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Villalba

Municipio Autónomo de Villalba
Walter McK. Jones School in Villalba
Walter McK. Jones School in Villalba
Flag of Villalba
Flag
Coat of arms of Villalba
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
"Ciudad de los Avancinos", "Ciudad del Gandul", "Ciudad de los Lagos", "Ciudad del Cooperativismo"
Anthem: "A las orillas del Río Jacaguas"
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Villalba Municipality
Map of Puerto Rico highlighting Villalba Municipality
Commonwealth  Puerto Rico
Founded 1917
Barrios
Area
 • Total 37.69 sq mi (97.61 km2)
 • Land 37 sq mi (96 km2)
 • Water 0.62 sq mi (1.61 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 22,093
 • Rank 57th in Puerto Rico
 • Density 586.22/sq mi (226.340/km2)
Demonym(s) Villalbeños
Time zone UTC−4 (AST)
ZIP Code
00766
Area code(s) 787/939
Major routes PR secondary 143.svg PR secondary 149.svg PR secondary 150.svg PR secondary 151.svg

Villalba (Spanish pronunciation: [biˈʎalβa]), originally known as Villa Alba, is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region, northeast of Juana Díaz; south of Orocovis; and west of Coamo. Villalba is spread over 6 barrios and Villalba Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Ponce Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Villalba was founded in 1917 by José Ramón Figueroa y Rivera and Walter McJones. Its current mayor is Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz. By 1918, there weren't any highways connecting Villalba to its neighboring towns but by 1927 there was at least one.

Hurricane Maria passed through the area on September 20, 2017 and triggered numerous landslides in Villalba with significant rainfall. Bridges were destroyed and many areas where vital infrastructure was located were inaccessible. The entire electrical system was destroyed. Villalba's emergency operations center and an assisted living center were among the many buildings destroyed in Villalba. Villalba received 27.82 inches of rain. The mayor's stated “Our main need is oxygen. Many people depend on oxygen through artificial respirators that require electricity.".

"From Catastrophe to Hope" (De la catastrofe a la esperanza), a documentary describing the destruction of infrastructure in Villalba and how volunteers, community members, the mayor, and emergency service personnel worked to try to save people's lives was published in 2019 by Noticias de Villalba (Villalba News). The mountainous geography of Villalba made restoring electricity and water services extremely challenging. Chaplains, and religious leaders of all denominations, provided emotional support to all involved.

Subsequent to the hurricane, in 2018, Javier Hernández, the mayor discussed other options for electrical power, such as micro-grids, for Villalba, with the mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, reminding him that recovery from such a powerful hurricane would take years. Architect Jonathan Marvel talked about his company's plans to build an off-the-grid, 41-unit building in Villalba on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria.

Map of landslides in Puerto Rico - Hurricane Maria 2017
Map of landslides in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria.

Geography

Villalba is located in the central region of Puerto Rico, on a valley in the Cordillera Central. The highest point in the municipality is Cerro El Bolo at 3,526 feet (1,075 m) of elevation.

Barrios

Villalba, Puerto Rico locator map
Subdivisions of Villalba.

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Villalba is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities

Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of 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 barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Villalba: Chino neighborhood, Cooperativa neighborhood, Hato Puerco Arriba, Apeaderos, Sector Cubones in Caonillas Arriba, Palmarejo in Villalba Arriba, Céspedes in Pino, Cerro Gordo and Sector El Semil in Villalba Arriba.

Energy consortium

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 the island. It is intended to have municipalities work together to safeguard their communities, in the event of a catastrophe, by creating resilient, and efficient energy networks with backups.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1920 13,040
1930 11,847 −9.1%
1940 12,871 8.6%
1950 14,972 16.3%
1960 16,239 8.5%
1970 18,733 15.4%
1980 20,734 10.7%
1990 23,559 13.6%
2000 27,913 18.5%
2010 26,073 −6.6%
2020 22,093 −15.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
1920-1930
1930-1950 1960-2000 2010 2020

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

  • Walter McK Jones School
  • Guayabal Lake
  • La Corona Hill
  • Toa Vaca Lake
  • Toro Negro State Forest
  • Biblioteca Pública
  • Centro de Bellas Artes Adrian Rosado
  • Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora del Carmen

Economy

Agriculture

  • Coffee, green pigeon peas.

Industry

  • Manufacturing of aluminum packaging and electrical and electronic machinery, nutritional products, medical devices, and others.

Culture

Festivals and events

Villalba celebrates its patron saint festival in July. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Sra. del Carmen is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Villalba include:

  • Puerto Rico Marathon - July
  • Areyto Festival - November
  • Carlos Báez Marathon - December
  • Festival del ñame y Carne Frita- November

In 2017, Villalba celebrated the 100th year of its founding.

Symbols

The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag

Four horizontal, unequal stripes in width, that from top to bottom have the following order: green, white, green and yellow. In the immediate side to the flagstaff, in the superior stripe, appears, in white color, the star of the shield.

Coat of arms

On a green background, representing land, a 19th-century villa, reflected by six homes and a church in silver and red, the church is adorned with the shield of Carmelites, and a white star prominently displays and shines over the villa. Around its border are five fig leaves. Atop are three golden towers.

Transportation

Highways in Puerto Rico by 1927
Highways in Puerto Rico by 1927, Villalba is connected to Juana Díaz and the northern municipalities by PR-149
Highways in Puerto Rico by 1918
Highways in Puerto Rico by 1918, showing Villalba is not connected to its neighboring towns / municipalities

In 1918, Villalba was not yet connected to neighboring towns or municipalities. By 1927, Villalba was connected to Juana Díaz, and other neighboring municipalities with Puerto Rico Highway 149.

There are 23 bridges in Villalba.

Education

  • Villalba School District (Puerto Rico Department of Education)
  • Puerto Rico Criminal Justice College- Villalba Campus (Puerto Rico Police Academy)

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Villalba (Puerto Rico) para niños

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