range from 660 to 1,600 feet (200–500 meters) above sea level.

Water features

Trujillo Alto's hydrographic system consists mainly of the Río Grande de Loíza, which crosses the municipality. There are also several creeks in the city: Colorada, Infierno, Limones, Naranjo, Grande, Pastrana, Haya Fría, and Maracuto. Also, Trujillo Alto is the site of

's main water reservoir: The Carraízo Dam, at the Loíza Lake. Both were built in 1953 by the

Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority The Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority (PRASA; Spanish: ''Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de Puerto Rico'') is a water company and the government-owned corporation responsible for water quality, management, and supply in Pue ...

(PRASA). Although it was originally built to generate hydroelectricity, it is now used solely as a public water-supply source. The Loíza Lake is also used for water sports and recreational fishing.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as . # Carraízo # Cuevas # Dos Bocas # La Gloria # Quebrada Grande # Quebrada Negrito # St. Just # Trujillo Alto barrio-pueblo Trujillo Alto's townscape is fairly simple. Most of the barrios are spread through the rural section of the city, while the downtown area (Trujillo Alto Pueblo) is small, consisting only of eight primary streets. This gave the city the nickname of the "City of the Eight Streets". Also, there are no high-rise buildings and structures.

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 Trujillo Alto: San Nicolás neighborhood, Bethania, Comunidad Talanco, El Hoyo II, El Resbalón, Parcelas Carraízo, Parcelas Ramón T. Colón, Sector Arayanes, Sector La Prá, Sector Las Cruces, Sector Los Nuñez, Villa Escondida, Villa Margarita and Villa Platanal.

Climate

Tourism

There are several places of interest for tourists to visit in Trujillo Alto. The ''Bicentenary Walkway'', located in the entrance to the city at the PR-181, features the remodeled historic steel bridge (one of the first permanent crossings of the Grande de Loiza River) as well as a

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

. It was built in 2001 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Trujillo Alto. Also on the PR-181, is the Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation which was established in 1980. It includes a museum, a historic archive, and a park. The Carraízo Dam and the Loíza Lake reservoir are also frequently visited. Other places of interest are the ''Carmelitas de San José Convent'', the ''Lourdes Grotto'', and the ''Trujillo Alto Mountain Spring''.

Economy

The economy of Trujillo Alto has relied mostly on agriculture, particularly

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 ...

, coffee, tobacco, and minor fruits. Cattle ranching is also a source of economy in Trujillo Alto. In recent years, commerce and industry have become integral parts of the economy of the city. Trujillo Alto is the site of several factories of nutritional products, wood, metal, electrical machinery, and others. There are also stone quarries in town for the production of building materials. As of 2013, Trujillo Alto's unemployment was 10.2%, making it the second municipality with the lowest rate after Guaynabo.

Culture

Festivals and events

Trujillo Alto 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. The (

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

Festival) has been held in July since 2011. It is an horticultural competition and festival where orchids are ranked, exhibited and sold. The (Macabeo Festival), a festival celebrating a food specific to Trujillo Alto, is celebrated each year around the second week of December. Other festivals and fairs celebrated in Trujillo Alto include an agricultural fair held in January and a

Paso Fino The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. ''Pasos'' are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especi ...

Festival held in November. In 2001, Trujillo Alto commemorated its bicentenary with the opening of a new park in the PR-181, which included a remodeling of the historical steel bridge.

Religion

There are a number of churches and chapels from several denominations in Trujillo Alto. The main parish, Santa Cruz Church, was built in 1817. Part of a related structure was damaged by Hurricane San Felipe in 1928. The current structure was designed by Luis Perocier and built in 1933. Trujillo Alto has also been a place of pilgrimage for

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

after a shrine to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

was blessed in 1925. The site also features a

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. The ''Gruta de Lourdes'' (Lourdes Grotto) is visited frequently by religious people and tourists. There's also a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in Trujillo Alto called the ''Convento Carmelitas de San José''.

Sports

Trujillo Alto doesn't have a professional sports team. However, there are several sports facilities in the city for amateur and novice leagues. In 2011, the Rubén Sánchez Montañez Court in Trujillo Alto, hosted the Cangrejeros de Santurce team of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

(BSN), which is the professional basketball league. The facility has a capacity for 2,250 people. In September, Trujillo Alto celebrates the ''Arrecosta'o'' Marathon, which is one of the most important events in the city. The race has been celebrated yearly since 1985. It originally covered a 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) trajectory around town, but in 2007, it was shortened to 3.1 miles (5 kilometers). In 2010, the marathon was recognized as one of the best organized events of the year. The Loíza Lake is also a frequent spot for

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

and

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

. The lake features a wide variety of fishes like:

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

, peacock bass,

sea chubs The sea chubs, also known as rudderfish and pilot fish and in Hawaiian language, Hawaiian as ''enenue'' or ''nenue'', are a family (biology), family, Kyphosidae, (from Greek, ''kyphos'' = hump) of fishes in the order Perciformes native to the At ...

, tilapia, and beardfish.

Cuisine

The ''macabeo'' is the most known typical food of Trujillo Alto. It is a fried dish made with plantains and meat. The popularity of the dish is such that a festival is celebrated annually on its honor. The ''Macabeo Festival'' began in the early 1980s and is held annually in December.

Demographics

The population of Trujillo Alto increased steadily during the 20th century and until the year 2000. There was a 1.2% decrease from 2000 to 2010 and a 9.5% decrease from 2010 to 2020. According to the 2020 census, the municipality had 67,740 inhabitants. Despite the decline, in 2020 Trujillo Alto was the tenth largest municipality in Puerto Rico, in terms of population. According to the 2010 Census, 72% of the population identifies themselves as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, and 14.6% as

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Also, 47.5% of the population identified themselves as males, and 52.5% as females. Finally, 25% of the population is under 18 years old. The next biggest percentage of population (20.7%) is between 35 and 49 years old.

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto is administered by a mayor. The first official mayor of Trujillo Alto was Juan Francisco Carazo, who was one of the residents that vouched for the founding of the town in 1801. The mayor as of July 16, 2022 is Pedro Rodríguez González. Before him was José Luis Cruz Cruz (from the Popular Democratic Party), who was elected in the 2004 general election. 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. Representatives Wanda Del Valle Correa (District 38) and Roberto Rivera Ruiz (District 39), both from the PPD, represent different regions of Trujillo Alto in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

The flag of Trujillo Alto features a white background with the town's

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 ...

in the center.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms features a shield with a blue border, with eight spurts of water representing the many springs, creeks, and

rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

that flow in town. Inside the shield, there's a silver field with three green mountains and a blue Latin cross above them. The flag features a white banner below the shield with the name of the city, and a

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

in the form of a five-tower mural crown alluding to the

Spanish crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. The banner and the coronet aren't featured in the flag.

Nicknames

Trujillo Alto is known by various names. It is known as the " City of Springs" for its many rivers and creeks. It is also known as the "''Town of the Eight Streets''" because the downtown area consists of eight streets. Trujillo Alto is also known as the "''City in the Country''", for its proximity to the San Juan Metropolitan Area despite being mostly a mountain town. Finally, it is also called the "''Laid-back Town''".

Transportation

The main road to Trujillo Alto is the PR-181 that crosses the municipality from north to south. Distance from the capital is , with a travel time of roughly 15 minutes by car. Other highways that lead to Trujillo Alto are PR-852 of the Quebrada Grande neighborhood and Dos Bocas, PR-175 of the neighborhood Carraízo, the Las Cumbres Avenue and PR-851 from La Gloria neighborhood. In the past, communication with the town was limited because of its location on the other side of the Río Grande de Loíza. The construction of two bridges in 1826 helped facilitate access to the town. In 1939, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

built a steel bridge in the entrance to the town on the PR-181, to replace one of the older ones. Although the bridge is no longer used for vehicles, it has become a symbol of the city and still stands today. The northern part of Trujillo Alto is serviced by the

Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority The Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses (AMA, English: Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority) is a government-owned corporation and public transport bus service based in the San Juan metropolitan area. It is part of the Puerto Rico Department o ...

, with various stops along the PR-181 and nearby neighborhoods. Other public transportation in the city is provided by taxis and independent public cars. There are 11 bridges in Trujillo Alto.

Notable natives and residents

* Dariam Acevedo – 1984 Olympic gold medalist representing Puerto Rico in female beach volleyball * Jasmine Camacho-Quinn – 2020 Olympic gold medalist representing Puerto Rico in Women's 100m Hurdles, was able to represent Puerto Rico because her family, namely her mother, is from Trujillo Alto. * Tulio Larrínaga – Architect of the city of San Juan in 1872. * Yolandita Monge – International singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. * Irad Ortiz Jr – Champion jockey and winner of over 3000 races in the USA. Also three-time consecutive winner (2018,2019,2020) of the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey of the year. * Jose Ortiz – Champion jockey and winner of over 2300 races in the USA. 2017 winner of the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey of the year.

Gallery

Parroquia Santa Cruz de Trujillo Alto.jpg, in Trujillo Alto Pueblo, 2007

References

External links

Trujillo Alto and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Trujillo Alto Municipality on Facebook

News out of Trujillo Alto on Presencia PR
{{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1801 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area