Barranquitas (Barranquitas)
Barranquitas is about one hour by winding roads from San Juan, the capital. It is nestled amid hills and mountains, and nearby, between Barranquitas and Aibonito, is the San Cristóbal Canyon; one of the deepest canyons in the West Indies. For years, the overlook was used as a municipal garbage; in the last decade, the refuse was removed and the site restored.
Barranquitas's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was called Orocobix and his yucayeque or tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino.
The town was founded in 1803 by Antonio Aponte Ramos. Early in the 20th century, Barranquitas residents, known as Barranquiteños, had a short but legendary territory war with residents of the city of Comerío.
In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Barranquitas was 8,103.
Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Barranquitas with its significant amount of rainfall and its nearly category 5 winds. Many residents did not receive help for weeks after the hurricane made landfall as entry into the municipality was hampered by downed trees and telephone poles, landslides, and highways that had split in two.
In Barranquitas, up to 1000 homes, and its highways were destroyed by landslides. Forty days after the hurricane, none of Barranquitas' 29,000 residents had their electrical power restored. Barranquitas' agriculture industry was decimated with one farmer saying he'd lost his five thousand plantain trees, apio, and other minor crops.
Scenes around Barranquitas after Hurricane María:
Map - Barranquitas (Barranquitas)
Map
Country - Puerto Rico
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
ES | Spanish language |