Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia

Toa Baja (ˈto.a ˈβaxa) 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...

 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 northern coast, north 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...

 and Bayamón
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...

; east of Dorado
Dorado, Puerto Rico
Dorado is a small tourist town in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Toa Alta, east of Vega Alta, and west of Toa Baja. Dorado is spread over five barrios and Dorado Pueblo...

; and west of Cataño
Cataño, Puerto Rico
Cataño is a municipality located on northern coast of Puerto Rico bordering the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent to the north and east by San Juan; north of Bayamón and Guaynabo; east of Toa Baja and west of Guaynabo and is part of the San Juan Metropolitan Area. Cataño is spread over 7 wards and...

. Toa Baja is spread over 5 wards and Toa Baja Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Toa Baja considered to be a part of the Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

. It shares its metropolitan area status with San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, Bayamón, Guaynabo
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Guaynabo is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan...

, Cataño, Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...

 and Trujillo Alto
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
-Barrios :*Carraízo*Las Cuevas*Dos Bocas*La Gloria*Quebrada Grande*Quebrada Negrito*Saint Just*Trujillo Alto Pueblo*Cooperativa Jardines de Trujillo Alto-Geo/Topography:*Carraízo dam...

.

Toa Baja is located fifteen minutes by car from San Juan and one hour from Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

.

Flag

According to a publication of the 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...

 of Toa Baja, the official flag of this 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...

 consist of two (2) vertical bands: the left side is green and the right side is yellow. The green band has two (2) keys one in yellow and the other in white color. The green band represent the mountains and the yellow band represent the "Valley of Toa", also symbolize the rays of the sun. The keys symbolizes the Saint or "Patron" of the City: San Pedro el Apostol).

Coat of Arms

The waving stripe represents the Toa River, one of the first mentioned in the history of Puerto Rico, and in whose shores Juan Ponce de Leon tried to settle the first population of Puerto Rico.

The keys, crossed in vane, symbolize Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

, patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of the town. In similar form they appear in the altar of the Parochial Church San Pedro Apostle, of Toa Baja. The F and the J, represent Don Fernando II of Aragón and V of Castile, and his daughter, Doña Juana, sovereign of Castile and Leon.

The handfuls of yucca refer to one of the main crop of this area, and constitute a symbol of the Indians who cultivated it, and whose main food was cassava or bread of yucca.
The sugar cane stems refer to the cultivation and industry, that represented the main source of wealth of Toa Baja; the wealth is represented by gold of the field of the shield.

Demographics

Barrios (Districts/Wards)

  • Ingenio
  • Campanillas
  • Candelaria
  • San José
  • Media Luna
  • Sabana Seca
  • Toa Baja Pueblo
  • Macun
  • Villa Olga
  • Capitán
  • Lapra
  • Covadonga
  • San Pedro
  • Colinas
  • El Plantío
  • Levittown
    Levittown
    Levittown is the name of four large suburban developments created in the United States of America by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons...



Geo/Topography

  • Northern Coastal Plains and in the karst zone.
  • Rivers; Cocal, Hondo and Plata.

Industry

Manufacturing (metal, plastic, concrete, textile, electrical and electronic machinery and rum).

Government

Anibal Vega-Borges, a lawyer, was elected Mayor of the city in 2004 for the first time and re-elected in 2008.
Also, Betito Marquez Garcia, a businessman and a college professor, was elected Representative of Toa Baja in 2004 for the first time and re-elected again in 2008.

Controversies

In 2009 an order was given by Governor Luis G. Fortuño to shut off essential services, such as water and electricity, to Villas del Sol, a village within the municipality of Toa Baja. Villas del Sol consists of homes built illegally on flood-prone State land. The Federal Emergency Management Agency bought these homes from the Puerto Rican Government in order to keep them from being used further. In January 2010 the Puerto Rican government began demolishing some of the homes. The village is composed of both US citizens and illegal aliens, mainly of Dominican origin.

Landmarks and places of interest

  • Cañuelo Fortress
    El Cañuelo
    Fortín San Juan de la Cruz , better known as el Cañuelo, is located on Isla de Cabras, Puerto Rico. It is part of San Juan National Historic Site.-History:This fort was originally built in wood in 1610...

  • Central Constancia (sugar mill)
  • Goats Island
    Isla de Cabras
    Isla de Cabras is an islet located at the entrance of the San Juan bay in Puerto Rico.Isla de Cabras is the current location of:* Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, also known as El Cañuelo....

  • Hermana Island
  • Nuestra Señora del Carmen Catholic Church
  • Palo Seco Thermoelectrical Power Station
  • Punta Salinas Beach
  • San Pedro Apostle Catholic Church
  • Santa Elena Hacienda
  • Coliseo Antonio R. Barceló

Festivals and events

  • Craft Festival - March
  • Patron Celebrations - June
  • Beach Festival - July
  • Musical Band Festival - August
  • Christmas Festivities - December

Sports

Llaneras de Toa Baja
Llaneras de Toa Baja
Llaneras de Toa Baja is the professional female volleyball team of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.-Current:As of April 2011* Head Coach: Juan Carlos Núñez* Assistant coach: Gabriel Rodríguez-Release or Transfer:-External links:* *...

 - female volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 team from the Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino
Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino
The Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino is a professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation .-League Champions:-External links:...

.

Llaneros de Levittown - PeeWee Reese Categorie baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 team from the Pro-Deportes / American Amateur Baseball Congress.

Each year, Toa Baja hosts both the Pee Wee Reese World Series (for baseball players of ages 12 and under) and the Willie Mays World Series (for baseball players of ages 10 and under).

Books about Toa Baja

  • Los Municipios de Puerto Rico - Toa Baja. Commissioned by the Department of Education in 1992.
  • Padilla Melendez, Debra E., Toa Baja: Notas para su historia.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK