Humacao (oo-mah-KOU) is the largest city of Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 10 wards and Humacao Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).
Humacao has three hospitals (HIMA-San Pablo Humacao, Dr. Domínguez (Clínica Oriente), and Ryder Memorial). All three of them have been greatly developed to excellent secondary care institutions. Ryder Memorial is under renovations and celebrating its 40th Anniversary. It is the largest hospital complex on the Southeast coast of Puerto Rico.
Humacao is famous all over Puerto Rico for its granitos, a greasy snack food which is composed of a fried rice flour with cheese in its center. People have for years driven to Humacao from other cities just to taste this snack food. Locals joke about this tastiful 'fritura': el granito es EEE: engorda, estriñe y embrutece.(The granito fattens, constipates and dumbs you!)
Humacao has gone through many changes and it is currently one of the fastest developing municipalities in Puerto Rico. Our current mayor is civic leader Marcelo Trujillo-Panisse (PPD), a zaftig, hard-working, plus-sized, albeit serene soul, who is leading Humacao to great horizons.
History
Humacao was founded on April, 1722 and became autonomous (town) in 1793. Humacao derives its name from a local Indian chief Jumacao.
Flag
It consists of three horizontal stripes: gold that stands for Chief Jumacao's crown, red that symbolizes the Coat of Arms and the green that represents the arrows used by the Taínos.
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms consists of two colors, gold and green. The gold represents the sun, Humacao is located in the island were the sun rises. Green symbolizes our native Indian heritage as well as the natural tropical valley where the city is located. The shield itself represents Humacao's native and Indian name origin and the Christian backbone of the town.
Demographics
Barrios (Districts/Wards)
- Antón Ruiz
- Buena Vista
- Candelero Abajo
- Candelero Arriba
- Cataño
- Collores
- Mabú
- Manbiche
- Mariana
- Punta Santiago
- Río Abajo
- Tejas
Geo/Topography
- Rivers are: Antón Ruíz, Candelero and Humacao
- Gulches are: Cataño, Del Obispo, Del Inglés, Frontera and Mariana
Tourism
Palmas del Mar, the island's largest and most glamorous resort, makes Humacao its home. This megaresort is composed of over 3,000 acres (12 km²) of land and occupies the entire south eastern portion of the municipal territory. The resort contains over 20 tennis courts, two world-class golf courses, miles of unspoiled beaches, several restaurants and a world class riding center.
Landmarks and places of interest
- Astronomical Observatory
- Buena Vista Beach
- Casa Roig
- El Morrilo Beach
- Guzmán Ermitage
- Humacao Airport
- Punta Santiago Beach
- Teachers' Monument
- Wildlife Refuge
Festivals and events
One of Puerto Rico's most important charity fund-raising activities, La Buena Vida Festival, takes place in Palmas del Mar every year. Now in its 11th year, La Buena Vida gathers several hundred good-hearted Puerto Ricans and visitors from abroad, to enjoy fine art, excellent food from our foremost chefs-de-cuisine, and the best wines available in Puerto Rico. A silent art and wine auction is held at the peak of the activity. Lead by businessman Kike Toro-Garratón, this year's LBVF was able to collect close to $100,000.00 for four of our Eastern region service organizations.
Transportation
Humacao's airport is no longer used for daily flights to Vieques and Culebra as it was in the past. It is now used for charter flights and for skydiving. The skydiving facilities located in Humacao are of the most actively used on the island.
Education
There are various excellent elementary and high school facilities, two of which were recognized by the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools and each has their own National Honor Society chapters.
The University of Puerto Rico Humacao campus facility educates over 4,000 students and is well known for its sciences, producing many of the island's most skilled microbiologists, marine biologists and chemists. It also manages the island's only observatory where tourists and locals can come visit and view the stars and planets.
Sports
Humacao recently acquired a professional basketball team in 2005 (Humacao Gray's) and is in the process of constructing a coliseum to house its new franchise. The city is also constructing a new state of the art convention center and is rebuilding Victoria Theatre a 19th century theatre located in the town square.
Notable "Humacaeños"
- Adamari López- actresses
- Águedo Mójica -Lawyer, educator and politician
- Antonia Sáez - Professor
- Carlos Ponce - singer
- Emilio E. Huyke - Father of puerto rican basketball
- José Parés - the late ballet dancer and choreographer
- Jose "Pepo" Gonzalez - noted attorney
- Luis Antonio Rivera (Yoyo Boing) - actor
- Luis Rafael Sánchez - Dramatist y novelist
- Marta Casals de Istomin - Casals Musical Festival Director
- Osiris Delgado - Artist
- Rita Moreno - Actress, dancer, singer and a 1961 Oscar recipient
Humacao, Puerto Rico. (2006, October 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:27, October 25, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Humacao%2C_Puerto_Rico&oldid=83683301
