Corozal is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 (municipio

Municipio

Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...

) of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis

Orocovis, Puerto Rico

Orocovis is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range, north of Villalba and Coamo; south of Morovis and Corozal; southeast of Ciales; east of Jayuya; and west of Barranquitas...

 and Barranquitas

Barranquitas, Puerto Rico

Barranquitas is a small mountain town located in the 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 wards and Barranquitas Pueblo...

; south Vega Alta

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 spread over seven wards and Vega Alta Pueblo...

; southwest of Toa Alta

Toa Alta, Puerto Rico

Toa Alta is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast of the island, north of Naranjito; south of Dorado and Toa Baja; east of Vega Alta and Corozal; and west of Bayamón. Toa Alta is spread over eight wards and Toa Alta Pueblo...

; east of Morovis

Morovis, Puerto Rico

Morovis is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, north of Orocovis, south of Manatí, Vega Baja and Vega Alta; east of Ciales, and west of Corozal. Morovis is spread over 13 wards and Morovis Pueblo...

 and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito

Naranjito, Puerto Rico

Naranjito is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, south of Toa Alta; north of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Corozal; and west of Bayamón. Naranjito is spread over 15 wards and Naranjito Pueblo...

. Corozal is spread over 12 wards and Corozal Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city name is derived from the "palma de corozo" (grugru palm, Acrocomia media) which abounds in the central zone of the Island.

History

Corozal's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was named Orocobix

Orocobix

Orocobix was the principal regional Taino Cacique of the central mountain region of Puerto Rico called Jatibonicu in the 16th century. The Jatibonicu territorial region covered the present day municipalities of Aibonito, Orocovis, Barranquitas, Morovis and Corozal...

 and his tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino

Taíno people

The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...

.

Corozal was founded in 1795 and officially became a town in 1804. Commonly known as La Cuna del Volibol or Volleyball's Crib. It takes its name from the "palma de corozo" (Acrocomia media). Its population as of the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 was 36,867, and it has a land area of 110.3 km² (43 sq mi).

Flag

Consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, yellow the top, green the middle and blue the bottom, and in some instances the middle stripe could have embroidered or printed the Coat Of Arms.

The flag is very similar to the provincial flag of Islas del Caró (I.D.C.) of neighbour country of El Conquistador except that the yellow stripe is half the size as the green and blue stripes much like the flag of Colombia except that the red stripe is replaced by the green one at the bottom. It is unknown whether the flag was made to coincide with the densely populated province of El Conquistador or was created by natural and neutral causes.

Coat of Arms

On a gold background three Corozo Palms, with clusters in their original color, planted on a green landscape and in front of a mountain range. At the bottom, blue and silver water waves sprinkled with gold nuggets. The three towercrown is gold with black stones.
It also has another flag the colors are red and white the white star and the blue outline.
The Corozo Palms represent the name of the town and its river,whose margins were populated with this palms. The mountains represent the high and striking Mountains of Corozal. The waves represent the Corozal River and gold nuggets, metal that until receantly was panned in its rivera. The gold background represents the hard labor and alludes to the gold of Corozal, so appreciatd long ago for its purity. The crown is an emblem used to designate the cities and towns.

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

• Abras
• Cibuco
• Cuchillas
• Dos Bocas
• Magueyes
• Maná
• Negros
• Padilla
• Palmarejo
• Palmarito
• Palos Blancos
• Pueblo

Geo/Topography

• Rivers are: Río Cibuco
  Río Cibuco
  -See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...
  
  , Río Corozal
  Río Corozal
  -See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...
  
  , Río de los Negros
  Río de los Negros
  -References:**USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...
  
   and Río Grande de Manatí
  Río Grande de Manatí
  -See also:*List of rivers of Puerto Rico-References:*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map – Caribbean Region *...
  
  .
• Jacinta Ravine.
• Caverna de los Quintero.

Agriculture

One of Puerto Rico's major plaintain producers.
New small businesses producing eggs and hydrophonic crops (lettuce, recao) are emerging.

Business

Crafts, Artisans, services. Several manufacture enterprises have reduced or moved operations in recent years.

Tourism

Corozal is home to the Historical Center of Cibuco, a park and museum with relics from the puertorican natives (Tainos) as well as objects, paintings and artifacts from the town's history.

Local interest:
El Balalaika is a cafeteria / liquor store which opened its doors around 1962 and hasn't been closed since, with the exceptions of Hurricane Hugo and the occasional political elections. It's where author/ songwriter/ vocalist/ poetist and Space Pirate Gollo Costra was born and raised. It also serves as a Municipal Police Outpost.

Festivals and events

• Patron Festivities - January
• Corozal Carnival - June
• San Juan Bautista Carnival - June
• Plantain Festival - September
• Corozo Festival - October

Education

The Public High Schools are Escuela Superior Emilio R. Delgado, near Corozal's downtown at road 159, and Escuela Superior Porfirio Cruz García High School in Barrio Cuchillas at road 568. The private high school is Colegio Sagrada Familia in Barrio Pueblo at road 807.

Sports

Volleyball

Male - Plataneros de Corozal (2008 national champions) (LVSM)

Female - Pinkin de Corozal

Pinkin de Corozal

Pinkin de Corozal is the professional female volleyball team of Corozal, Puerto Rico.-Current:As of February 2011* Head Coach: Luis E. Ruiz* Assistant coach: Jorge Pérez Vento-League Championship:...

 (2008 national champions) LVSF

Swimming

The Gold Fish Swim Team for kids and youth and a new Master's Swim Team created in 2008 under the direction of Arlene Ortiz.

Notable "Corozaleños"

• Carmen E. Arroyo
  Carmen E. Arroyo
  Carmen E. Arroyo is the first Puerto Rican and Hispanic woman elected to the New York State Assembly. She was also first female of Puerto Rican descent housing developer in the State of New York...
  
  , first Puerto Rican woman elected to the New York State Assembly
  New York State Assembly
  The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
  
  
• Maria del Carmen Arroyo
  Maria del Carmen Arroyo
  Maria del Carmen Arroyo is the Councilwoman for the New York City Council's 17th District, covering the Mott Haven, Melrose, Longwood, Hunts Point, and Concourse sections of The Bronx. She is the daughter of Assemblywoman Carmen E. Arroyo....
  
  , member of the New York City Council
  New York City Council
  The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
  
  
• Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia
  Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia
  -Background and studies:Aned Muñiz Gracia grew up in Corozal, a rural town in Puerto Rico. She started swimming competitively at age 10 and her first jobs were as a lifeguard and swim instructor....
  
  , professor and writer
• Viviana Ortíz Pastrana
  Viviana Ortiz
  -External links:*...
  
  , fashion model and Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2011
  Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2011
  The 56th Annual Miss Universe Puerto Rico pageant was held at the Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico, on November 4, 2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico....
  
  

External links

• Corozal and its barrios, United States Census Bureau

Books about Corozal

• Bubu, un canino de mitos y leyendas (Un dia de Perro (titulo Mexico))" por Gollo Costra
• Puertoriqueña en Nueva York: Mujer de Armas Tomas" por El Instituto de Cultura Puertoriqueña