Adjuntas, Puerto Rico

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
—  Municipality  —
View of Adjuntas from a nearby mountain.
Flag
Nickname(s): "La Ciudad del Gigante Dormido" (The City of the Sleeping Giant), "La Suiza de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico's Switzerland)
Anthem: "Adjuntas es mi amor"
Location of Adjuntas in Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 18°09′46″N 66°43′20″W
Country	United States
Territory	Puerto Rico
Founded	August 11, 1815
Government
• Mayor	Hon. Jaime H. Barlucea (PNP)
• Senatorial dist.	5 - Ponce
• Representative dist.	22
Population (April 1, 2010)
• Total	19,483
Demonym	Adjunteños
Time zone	AST (UTC-4)
Zip code	00601, 00631
Website	adjuntas.com

Adjuntas (Spanish pronunciation: [aðˈxuntas]) is a small mountainside municipality in Puerto Rico located central midwest of the island on the Central Mountain range (La Cordillera Central), north of Yauco, Guayanilla and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Yauco; and west of Ponce. Adjuntas is spread over 16 wards and Adjuntas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Adjuntas is about two hours by car westward from the capital, San Juan. It is the principal city of the Adjuntas Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Adjuntas is nicknamed "the Switzerland of Puerto Rico", because of its relatively chilly weather. Many Puerto Rican mountain towns have colder weather than the rest of the island; Adjuntas is no exception: the average yearly weather is 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool weather attracts a good number of island tourists during the summer months. The town has a small hotel named Monte Rio and a good size parador, or country inn, called Villa Sotomayor. It also has the distinction of being the postal area with the lowest numerical ZIP code in the United States Postal Service (00601).

History

Adjuntas was founded August 11, 1815, by Diego Maldonado, gaining administrative independence from Utuado. It was one of the main cities where the Anusim, Maranos, and other Sephardi Jews settled. Many of these families were of the Torres, Perez or Peretz, and Bennazzar families among others. Berberena and Mozarabes settled there too.

Taíno families from neighboring Utuado can also be found in this area, along with escaped cimarrones, or African slaves, who intermarried with the Taíno. DNA genetic evidence shows that many Africans fled up the Camino Real into the mountains to escape the sugar plantations of Ponce. The Mandinka, Wolof & Fulani mtDNA African haplotype, L1b, is present here. Taíno haplogroups A & C can also be found in this area.

After the mid-19th century, Adjuntas welcomed many immigrants from the Mediterranean islands Corsica and Majorca. Some of them established coffee plantations. During the last decades of the 19th Century, the coffee produced in Adjuntas was exported to Europe, United States and even the Vatican.

It was proclaimed "villa", or a first order municipality, by the Spanish Government Monarchy in 1894.

Adjuntas was occupied by the United States Army forces during the Spanish American War of 1898 and was visited by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

The discovery of rich deposits of copper, gold and other minerals during the 1960s motivated some local community and environmental leaders to oppose the mining. By the 1990s, they convinced the Puerto Rican government to take a stand against the mining industry, on behalf of conservation. Today, instead of mining, with the leadership of Casa Pueblo, a community organization, Adjuntas leads the preservation of natural resources movement in Puerto Rico.

Geography

The terrain in Adjuntas is very mountainous, due to its location in the Cordillera Central. Its highest peak is Guilarte (3,773 ft; 1,150 m), followed by Vaquiñas (3,346 ft; 1,020 m).

Climate

Adjuntas (Climate - Tropical Rainforest (Af))
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.4   79 55     2.7   80 54     3.8   81 55     6.1   81 58     8.2   83 61     4.8   84 62     6.2   85 62     8.2   85 62     12   84 62     11   84 62     5.5   82 60     2.7   80 58 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     60   26 13     69   26 12     97   27 13     154   27 14     209   28 16     123   29 17     158   29 17     208   29 17     307   29 17     277   29 16     140   28 16     69   27 14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

Adjuntas features a tropical rainforest climate that borders on a subtropical highland climate. While the town technically features a tropical rainforest climate, due to its high elevation, the climate is noticeably cooler than the norm for this climate category. Summers are warm (83°-85°F) in the daytime and mild at nighttime (60°-63°F). Meanwhile winters are moderately warm with cool temperatures at night. During daytime high temperatures are around 79 °F (26 °C) in the town, and 68 °F (20 °C) in the nearby mountains. Winter night temperatures are between in the 50 °F (10 °C) and 60 °F (16 °C) range, but after cold fronts temperatures can drop down to 40 °F (4 °C).

Cityscape

Barrios

The municipality of Adjuntas is made up of 17 barrios (wards/districts).

• Adjuntas Pueblo
• Capáez
• Garzas
• Guayabo Dulce
• Guayo
• Guilarte
• Juan González
• Limaní
• Pellejas
• Portillo
• Portuguez
• Saltillo
• Tanamá
• Vegas Abajo
• Vegas Arriba
• Yahuecas
• Yayales

Tourism

Despite its mountainous location, Adjuntas receives a good share of tourists that want to visit the haciendas established there during past centuries. Some of them are: Hacienda Bareal, Hacienda El Muerto, Hacienda Arbela, and Hacienda Pietri. Other landmarks are the Guilarte mountain, and the Inabón waterfall.

Perhaps the most known touristic landmark in Adjuntas is Casa Pueblo, a local museum and cultural institution founded by a group of activists that fought against the copper mine exploitation of the area for decades. Casa Pueblo is responsible for many environmental projects, namely the preservation of hundreds of acres of woods and water bodies.

Culture

Sports

The town has a professional volleyball team called Gigantes de Adjuntas. The team won a title in 1973.

Economy

A coffee and bananas farm in Adjuntas

Agriculture

Adjuntas main industry is the growing of tropical crops such as bananas, coffee, citron and peaches.

Demographics

Racial - (self-defined) Adjuntas, Puerto Rico - 2010 Census
Race	Population	% of Total
White	18,146	93.1%
Black/African American	603	3.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native	68	0.4%
Asian	5	0.0%
Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander	1	0.0%
Some other race	411	2.1%
Two or more races	249	1.3%

Government

Central Square in Adjuntas town

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district V, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, Luis Berdiel and Larry Seilhamer were elected as District Senators.

Symbols

Both the flag and the coat of arms of Adjuntas have similar symbolisms. A white diagonal stripe divides the flag in two triangles. The upper one is purple, while the lower one is green. In the middle of each triangle lies a white cross known as the "Illescas cross". The cross also symbolizes Saint Joachim and Saint Ana, patrons of the town. The white color symbolizes purity, while purple represents Joachim's cloth and green the nature of the town.

Transportation

The main road to Adjuntas is PR-10, that connects the cities of Ponce in the south and Arecibo in the north. In addition, there is a small airport that caters to private airplanes.

Notable Adjunteños

Among the notable Adjunteños are the following:

• Aristides Moll - writer
• First Lieutenant César Luis González - The first Puerto Rican pilot in the United States Army Air Force and the first Puerto Rican pilot to die in World War II. His name is listed on the "Roll of Honor" of the 314th Troop Carrier Group World War II and Adjuntas has honored his memory by naming a street "Calle Cesar González" after him.
• Felipe Neri Orta - musician
• Helen Rodríguez Vélez - recipient of the "Prime Time Awards Program" de EE.UU.
• Jesus M. Benitez - writer
• Josefina Moll - writer
• Pelegrín López de Victoria - writer
• Rafael J. de Cordero - writer
• Roque Navarro Jiménez - musician
• Winston Ruiz - Composer

Further reading

• Mi Pueblo Adjuntas, 1992, by Rafael J. Mirabal-Linares
• Entre Fotos y Palabras, 2005 by Rafael J. Mirabal-Linares

External links

• Welcome to Puerto Rico Adjuntas
• "Adjuntas, Puerto Rico". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1609483%7D. Retrieved 2008-04-24.