Пуэрто-Рикодағы Барранкитас қаласы және муниципалитеті

Town and municipality in Puerto Rico

Barranquitas (baraŋˈkitas, baraŋˈkitaʔ) is a small mountain town and municipality located in the Cordillera Central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquitas is spread over 6 barrios and Barranquitas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan Caguas Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. 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 is a landlocked municipality in the middle of the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico, the main mountain range that crosses the island from west to east. It is bordered by the municipalities of Corozal, Naranjito, Coamo, Aibonito, Orocovis, and Comerío. Barranquitas has a surface area of 34 square miles (88.4 km2). The terrain is mostly mountainous. Some of the peaks found in the municipality are La Torrecilla and Farallón. Barranquitas is also the site of the San Cristóbal Canyon and Las Bocas Canyon.

Rivers of Barranquitas include the Río de Barranquitas, Río Grande de Manatí, Piñonas, Río Hondo, and Río Usabón. There are 14 bridges in Barranquitas.

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) 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.

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 Barranquitas: El Amparo neighborhood, Cañabón barrio, La Vega neighborhood, Calle Abajo (Calle Melitón Pérez), La Loma, La Torre, Los Pinos, Quebrada Grande barrio, and Tres Caminos.

An Energy Consortium was signed in late February 2019, by Villalba, Orocovis, Morovis, Ciales and Barranquitas municipalities. The consortium is the first of its kind on the commonwealth and intends to have these municipalities work together, to safeguard their communities, in the event of a catastrophe, by creating resilient, and efficient energy networks with backups.

Barranquitas is the burial place of two prominent Puerto Rican politicians; Luis Muñoz Rivera (who was born in the town) and his son, Governor Luis Muñoz Marín (who was born in San Juan). This has made Barranquitas a popular tourist attraction among Puerto Ricans. The birthplace of Muñoz Rivera has been converted into a museum. The mausoleum of the Muñoz Rivera family is a place of interest. Among those buried there are Muñoz Rivera and his son and daughter in law, Luis Muñoz Marín, and his second wife Inés Mendoza de Muñoz. Other known places of interest in Barranquitas are the San Cristóbal Canyon, Las Bocas Canyon, and the ruins of Hacienda Margarita. El Cortijo Castle is an old, historical structure, which is currently a museum. Camp Morton (Campamento Morton) is a popular spot for activities and retreats. To stimulate local tourism during the COVID 19 pandemic in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Voy Turisteando Barranquitas passport page lists Cañon de San Cristobal, Plaza Bicentenaria, Museo de la Familia Muñoz Rivera, and the Feria de Artesanías, as places of interest.

Barranquitas doesn't have professional sports teams, but there are some amateur sports teams based in the city. The most popular amateur sport is baseball. The team of Barranquitas is known as the "Proceres" (is an adjective for an important person in history) due to the fact that the town has been the birthplace for many historical figures. The other popular sport is volleyball.

All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Barranquitas is Elliot Colon Blanco, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected at the 2018 primaries and the re elected on General Elections of 2020. The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two senators.

The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

The flag of the municipality consists of three horizontal stripes; white on the upper edge representing the silver enamel of the town's shield, green in the center representing the vegetation and yellow on the lower edge representing the gold enamel of the ravines of the San Cristóbal Canyon.

The coat of arms of Barranquitas has silver, a canyon, two ravines, gold slopes, a tree, gold leaves, a bell and a crown. The ravines are reminders of the San Cristóbal Canyon, located in the territorial boundary of Barranquitas and Aibonito, a neighboring municipality. The yagrumo trees are characteristic of the high mountainous areas of Puerto Rico and symbolize the elevation of Barranquitas. All public schools in Puerto Rico are administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Education. The schools located in Barranquitas are the following:
Many of the schools in Barranquitas educate children on agriculture and cultivating crops. + School Level Barrio Public Location(s) Coords Escuela La Torre K 6 Cañabón Yes Carr 770 km 2 (mile marker 1.2) Hm 1 (yard marker 110) Sector La Torre Escuela Cañabón Abajo K 6 Barrancas Yes Carr 172 Escuela Mana Abajo K 6 Barrancas Yes Carr 771 km 9 (mile marker 5.6) Hm 2 (yard marker 220) Sector Mana Abajo Escuela El Portón K 6 Honduras Yes Carr 156 km 17 (mile marker 11) Hm 7 (yard marker 770) Sector El Portón Escuela El Farallón K 6 Quebradillas Yes Carr 152 km 7 (mile marker 4.3) Hm 6 (yard marker 660) Escuela Sinforoso Aponte K 6 Quebradillas Yes Carr 152 km 7 (mile marker 4.3) Hm 6 (yard marker 660) Escuela Petroamérica Pagán K 6 Pueblo Yes Calle Muñoz Rivera #14 Escuela La Vega (Stephen S. Huse) K 6 Pueblo Yes Carr 771 km 0 (mile marker 0) Hm 3 (yard marker 330) Bda La Vega Escuela S. U. Palo Hincado (Federico Degetau) K 9 Palo Hincado Yes Carr 156 km 11 (mile marker 6.8) Hm 4 (yard marker 440) Escuela S. U. La Loma (Antonio Vázquez Ramos) K 9 Quebrada Grande Yes Carr 156 km 20 (mile marker 12) Hm 1 (yard marker 110) Escuela S. U. Helechal K 9 Helechal Yes Carr 162 km 7 (mile marker 4.3) Hm 4 (yard marker 440) Escuela S. U. Lajitas (Ramon T Rivera) K 9 Barrancas Yes Carr 771 km 5 (mile marker 3.1) Hm 4 (yard marker 440) Escuela Pedro Laboy 7 9 Quebradillas Yes Carr 152 km 6 (mile marker 3.7) Hm 5 (yard marker 550) Escuela José Berríos Berdecia 7 9 Pueblo Yes Calle Melitón Pereles Escuela Pablo Colón Berdecia (Superior Vocational) 10 12 Pueblo Yes Calle Barcelo Final Escuela Luis Muñoz Marín (Superior Commerce) 10 12 Quebradillas Yes Calle A Sector Nuevo San Francisco de Asís School K 9 Helechal No Carr 719 km 2 (mile marker 1.2) Hm 5 (yard marker 550) Sector Hoya Honda