San Germán, Puerto Rico


San Germán is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao, north of Lajas, east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo, and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over eighteen wards plus San Germán Pueblo. It is both a principal city of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area.
San Germán is the second oldest city of Puerto Rico, after San Juan. The island of Puerto Rico was once split between the San Juan and the San Germán municipalities. The latter covered the western half of Puerto Rico, and extended from the western shores of the island to Arecibo in the north and Ponce in the south.

History

The population of San Germán when Alonso Manso was named the first bishop of Puerto Rico in 1511 was "about 50 neighbors".
Spanish settlement in San Germán occurred early in the conquest and colonization of Puerto Rico. After the destruction of a small early settlement near modern-day Añasco during a Taíno uprising which started in February 1511, in 1512 the new settlement was built by Miguel Diaz at Guayanilla
and named after Germaine of Foix, the new queen of King Fernando. This town was attacked by French corsairs in August 1528, May 1538 and 1554. The construction of a small fort began in 1540, but work stopped in 1546 when the population of the town began moving inland to the current modern location.
An early written reference to the new town occurs in 1573. A letter sent to Spain's king Philip II mentions a city with the names of Nueva Salamanca and San Germán. Spanish conquerors used the name Nueva Salamanca to honor the city of Salamanca in Spain.
On May 12, 1571, the Royal Audience of Santo Domingo authorized that both the populations of San Germán and Santa María de Guadianilla be merged into a single city due to the constant French attacks. The new city was built on the hills of Santa Marta, next to the Guanajibo River in 1573. Its official name was Nueva Villa de Salamanca, named after the city of Salamanca in Spain. However, the population called the city San Germán el Nuevo and, eventually, the Villa de San Germán.
San Germán is also known as the founding city of towns, given the fact that in 1514 the Spanish crown separated the island into two administrative territories. The borders of the two partidos were established as the Camuy River to the north and the Jacagua river to the south. They were named the San Juan Partition and the San Germán Partition.

Geography

San Germán is in the southwest. Mountains in San Germán include Alto del Descanso and Tetas de Cerro Gordo. San Germán has a number of rivers: Río Caín, Río Duey, Río Rosario, Río Guanajibo, Río Hoconuco Guamá and Rio El Brujo.

Hurricane Maria

on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in San Germán with the significant amount of rainfall.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, San Germán is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".
  1. Ancones
  2. Caín Alto
  3. Caín Bajo
  4. Cotuí
  5. Duey Alto
  6. Duey Bajo
  7. Guamá
  8. Hoconuco Alto
  9. Hoconuco Bajo
  10. Maresúa
  11. Minillas
  12. Retiro
  13. Rosario Alto
  14. Rosario Bajo
  15. Rosario Peñón
  16. Sabana Eneas
  17. Sabana Grande Abajo
  18. San Germán barrio-pueblo
  19. Tuna

    Sectors

Barrios in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores. The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities

Of the 742 places on the list of Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in San Germán: Ancones, Comunidad El Retiro, Comunidad Las Quebradas, La Tea, Parcelas Las Carolinas, Parcelas Minillas en Barrio Minillas, Parcelas Sabana Eneas, and Rosario Peñón.

Climate

Tourism

San Germán is the site of the Porta Coeli church, one of the earliest Spanish churches built in Latin America. Porta Coeli is still a major attraction that brings both domestic and international tourists every year.

Landmarks and places of interest

The urban center of San Germán is mainly composed of Spanish colonial houses. Many have been restored and conserve their Spanish look while other houses are somewhat abandoned and in poor condition. There are ongoing projects employing public and private funding to preserve and restore many houses and monuments and to maintain San Germán's colonial era look.

Culture

Festivals and events

San Germán celebrates its patron saint festival in late July / early August. The Fiestas Patronales de San German Euserre 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 San Germán include:
San Germán is home to one of Puerto Rico's oldest basketball franchises, dating back to the 1930s, the San Germán Athletics, nicknamed "The Orange Monster". Many glories of Puerto Rican basketball have played in San Germán, a city that is also known as "The Crib of Puerto Rican Basketball". Some of those players are Arquelio Torres, José "Piculín" Ortiz, Eddie Casiano, Nelson Quiñones, Elías "Larry" Ayuso, Christian Dalmau, and so many others. Their home court is The Arquelio Torres Ramírez Court, which houses approximately 5,000 fans.
The Athletic's fan base is most commonly referred to as their sixth man, or "The Orange Monster". This is because for a visiting team it's extremely hard to win in San Germán due to how vigorous and "into" the game the fans are.
The Athletics have been to 26 National Superior Basketball Finals, of which one was cancelled due to confiscation because of a fight between players from San Germán and the Ponce Lions, giving birth to Puerto Rican basketball's most intense rivalry.
Championships : 1932, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1997
Sub-Championships : 1931, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1986

Economy

Agriculture

The area around San Germán grows fruits and sugar cane on mid-scale. Dairy farms are also present in small scale. Some locals grow other produce on a small scale. Other industries in the municipality include Baxter Serum Mfg., Cordis, Insertco, Wallace Silversmiths de Puerto Rico, General Electric and several other companies in the service industry.

Business

Most businesses are located in or near the "downtown" area. Plaza del Oeste is the main shopping center.

Industry

Major employers of the city include Fresenius Kabi, CCL, Wallace International, General Electric and several business owners.

Motion pictures filmed In San Germán

Government

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, San Germán is administered by a mayor. The current mayor is Isidro A. Negrón Irizarry, from the Partido Popular Democrático Popular Democratic Party. Negrón was first elected in the 2000 general election.
The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district IV, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, María Teresa González and Gilberto Rodríguez were elected as District Senators.

Transportation

There are 44 bridges in San Germán.

Symbols

Flag

Green - The Episcopal dignity and also the color of the Shield of Christopher Columbus and his son, don Diego Colón, Viceroy of the Indies, who named the city in honor of Germana de Foix.
White - The purity of the blood of the great families who colonized San Germán.
Purple - Color of the Shield of Juan Ponce de León, first governor of Puerto Rico.

Coat of arms

First Quarter: The Mitre and the Staff in a green field represent St. Germain of Auxerre, the Patron Saint of the city.
Second Quarter: The second quarter exhibits the arms of the Kingdoms of Aragón and Sicily, where don Fernando the Catholic reigned.
Third Quarter: In this quarter the arms combine with the County of Foix and the Kingdom of France, which constitute the family shields of Germaine de Foix whose name is perpetuated as the name of the city of San Germán.
Fourth Quarter: Is Ponce de León's shield, The Crown: Is a civic or municipal standard and is used as a stamp for towns and cities; San Germán was assigned five towers to denote that this population formally obtained the title of city from the Spanish crown in the nineteenth century.

Education

San Germán has 15 public schools: 8 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 4 second units and 2 high schools:
It also has several private schools, such as Colegio San José, Academia Sangermeña and Academia Presbiteriana.
The main campus of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico is located adjacent to the downtown area of San Germán. It was founded in 1912 as the Polytechnical Institute of Puerto Rico, the first private university on the island.

Notable Puerto Ricans from San Germán