Vega Alta, Puerto Rico


Vega Alta is a municipality of Puerto Rico. Vega Alta is located on the northern coast of the island, north of Morovis and Corozal; east of Vega Baja; and west of Dorado with an area of. Vega Alta is subdivided into seven wards and Vega Alta Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Vega Alta is west of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Vega Alta is known for the beach at Cerro Gordo. Other points of interest include the town's Catholic church, known as Inmaculada Concepción, founded in 1813, and the Vega Alta Forest.
During the first week of December, Vega Alta celebrates its patron saint, The Immaculate Conception.

History

Vega Alta was founded in 1775 by Francisco de los Olivos. It was first named La Vega de Espinosa and known as el pueblo de los Ñangotaos. Before this, it was part of a group of towns known as Las Vegas. It was then that one area was named Vega Baja and the other Vega Alta.
On October 12, 1898 the city's mayor, Francisco Vega, received U.S. troops as part of the Spanish–American War. On that same day, for the first time in Vega Alta's history, the U.S. flag was lifted on city hall. From 1902 to 1905, Vega Alta became once more part of the neighbor city of Vega Baja. In 1905, the government of Puerto Rico passed a law, allowing Vega Alta to become a municipality with its own limits.
Hacienda Carmen and Hacienda Ortega sugar plantations were owned by Juan Gualberto Landron y Martinez born in 1791 in Toa Baja. He owned slaves and purchased them, some coming directly from Africa.
The second-largest mosque, built in 1992, is located in Vega Alta.

Geography

Vega Alta is on the northern coast.
Río Cibuco, Río Mavilla and Río Unibón are located in Vega Alta.
The Javier Calderón beach, better known as Cerro Gordo Beach is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation.
Vega Alta has a land area of 27.75 square miles and water area of 9.76 square miles.

Hurricane Maria

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

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Vega Alta is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".
  1. Bajura
  2. Candelaria
  3. Cienegueta
  4. Espinosa
  5. Maricao
  6. Mavilla
  7. Sabana
  8. Vega Alta barrio-pueblo

    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 are in Vega Alta: Villa Alegria, Villa del Rio, Mavilla, Machuchal, El Nueve, Ponderosa, Manantial, and Corea.

Climate

According to the Weather Channel's website, June is the warmest month, March is the coolest month, October is the wettest month, and June is the driest month.
Records:
In 1908, Vega Alta was producing coffee, sugar, oranges for their sweetness, tobacco and rum.

Agriculture

There are 6 beaches in Vega Alta.

Lin-Manuel Miranda tourism

The Puerto Rican, award-winning, musician and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda who created the Broadway hit, "Hamilton", is from a family with roots in Vega Alta. In 2017, his dad opened La Placita Güisín, a cafe and restaurant in the downtown area of Vega Alta, and in 2019 Lin-Manuel moved his memorabilia to a new gallery, the Lin-Manuel Miranda Gallery, a few steps from Placita Güisín and opened a store there too, TeeRico. The location has become a tourist attraction.

Culture

Festivals and events

Vega Alta celebrates its patron saint festival in December. The Fiestas Patronales de La Inmaculada Concepción de María 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 Vega Alta include:
Vega Alta Maceteros are the Double-A team of Vega Alta.
Vega Alta is known for having amateur ball players as well as professional. Basketball is played in local communities. Other sports practiced include tennis, volleyball, handball, and amateur surfing among others.
Vega Alta is also known for having famous Major League Baseball players such as The Molina Brothers which consist of Yadier Molina, Bengie Molina and José Molina. Other famous sport personalities include former New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams and professional boxer Ángel Chacón.

Music

A well known musician from Vega Alta was Ladislao Martinez a.k.a. El Maestro Ladi, a master cuatro musician. He became the first Puerto Rican to play a cuatro solo on the radio.
Fiel a la Vega, a rock en español band, was formed in 1994. Band members Tito Auger and Ricky Laureano are from Vega Alta, while brothers Pedro Arraiza and Jorge Arraiza come from next-door Vega Baja. Their first album spawned hits like Salimos de Aquí and El Wanabí, both of which were released with videos.

Demographics

The United States took control of Puerto Rico from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and conducted its first census of Puerto Rico, finding that the population of Vega Alta was 6,107.
The main women's prison of the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Escuela Industrial para Mujeres in Vega Alta, opened in 1954, replacing a prison in Arecibo; work began on the facility in 1952. Puerto Rico also operates the Hogar de Adaptación Social en Vega Alta, which opened in 1987.

Past and present mayors

Puerto Rico's Highway 22 provides access to Vega Alta from the far away city of Mayagüez, or from San Juan. Highway 2 also provides access from the western cities of Manatí, Arecibo and the eastern cities of Bayamón and Guaynabo bordering the shore to the Atlantic Ocean. It takes approximately 30 minutes to reach the town from San Juan.
The closest airport is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina.
Other public transportation close to the area is El Tren Urbano.
There are 16 bridges in Vega Alta.

Coat of arms

The shield is split up into 3 unequal bands in the following order:
The used by Vega Alta is the musical composition created in 1958, with lyrics by Domingo Figueroa Ramírez Arreglo and music by Domingo and Elliot A. Knight.

Education

Public schools