About the destination: Rio Grande, established in 1840, is also referred to as the "City of the Yunque". Its municipal patron is the Virgin of Our Lady of Carmen. The municipality spans an area of approximately 157 square kilometers (60.8 square miles) and has a population of 52,362 residents, known as riograndeños (as per the 2000 census). The territory is divided into the following neighborhoods: Rio Grande-pueblo, Ciénaga Alta, Ciénaga Baja, Guzmán Arriba, Guzmán Abajo, Herreras, Jiménez, Mameyes II, and Zarzal.
The local economy is supported by various factories, hotels, and golf courses. Commercial farming of flowers (particularly lilies), bananas, yautías, tomatoes, and gherkins, among other fruits, also contributes to the economy.
Geography
Rio Grande is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the municipalities of Luquillo and Ceiba to the east, Loíza to the west, and Naguabo and Las Piedras to the south. It is part of the region known as Los Llanos Costaneros del Norte and features alluvial terrain, punctuated by rocky promontories and sand dunes along the coast.
The mountainous region is part of the Caribbean National Forest, also known as the Sierra de Luquillo. Most of this forest is located within the municipality of Rio Grande. The southern and southeastern parts of the municipality contain the highest elevations of the Sierra de Luquillo, including the peaks El Toro and El Yunque. Near the northern coast, there are two small hills known as El Faro and Bravo. The first, located between the neighborhoods of Mameyes II and Zarzal, is 459 feet (140 meters) high. The second hill, located in the Zarzal neighborhood, rises to less than 328 feet (100 meters) above sea level. The coastal areas are characterized by low, marshy land.
The municipality's hydrographic system includes the Herrera, Espíritu Santo, and Mameyes rivers. The Herrera River forms the border with the municipalities of Canóvanas and Loíza and is approximately nine miles long. The Espíritu Santo River originates in the Jiménez neighborhood and is approximately 12 miles long. Its tributaries are the Sonador and Grande rivers. The Mameyes River, named after the neighborhood in which it originates, serves as a boundary with Luquillo and is about nine miles long. Its tributaries include the La Mina River and its tributary the Juan Diego Stream; The Machine creek and its tributaries the Lingueta and La toma gorges; and the Tabonuco and Anón ravines.
Rio Grande has large mangrove areas located at the mouths of the Espíritu Santo, Herrera, and Mameyes rivers and at the tip of Picuda. The municipality's name comes from the Rio Grande, a tributary of the Espíritu Santo river, which flows near the town. During the years of conquest and colonization, the area suffered continuous attacks by the Carib Indians and Tainos. The area was gradually populated after conflicts with the indigenous people ceased. This led to the establishment of the first cattle herds, sugar plantations, and smaller fruit crops.
Rio Grande was founded on July 26, 1840, thanks to the efforts of a group of neighbors who sought to separate Rio Grande from the town of Loíza. Desiderio Escobar, Quilimaco Escobar, Juan Monge, and others, advised by Father Juan Leon Lascot, approached the island's governor, Miguel López de Baños, to request the demarcation of Loíza in all civil and ecclesiastical matters. The municipality's church was erected in the same year of its foundation.
At that time, Rio Grande was composed of the districts: Ciénaga Alta, Cienaga Baja, Jiménez, Guzmán Abajo, Guzmán Arriba, Herreras, Río Grande Pueblo, and Zarzal. In 1897, the Mameyes II district of the municipality of Luquillo was annexed to Rio Grande.
Two years later, the municipality of Luquillo was dissolved and its neighborhoods were distributed between Fajardo and Rio Grande. To Rio Grande, the neighborhoods of Mata de Plátano, Mameyes I, Hato Viejo, and parts of Savannah were added. The Hato Viejo neighborhood disappeared in 1910. Four years later, in 1914, by law of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, Luquillo was restored as a municipality and all of its neighborhoods were returned, except for Mameyes II, which remained in Rio Grande.
In 1898, the Planning Board of Puerto Rico prepared the official map of the municipality with its neighborhoods. In this map, the urban area was expanded, including part of the rural neighborhoods Herreras and Guzmán Abajo. During the first years of its foundation, the economy of Rio Grande was based on cattle farming. Years later, sugar cane cultivation flourished. This led to the creation of mills, which were later replaced by haciendas and then by sugar mills.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the municipality had two estates: Monserrate and Constancia. The first, owned by Veve Successors, was founded in 1850 by José Calzada and had 701 ropes of land. The second, founded in 1870 by Felipe García, had 50 ropes of land. In the 1970s, 740 ropes from the territory of Rio Grande were used for sugar cane cultivation. The municipality also had two dairy farms that had 325 ropes of pasture and produced 2,560 liters of milk daily. Another 13 farms, with 4,020 ropes of pastures and 3,600 heads of cattle, were dedicated to meat cattle farming. Additionally, ten poultry farms operated in the municipality with a total of 150,000 laying hens.
Furthermore, more than fifteen factories engaged in the manufacture of items such as electric switches, clothes, air conditioners, concrete poles, needles, school supplies, and others were operating in Rio Grande. Currently, the municipality's economy is primarily based on manufacturing and tourism industries. In recent years, trade, banking, and construction have also experienced growth.
