Morovis, Puerto Rico

Morovis (Spanish pronunciation: [moˈɾoβis]) is a town and 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 barrios and Morovis Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city).[3] It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Morovis
Municipio Autónomo de Morovis
Town and Municipality
A small plaza in Morovis barrio-pueblo
Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
"La Isla Menos Morovis" ("The island but Morovis")
Anthem: "Oh Morovis, tu vives latente"
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Morovis Municipality
Coordinates: 18°20′00″N 66°25′00″W
Commonwealth Puerto Rico
Founded1818
Barrios
14 barrios
Government
 • MayorCarmen Maldonado González (PPD)
 • Senatorial dist.3 - Arecibo
 • Representative dist.28
Area
 • Total38.7 sq mi (100.3 km2)
Elevation
[1]
1,230 ft (375 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total28,727
 • Density740/sq mi (290/km2)
Demonym(s)Moroveños
Time zoneUTC−4 (AST)
ZIP Code
00687
Area code(s)787/939
Major routes

History

Morovis's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was named Orocobix and his tribe was locally known as the Jatibonicu Taino.

Don Juan Evangelista Rivera bust in Morovis barrio-pueblo

In 1815, a group of residents, under the leadership of Don Juan José de la Torre, began the process to separate Morovis from Manatí. In 1817, the government of Puerto Rico approved the separation, but it was not until 1818 that the requirements of a population of one thousand residents and the construction of a church and several other public buildings was fulfilled, that the municipality of Morovis was officially founded. In 1822, the mayorship was constructed and in 1823, the new church was built, dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Carmen on lands donated by Don Juan Evangelista Rivera. Its first mayor was Don Juan José de la Torre, with its second mayor being Don Juan Evangelista Rivera.[4] Morovis has a particular nickname. It was the only municipality in Puerto Rico that did not suffer from a cholera epidemic in 1853; as a result, a common phrase, "la isla menos Morovis" ("(all of) the island but Morovis") was coined. The phrase is believed by Puerto Ricans from outside of the town to have a negative connotation against moroveños, while, in reality, it is considered a positive motto.

In 1875, Abino Casellas was mayor of Morovis and in 1879, Cruz Maria Castro was mayor.[5]

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Morovis was 11,309.[6]

Hurricane Maria

Morovis is a mountainous municipality with an area of approximately 100.3 square kilometres (38.7 sq mi), located slightly north of the center of the island,[7] which was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017. With a 2016 estimate of 31,603 residents at the time, 1500 to 2000 homes lost their roof and 500 wooden homes were completed destroyed. Roads and bridges were impacted by landslides and flooding, and residents were left without access to electrical power, telecommunication services and basic necessities for many months.[8]

The community in San Lorenzo, a barrio of Morovis with about 1,000 people, was left isolated when the bridge into the barrio was washed away by the Morovis River.[9][10][11]

Then mayor of Morovis, Carmen Maldonado delivered food to residents, the municipal town hall became a food distribution center and she arranged for the purchase and delivery of a water truck to provide clean water daily to the residents who did not have access to clean water.[12][13]

Maldonado spoke to New York governor Andrew Cuomo, requesting his help and Cuomo responded by contacting H.e.a.r.t. 9/11, a non-profit organization. In early 2019, Maldonado received and thanked volunteers from H.e.a.r.t. 9/11, mostly carpenters who came to Morovis to repair and rebuild homes damaged by the hurricane.[14] In late 2019, H.e.a.r.t. 9/11 was still rebuilding roofs in Morovis.[15][16]

Geography

Barrios
Barrios of Morovis.

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Morovis is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located near the center of the municipality, in a small barrio referred to as "Pueblo".[17][18][19]

  1. Barahona
  2. Cuchillas
  3. Fránquez
  4. Monte Llano
  5. Morovis barrio-pueblo
  6. Morovis Norte
  7. Morovis Sud
  8. Pasto
  9. Perchas
  10. Río Grande
  11. San Lorenzo
  12. Torrecillas
  13. Unibón
  14. Vaga

Sectors
Further information: List of barrios and sectors of Morovis, Puerto Rico

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions)[20] in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.[21][22][23][24]

Special Communities
Main article: Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development

Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following entire barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Morovis: Barrio Vaga, Santo Domingo-Pellejas, Ensanche, Parcelas Cuchillas, Comunidad José Otero Claverol, Parcelas San Lorenzo, Parcelas Torrecillas, Patrón, Sector Invasiones de Torrecillas, Sector Jobos, Sector Riachuelo, Sector Rosado, Barrio Unibón, Sector Vietnam, and Villa Roca.[25]

Morovis National (Veterans) Cemetery
Morovis National Cemetery, construction Phase I

The Morovis National Cemetery, a US veterans cemetery, was built in Morovis within a 247.5-acre parcel of land that can be accessed from Highway 137 at Km. 11.2. It was built to replace the existing Puerto Rico National Cemetery located in Bayamón which reached capacity.[26][27] Construction was underway in 2019[28][29] with interments slated to begin in 2021.[30]

Economy

An Energy Consortium was signed in late February, 2019 by the mayors of Villalba, Orocovis, Morovis, Ciales and Barranquitas municipalities. The consortium is the first of its kind for Puerto Rico. It is intended to have those municipalities work together to safeguard and create resilient, and efficient energy networks, with backups for their communities. This is part of the hurricane preparedness plan of these municipalities, which were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.[31]

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest
Biblioteca Electrónica Julia M. Chéverez Marrero in the recreational plaza in Morovis Pueblo

A well-known landmark in Morovis is The Red Bridge (Puente Colorao). It's an iron bridge which was built in 1912 and is located on PR-155 in barrio Morovis Norte. Cuevas Las Cabachuelas (Cabachuelas Caves) is a cave system in Puerto Rico which opened for tourism in 2019. It is located between the municipalities of Morovis and Ciales, Puerto Rico[32] in the Cabachuelas Natural Reserve, established in 2012[33] and is of cultural, archaeological, hydrological and geomorphological importance to Puerto Rico.[34] Guided tours are offered by the Diógenes Colón Gómez Cultural Center in Morovis, by reservation only.[32][35]

La Patria Bakery, home of the Pan de La Patita Echa', is a bakery established in 1862 in Morovis, that uses a brick oven for making bread. The bread has a curious name and look, resembling crossed legs.[36][37]

The Julia M. Cheverez Electronic Library is located in the main square in downtown.[38]

Each barrio had a mural painted by a group of local artists and ValorArte and the mural images depict values such as honor, peace, responsibility, leadership and culture.[39][40][41]

Culture
Maratón del jíbaro mural in Morovis barrio-pueblo

Festivals and events

Morovis celebrates its patron saint festival in July. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Señora del Carmen in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.[42][1][7]

Other festivals and events include:

  • Tribute to Don Felo - May
  • Maratón del jíbaro (transl. The Peasant's Marathon) - June
  • Cuatro Festival - July
  • The Island Except Morovis - December
  • Innocents' Day - December

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
190011,309—
191012,44610.1%
192014,66017.8%
193017,33218.2%
194019,16710.6%
195019,2910.6%
196018,094−6.2%
197019,0595.3%
198021,14210.9%
199025,28819.6%
200029,96518.5%
201032,6108.8%
202028,727−11.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[43]
1899 (shown as 1900)[44] 1910-1930[45]
1930-1950[46] 1960-2000[47] 2010[18] 2020[48]
Race - Morovis, Puerto Rico - 2000 Census[49]
Race Population  % of Total
White27,91793.2%
Black/African American8943.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native610.2%
Asian210.1%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander00%
Some other race6432.1%
Two or more races4221.4%

Government
Town Hall in Morovis barrio-pueblo

Carmen Maldonado González, has been the elected mayor of Morovis since 2017 and managed the devastation in Morovis caused by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017. The bridge collapse in Morovis' San Lorenzo barrio was one of the challenges faced by Maldonado.[50] Maldonado was reelected in 2020.[51]

Transportation
Bridge in Unibón barrio

There are 15 bridges in Morovis.[52] Major routes that go through Morovis include PR-137, PR-145, PR-155, PR-159, and PR-160.

Symbols

The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.[53]

Flag

The flag of Morovis is divided vertically in two equal parts. The immediate one to the mast is yellow and has the eagle of the coat of arms, in this case with the head facing left, toward the flagpole. The other half is divided in seven vertical stripes of equal width, four red ones alternated with three yellow ones.[54]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Municipality of Morovis is formed by an eagle in the left partition, which symbolizes Saint John the Evangelist and sings in honor of the founder of the town, Don Juan Evangelista Rivera. The five cuatros observable in the right partition symbolize the fact that the town of Morovis is the main center of production of such typical Puerto Rican musical instruments. The shield in the center represents the Order of the Carmelite Nuns, and symbolizes as well the Our Lady of the Carmen, matron of the town. The left half is a field of yellow color (yellow for gold) in which resides a saber (black) eagle, beak and claws in red, its head enclosed with a halo.[54]

Notable moroveños
  • USPS in Morovis
  • La Patria, bakery established in 1862
  • Red Bridge (Puente Colorao) in Morovis Norte
  • Symbols painted on wall in downtown Morovis
  • Signs for routes in Morovis

See also

References
  1. "Información del municipio". www2.pr.gov (in Spanish). 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. Bureau, US Census. "PUERTO RICO: 2020 Census". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  3. "MUNICIPIO AUTÓNOMO DE MOROVIS REVISIÓN PARCIAL AL PLAN TERRITORIAL" (PDF). Gobierno PR. Junta de Comunidad. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
  4. Tamacas, Carmen Molina (7 June 2018). "Morovis abraza la esperanza" (in Spanish). El Diario NY. Archived from the original on 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  5. Tesauro de datos historicos: indice compendioso de la literatura histórica de Puerto Rico, incluyendo algunos datos inéditos, periodísticos y cartográficos. Tesauro de datos historicos: indice compendioso de la literatura histórica de Puerto Rico, incluyendo algunos datos inéditos, periodísticos y cartográficos (in Spanish). Impr. del Gobierno de Puerto Rico. 1949. p. 252. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  6. Joseph Prentiss Sanger; Henry Gannett; Walter Francis Willcox (1900). Informe sobre el censo de Puerto Rico, 1899, United States. War Dept. Porto Rico Census Office (in Spanish). Imprenta del gobierno. p. 161.
  7. "Morovis Municipality". enciclopediapr.org. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  8. "María, un nombre que no vamos a olvidar. [Maria, a name we'll never forget.]". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish).
  9. García, Lyanne Meléndez. "Municipio anuncia reparación de puente afectado por huracán". Metro (in Spanish).
  10. "Con cuerda cruzan río peligroso en Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). CNN. 28 September 2017.
  11. "Bridge collapse strands Puerto Ricans - CNN Video" – via edition.cnn.com.
  12. "Lo que María se llevó en Morovis". Primera Hora (in Spanish).
  13. "Frustration Mounts Over Puerto Rico's 'New Normal' As Federal Troops Leave The Island". NPR.org.
  14. "Llegan desde Nueva York para reconstruir casas en Morovis". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2 January 2019.
  15. "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  16. https://heart911.org/projects/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-response-ongoing/
  17. Gwillim Law (20 May 2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. McFarland. p. 300. ISBN 978-1-4766-0447-3. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
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  23. "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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  25. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza:Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997-2004 (First ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, p. 273, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
  26. "Puerto Rico National Cemetery Replacement Morovis, Puerto Rico" (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
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  39. Maldonado Feliciano, Brian A. (31 July 2019). "Realizarán 15 murales simultáneamente en Morovis [15 murals will be simultaneously completed in Morovis ]". El Foro de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  40. "Video of murals in Morovis' barrios". Official Morovis Municipality on FB. Morovis Municipality. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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