Florida, Puerto Rico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids

Florida

Municipio de Florida

Town Hall in Florida

Flag	Coat of arms

Nicknames:

"Pueblo de la Piña Cayenalisa", "La Tierra del Río Encantado", "Tierra de los Mogotes"

Anthem: "Florida jardín hermoso (1961)"

Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Florida Municipality

Settled

1881

Founded

July 10, 1974

Founded by

Dr. Leopoldo Malavé

Barrios

1 barrio

Florida Adentro

Area

• Total

26 km² (10 sq mi)

Population

(2020)

• Total

11,692

• Rank

72nd in Puerto Rico

• Density

450/km² (1,165/sq mi)

Florideños

UTC-4 (AST)

00650

787/939

Major routes

Florida (Spanish pronunciation: [floˈɾiða]) is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico. It is located in the northern karst region. This area is known for its unique limestone hills. Florida is north of Ciales, south of Barceloneta, east of Arecibo, and west of Manatí.

Unlike most municipalities in Puerto Rico, Florida has only one main subdivision called a barrio. This barrio is named Florida Adentro. It also has two other smaller areas: Florida Zona Urbana and Pajonal comunidad. Florida is part of the larger San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History of Florida
- Becoming a Municipality
- Hurricane Maria's Impact
Geography and Natural Features
- Barrios and Neighborhoods
Culture and Tourism
- Festivals and Events
Economy
Population and People
Symbols of Florida
Education
Transportation
Mayors of Florida
Notable People from Florida
Images for kids
See also

History of Florida

Becoming a Municipality

Florida first began as a barrio (neighborhood) of Barceloneta in 1881. A priest named Father Carrión, the mayor of Barceloneta, and other important people visited a piece of land. They decided to create a new barrio there. The land owner, Don Manuel Cintrón, gave the land for this purpose. The barrio was first called Florida Adentro.

During the 20th century, people tried several times to make Florida its own municipality. A municipality is like a separate town or county. In 1949, a representative named Francisco Díaz Marchand suggested studying if Florida could become independent. This idea did not succeed. In 1960, another law was proposed for the same reason, but it also failed.

Finally, on June 14, 1971, the Senate of Puerto Rico and Governor Don Luis A. Ferré approved a new law. This law officially created the municipality of Florida. This makes Florida the youngest municipality (newest town) established on the island of Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Maria's Impact

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico very hard. In Florida, the hurricane caused a lot of damage. About 1,400 homes were completely destroyed. Another 2,295 homes were partly damaged by the storm.

Geography and Natural Features

Florida is the second smallest municipality in Puerto Rico. It covers an area of about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers). It is the only municipality in Puerto Rico where the main town area is within the northern karst region. This area is famous for its low, red clay and limestone hills. These hills are known in Caribbean Spanish as mogotes.

The southern border of Florida, next to Ciales, is very rugged. This makes it one of the least developed areas on the island. The Río Encantado (Enchanted River) is a special underground river that flows through this area. Florida also has several caves. Some of these caves include Román Cave, Miró Cave, Juana Gómez Cave, and Balcon Cave (Cueva Balcón).

Barrios and Neighborhoods

Florida, Puerto Rico.

Like all municipalities in Puerto Rico, Florida is divided into administrative units. These units are called barrios. In English, barrios can mean neighborhoods or boroughs. Florida is a newer municipality, so it has a simpler structure. It has one main barrio called Florida Adentro. It also has two smaller sub-barrios: Florida Zona Urbana and Pajonal. Florida does not have a "barrio-pueblo" like most other municipalities.

Here are some of the neighborhoods found in Florida:

Parcelas Arroyo
Parcelas Selgas
Pueblo Viejo
San Agustín
Perol
Tosas
La Villamil
Dolta

Culture and Tourism

To encourage people to visit, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company created a campaign called Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring"). This campaign includes a passport book and a website. The Florida page lists several interesting places to visit. These include Parque Ecológico Janet González (Janet González Ecological Park) and the Río Encantado (Enchanted River). It also mentions the Bandera de Puerto Rico (Flag of Puerto Rico) from the project Una Bandera, 78 Pueblos (One Flag, 78 Towns).

Festivals and Events

Florida celebrates its patron saint festival in September. This event is called the Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. It is a religious and cultural celebration. It usually includes parades, games, local crafts, fun rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Florida are:

Three Kings Festival – held in January
Cayenalisa Pineapple Festival – held in July
Cultural Fair of Río Encantado – held in October

Economy

Sign for Florida Pharmaceuticals and PR-140, Exit 57 from PR-2

In the past, Florida's economy mostly depended on farming. Farmers grew a lot of pineapples and other fruits. However, in recent years, like the rest of Puerto Rico, Florida has changed. More areas have become urban, and industries have grown. This has caused the fruit farming industry in Florida to almost disappear. Now, pharmaceutical manufacturing plants have been built in Florida, bringing new jobs.

Population and People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1980	7,232	—
1990	8,689	20.1%
2000	12,367	42.3%
2010	12,680	2.5%
2020	11,692	−7.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1899 (shown as 1900) 1910–1930 1930–1950 1960–2000 2010 2020

Florida is one of the least populated municipalities in Puerto Rico. This is probably because it is a small town. According to the 2000 census, Florida had 12,237 people. This meant there were about 1,236.7 people per square mile. Since it became a municipality in 1974, Florida's population has grown steadily. For example, in the 1980 census, there were 7,232 people living there.

Most people in Florida are of White origin. About 86.0% of the people, called Florideños, were White in the 2000 census. About 4.9% were Black, and 0.2% were Amerindian.

Symbols of Florida

The municipio (municipality) of Florida has its own official flag and coat of arms. These symbols represent the town's history and features.

Flag of Florida

The flag of Florida has three horizontal stripes. The top stripe is green, and the bottom stripe is white. Both of these stripes are five units wide. The middle stripe is red and is one unit wide.

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms has a silver background. In the center, there is a red (gules) cross with anchors, similar to one found in the Asturian district of Llanes. This cross is placed between two branches of blooming poinsettias. Poinsettias are beautiful plants with colorful leaves.

At the bottom of the shield, there is a green area that looks like hills. This represents the hilly land of the town. There is also a wavy silver stripe. This stripe represents the underground river called Encantado. At the very top, there is a gold crown with three towers. This type of crown is often seen on the coats of arms of municipalities. The shield can also be surrounded by two crossed coffee tree branches with fruits.

Names and Nicknames

Florida got its name from the many beautiful flowers and natural resources found in its land. It is also known as La Tierra del Río Encantado. This nickname means "The Land of the Enchanted River" and refers to the underground river called Encantado. Another nickname for Florida is the Pueblo de la Piña Cayenalisa. This means "The Town of the Cayenalisa Pineapple" because of its history of growing pineapples.

Education

Florida has several public and private schools for students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. The Puerto Rico Department of Education manages the public schools.

Here are some of the schools in Florida, as of 2020:

Adolfo Egüen School
Juanita Ramírez González School
Juan Ponce De León II School
Francisco Frías Morales School
Ricardo Rodríguez Torres School
Early Head Start

Transportation

Puerto Rico Highway 22 helps people get to PR-140. PR-140 then leads directly to Florida. You can reach Florida from cities like Mayagüez in the west or San Juan in the north.

Like most towns in Puerto Rico, Florida has a public transportation system. This system uses small, private buses and vans. These are called públicos. There is only one bridge in Florida.

Mayors of Florida

1974–1981 – Jorge Luis Pérez Piñeiro
1981–1984 – Heriberto González Vélez
1984–1992 – Juan Ramon De León Vélez [Johnny]
1992–2004 – Maria Dolores Guzmán Cardona [Maggie]
2004–2012 – José Aaron Pargas Ojeda
2012–present – José Gerena Polanco

Notable People from Florida

Charlie Montoyo – A former manager for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and a former Major League Baseball player.
Alexis Mateo – A famous Drag queen who was a contestant on Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race.