Vega Alta () 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 ...

. Vega Alta is on the northern coast of the island, north of Morovis and Corozal; east of Vega Baja; and west of

Dorado Dorado (, ) is a constellation in the Southern Sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the mahi-mahi (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' ("golden") in Sp ...

with an area of . Vega Alta is subdivided into seven barrios and Vega Alta barrio-pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. Vega Alta is west 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 ...

, the capital of Puerto Rico. Vega Alta is known for the beach at Cerro Gordo. Other points of interest include the town's Catholic church, known as Inmaculada Concepción, which was founded in 1813, and the Vega Alta Forest. During the first week of December, Vega Alta celebrates its patron saint, the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

. ”Vega Alta” translates to “high meadow” or "upper meadow" in English.

History

Vega Alta was founded in 1775 by Francisco de los Olivos. It was first named La Vega de Espinosa and popularly known as ''el pueblo de los 'ñangotaos'' ("the town of the squatters", in reference to the ''jíbaros'' country folk who would wait for the train in a

squatting position Squatting is a versatile List of human positions, posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves supporting the weight of the body on the ischial tuberosities of the pelvis, with ...

, due to lack of benches). Before this, it was part of a group of towns known as Las Vegas. It was then separated into two municipalities: Vega Baja and the other Vega Alta. 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 A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

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 of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Vega Alta was 6,107. On October 12, 1898, the city's mayor, Francisco Vega, received U.S. troops as part of the

. On that same day, for the first time in Vega Alta's history, the U.S. flag was lifted on city hall. From 1902 to 1905, Vega Alta became once more part of the neighboring municipality of Vega Baja. In 1905, the government of Puerto Rico passed a law, allowing Vega Alta to become a municipality with its own limits. Hacienda Carmen and Hacienda Ortega sugar plantations were owned by Juan Gualberto Landron y Martinez born in 1791 in Toa Baja . He owned slaves and purchased them, some coming directly from Africa. The second-largest

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in Puerto Rico, built in 1992, is located in Vega Alta.

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 Vega Alta and 90% of homes made of wood were destroyed.

Geography

Vega Alta is on the northern coast in the Northern Karst region. Río Cibuco, Río Mavilla and Río Unibón are located in Vega Alta. The Javier Calderón Beach, better known as Cerro Gordo Beach is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation. Vega Alta has a land area of 27.75 square miles (71.87 km²) and water area of 9.76 square miles (25.28 km²).

Barrios

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

Bajura Bajura District ( ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Martadi (today part of Badimalika municipality) as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population o ...

# Candelaria # Cienegueta # Espinosa # Maricao # Mavilla # Sabana # Vega Alta barrio-pueblo

Sectors

Barrios (which are 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 Vega Alta: , and .

Climate

According to the Weather Channel's website, June is the warmest month, March is the coolest month, October is the wettest month, and June is the driest month. Records: *The highest recorded temperature was 98 °F in July 2007. *The lowest recorded temperature was 40 °F in January 1945.

Economy

In 1908, Vega Alta was producing coffee, sugar, oranges, tobacco and rum.

Agriculture

*Banana, fruits, grains, and sugar cane. *Flowers and ornamental plants. *Dairy and meat cattle, pigs, and poultry.

Industry

*Manufacture of chemicals, electrical and electronic machinery, furniture, food, and plastics. *Logistics Center

Tourism

There are 6 beaches in Vega Alta, including Cerro Gordo.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

The Puerto Rican, award-winning, musician and playwright

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals '' In the Heights'' and ''Hamilton'', and the soundtracks for the animated films '' Moana' ...

who created the Broadway hit, ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'', is from a family with roots in Vega Alta. In 2017, his father opened , a cafe and restaurant in the downtown area of Vega Alta, and in 2019 Lin-Manuel moved his memorabilia to a new gallery, the ''Lin-Manuel Miranda Gallery'', a few steps from ''Placita de Güisín'' and opened a store there too, ''TeeRico''. The location has become a tourist attraction. In one of his musicals, "''In the Heights''", a woman named ''"Dani''" supposedly is from ''Vega Alta'', according to the following lines:

''When I was a little girl, growing up in the hills of Vega Alta'' ''My favorite time of year, was christmastime.''

Culture

Festivals and events

Vega Alta 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 December. 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 Vega Alta include: *

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

Fiestas - January * ( Sung Rosary) - February * - February * Kite Festival - July * Virgen del Carmen Parade - July *

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

Festival - October

Sports

Vega Alta Maceteros are the

Double-A (baseball) Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each te ...

team of Vega Alta. Vega Alta is known for having amateur ball players as well as professional.

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 ...

is played in local communities. Other sports practiced include

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, and

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

among others. Vega Alta is also known for having famous Major League Baseball players such as The Molina Brothers which consist of

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former catcher who is the manager of the Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played his entir ...

, Bengie Molina and José Molina. Other famous sport personalities include former

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

center fielder

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and current musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through ...

and professional boxer Ángel Chacón.

Music

A well known musician from Vega Alta was Ladislao Martinez a.k.a. ''El Maestro Ladi'' (June 27, 1898–February 1, 1979), a master cuatro musician. He became the first Puerto Rican to play a cuatro solo on the radio. Fiel a la Vega, a rock en español (rock in Spanish) band, was formed in 1994. Band members Tito Auger and Ricky Laureano are from Vega Alta, while brothers Pedro Arraiza and Jorge Arraiza come from next-door Vega Baja. Their first album spawned hits like ''Salimos de Aquí'' and ''El Wanabí'', both of which were released with videos.

Demographic

Government

The main women's prison of the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Escuela Industrial para Mujeres in Vega Alta, opened in 1954, replacing a prison in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

; work began on the facility in 1952. Puerto Rico also operates the in Vega Alta, which opened in 1987.

Past and present mayors

*Antonio Navas *Lorenzo Cabrera *Emilio Escalera *Arturo Rivera *Ramon Cestero *Emilio Davila Diaz *Jose Vega Nevarez *Francisco Chinea *Carmelo Mercado *Jacinto Seijo *Jose Rosado Negron, (1977–1980; b. 1934, d. 1999) *Manuel "Manolin" Chinea (PDP, 1981–1993) * Isabelo "Chabelo" Molina (PNP, 1993–2001) * Juan "Mane" Cruzado (PPD, 2001–2002) resigned, Vice-Mayor Jose Colon assumed post. *Jose Colon (PPD, 2002–2005) *Isabelo "Chabelo" Molina (PNP, 2005–2017) *Oscar Santiago Martinez (PPD, 2017–2021) * María Vega Pagán (PNP, 2021–Present)

Transportation

Puerto Rico's Highway 22 provides access to Vega Alta from as far away as Mayagüez, and connects the municipality to

. Highway 2 also provides access from the western municipalities of Manatí,

and the eastern San Juan suburban municipalities of Bayamón and Guaynabo bordering the shore to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. It takes approximately 30 minutes to reach the town from San Juan. The closest airport is

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín'') , previously known as Isla Verde International Airport (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Internacional de Isla Verde''), ...

in Carolina. Other public transportation close to the area is

Tren Urbano The ''Tren Urbano'' (English language, English: Urban Train) is a List of automated urban metro subway systems, automated rapid transit system serving the San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area, main metropolitan area of Puerto Rico ...

metro system in Bayamón. There are 16 bridges in Vega Alta.

Symbols

The has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

This municipality has a flag which is made up of 7 vertical stripes; blue in the center, with narrower green and white stripes on its sides.

Coat of arms

This municipality has a coat of arms which was designed by Roberto Biascochea Lota. It consists of three bars, the center one has a bouquet of natural lilies. It symbolizes the Immaculate Conception of Mary, who is represented by the silver and azure colors. On its sides are two olive branches, a symbol of the town's founder, Francisco de los Olivos. Two sugarcane branches are featured, because it an important part of Vega Alta's economy.

Anthem

Th
anthem
used by Vega Alta is the musical composition created in 1958, with lyrics by Domingo Figueroa Ramírez Arreglo and music by Domingo and Elliot A. Knight.

Education

Public schools

* Antonio Paoli/ Elementary * Elemental Urbana/Elementary * Elisa Davila Vazquez/Elementary * Ignacio Miranda/elementary school * Dr. Cañaco Stalingrad III/ High School * Jose D. Rosado/Elementary * Jose M. Pagan/Elementary * Rafael Hernadez/Elementary * Apolo San Antonio/Former high school * Nueva Escuela Brenas/Middle School,

Second Unit A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...

* Adelaida Vega/Middle School, Second Unit * Ileana de Gracia/

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

* Ladislao Martinez (Maestro Ladi)/Second High School

Private schools

* Academia Dicipulos de Cristo (

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

)/Elementary and Middle School * Colegio de la Vega * Academia Cambu

Notable natives and residents

- Professional baseball player * Dennis Rivera - Professional wrestler, brother of Savio Vega * Savio Vega - Professional wrestler, brother of Dennis Rivera

References

External links

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico Senado (in Spanish)
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Puerto Rico Populated places established in 1775 1770s establishments in Puerto Rico 1770s establishments in the Spanish West Indies 1775 establishments in the Spanish Empire