Salinas
Municipio de Salinas
Town and Municipality
Town Hall of Salinas
Town Hall of Salinas
Flag of Salinas
Flag
Coat of arms of Salinas
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
"El Pueblo del Mojo Isleño", "Cuna del Mojito Isleño", "Los Marlins"
Anthem: "Salinas"
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Salinas Municipality
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Salinas Municipality
Coordinates: 17°58′37″N 66°17′53″W / 17.977°N 66.298°W / 17.977; -66.298
Sovereign state United States
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
FoundedJuly 22, 1851
Barrios
6 barrios
Government
 • MayorKarilyn Bonilla Colón (PPD)
 • Senatorial dist.6 – Guayama
 • Representative dist.30 
Area
 • Total69.7 sq mi (180.4 km2)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total25,789
 • Rank46th in Puerto Rico
 • Density370/sq mi (140/km2)
 • Racial groups
(2020 Census)
16.3%White
9.8% Black
0.6% American Indian/AN
0.0% Asian
0.0% Native Hawaiian/PI
32.3% Some other race
41.0% Two or more races
DemonymSalinenses
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
ZIP Code
00751
Area code787/939
Major routes

Salinas (Spanish pronunciation: [saˈlinas], locally [saˈlinaʔ]) is a town and municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of Guayama. 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, known for its beaches, fish variety and the birthplace of the famous "mojo 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. Army National Guard, Air National Guard, State Guard, U.S. Army ROTC, U.S. Army Reserve and the U.S. Army 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 under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 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.[2]

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico. In Salinas, 2800 homes were destroyed by the winds, flooded rivers, and ocean surge.[3]

During Hurricane Fiona on September 18, 2022, flood waters from 760 millimetres (30 in) of rain caused the river to flood neighborhoods and destroy homes in Salinas.[4]

Geography

Mangroves in Salinas
Subdivisions of Salinas.

Salinas is on the southern coast.[5]

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 "el pueblo".[6][7][8][9]

  1. Aguirre
  2. Lapa
  3. Palmas
  4. Quebrada Yeguas
  5. Río Jueyes
  6. Salinas barrio-pueblo[10]

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions)[10] and subbarrios,[11] are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[12][13][14]

Special Communities

See also: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development
Children of Las Mareas community welcoming "Tuque the manatee"

Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. 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.[15]

Climate

Climate chart for Salinas

According to data provided by the Aguirre weather station, Salinas has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw). The annual average temperature of Salinas is 78.3 °F (25.7 °C), of which August is the hottest month with an average temperature of 81.0 °F (27.2 °C), and January is the coolest month with an average temperature of 75.2 °F (24.0 °C).[16] There are about 105 days with a temperature above 90 °F (32 °C) every year, and there are 4 hot days with a temperature above 95 °F (35 °C) every year; at the same time, there are also 4 nights with a temperature below 60 °F (16 °C) every year.[17] The annual precipitation in Salinas is 40.37 inches (1,025 mm), of which the rainy season is from May to November, and the precipitation accounts for about 82.5% of the whole year.[16] Among them, September is the wettest, and the precipitation can reach 6.85 inches (174 mm).[16] The temperature extremes ever recorded in Salinas ranged from 51 °F (11 °C) on December 3, 2013 to 100 °F (38 °C) on September 18, 2016.[17]

Climate data for Aguirre, Salinas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1955–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 93
(34) 		92
(33) 		94
(34) 		96
(36) 		94
(34) 		98
(37) 		98
(37) 		99
(37) 		100
(38) 		98
(37) 		96
(36) 		95
(35) 		100
(38)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 89.2
(31.8) 		89.5
(31.9) 		89.7
(32.1) 		90.8
(32.7) 		91.0
(32.8) 		92.3
(33.5) 		93.7
(34.3) 		94.6
(34.8) 		94.7
(34.8) 		92.8
(33.8) 		91.8
(33.2) 		90.7
(32.6) 		95.8
(35.4)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 84.1
(28.9) 		84.1
(28.9) 		84.3
(29.1) 		85.4
(29.7) 		86.4
(30.2) 		87.3
(30.7) 		87.8
(31.0) 		88.6
(31.4) 		88.5
(31.4) 		87.7
(30.9) 		86.8
(30.4) 		85.2
(29.6) 		86.4
(30.2)
Daily mean °F (°C) 75.2
(24.0) 		75.6
(24.2) 		75.7
(24.3) 		77.3
(25.2) 		79.2
(26.2) 		80.6
(27.0) 		80.6
(27.0) 		81.0
(27.2) 		80.6
(27.0) 		79.8
(26.6) 		78.3
(25.7) 		76.3
(24.6) 		78.3
(25.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 66.4
(19.1) 		67.1
(19.5) 		67.1
(19.5) 		69.2
(20.7) 		72.0
(22.2) 		73.9
(23.3) 		73.5
(23.1) 		73.4
(23.0) 		72.8
(22.7) 		71.8
(22.1) 		69.9
(21.1) 		67.5
(19.7) 		70.4
(21.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 62.2
(16.8) 		63.1
(17.3) 		62.9
(17.2) 		64.3
(17.9) 		67.4
(19.7) 		70.3
(21.3) 		68.7
(20.4) 		69.4
(20.8) 		69.0
(20.6) 		67.8
(19.9) 		65.7
(18.7) 		63.4
(17.4) 		59.7
(15.4)
Record low °F (°C) 55
(13) 		57
(14) 		54
(12) 		57
(14) 		60
(16) 		62
(17) 		61
(16) 		58
(14) 		58
(14) 		57
(14) 		54
(12) 		51
(11) 		51
(11)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.26
(32) 		1.24
(31) 		1.36
(35) 		1.51
(38) 		4.51
(115) 		2.92
(74) 		3.60
(91) 		5.27
(134) 		6.85
(174) 		5.66
(144) 		4.53
(115) 		1.66
(42) 		40.37
(1,025)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.6 6.6 5.8 6.5 8.8 11.1 9.6 9.8 10.1 11.0 9.6 7.3 102.8
Source: NOAA[17][16]

Economy

Agriculture

Picking tomatoes in Salinas

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

Industry

The Aguirre Sugar Cane Mill was the last operational sugarcane mill in Puerto Rico and closed its doors in 1993. The Central Aguirre Historic District 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.[19] Some other industries in Salinas include electrical and electronic machinery, plastics, sunglasses.

Tourism

View of "El Cayo Matias" in Salinas

Landmarks and places of interest

There are 17 beaches in Salinas.[20] Some of Salina's main attractions are:

Culture

Festivals and events

Salinas celebrates its patron saint festival in September. The Fiestas Patronales Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[5]

Other festivals and events celebrated in Salinas include:

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19005,731—
191011,40399.0%
192012,97113.8%
193015,44619.1%
194019,40025.6%
195023,43520.8%
196023,133−1.3%
197021,837−5.6%
198026,43821.1%
199028,3357.2%
200031,1139.8%
201031,078−0.1%
202025,789−17.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[22]
1899 (shown as 1900)[23] 1910–1930[24]
1930–1950[25] 1960–2000[26] 2010[8] 2020[27]
Demographic distribution
Race – Salinas, Puerto Rico – 2000 Census[29]
Race Population % of Total
White 4,645 74.6%
Black/African American 647 10.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 29 0.4%
Asian 8 0.1%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2 0.1%
Some other race 599 9.8%
Two or more races 211 4.5%

Government

Main article: Mayoralty in Puerto Rico

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 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.[30]

Transportation

There are 41 bridges in Salinas.[31]

Symbols

The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.[32]

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.[33]

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.[33]

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Bureau, US Census. "PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (November 23, 2019). "Puerto Rico's Next Big Crisis Is Water". HuffPost. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "María, un nombre que no vamos a olvidar. Salinas quedó devastado por los vientos y la marejada ciclónica de María" [Maria, a name we will never forget. Salinas was destroyed by the winds and surge]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). June 13, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "Fiona's floods devastated their homes. These residents are ready to start over". NPR.org. September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Salinas Municipality". enciclopediapr.org. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  6. ^ Picó, Rafael; Buitrago de Santiago, Zayda; Berrios, Hector H. Nueva geografía de Puerto Rico: física, económica, y social, por Rafael Picó. Con la colaboración de Zayda Buitrago de Santiago y Héctor H. Berrios. San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  7. ^ Gwillim Law (May 20, 2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. McFarland. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-4766-0447-3. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Puerto Rico:2010:population and housing unit counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Map of Salinas at the Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition". factfinder.com. US Census. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  11. ^ "P.L. 94-171 VTD/SLD Reference Map (2010 Census): Salinas Municipio, PR" (PDF). www2.census.gov. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "Agencia: Oficina del Coordinador General para el Financiamiento Socioeconómico y la Autogestión (Proposed 2016 Budget)". Puerto Rico Budgets (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza: Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997–2004 (first ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  14. ^ "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  15. ^ Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza:Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997–2004 (Primera edición ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, p. 273, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  16. ^ a b c d "Station: AGUIRRE, PR RQ". U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "Empresarios locales transforman la Marina de Salinas con una inversión de $8.5 millones" [Local businessmen transform the marina of Salinas with an investment of $8.5 million]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Ruins of Central Aguirre". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  20. ^ "Las 1,200 playas de Puerto Rico [The 1200 beaches of Puerto Rico]". Primera Hora (in Spanish). April 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  21. ^ Valiente, Jose (July 7, 2019). "S2 VLOG_098 Como vive un atleta en el albergue olimpico". Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2019 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  23. ^ "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  24. ^ "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  25. ^ "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  26. ^ "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  27. ^ Bureau, US Census. "PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  28. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 27, 1996. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  29. ^ "Ethnicity 2000 census" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  30. ^ Elecciones Generales 2012: Escrutinio General Archived January 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
  31. ^ "Salinas Bridges". National Bridge Inventory Data. US Dept. of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  32. ^ "Ley Núm. 70 de 2006 -Ley para disponer la oficialidad de la bandera y el escudo de los setenta y ocho (78) municipios". LexJuris de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  33. ^ a b "SALINAS". LexJuris (Leyes y Jurisprudencia) de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.

Further reading

External links

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