San Germán, Puerto Rico

San Germán (sahn her-MAHN) is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao; north of Lajas; east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo; and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over 18 wards and San Germán Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).

San Germán is the second oldest city of Puerto Rico, after San Juan. The island of Puerto Rico was once split between the San Juan and the San German municipalities. The latter extended from a line from Arecibo in the north to Ponce in the south, westward to the sea.

History

There is evidence that the city of San Germán existed as far back as 1573. A letter sent to Spain's king Philip II talked about a city with the names of Nueva Salamanca and San Germán. Spanish conquerors used the name Nueva Salamanca to honor the city of Salamanca in Spain.

The actual city of San Germán originated around the same time as the colonization of Puerto Rico began. While the city itself was never located in the southern coast of the island, a statement commonly mentioned, but wrong, its history is closely tied with the town of Santa Maria de Guadianilla. The town was founded by order of Juan Ponce de León after a Taíno uprising on February 1511. This initial town was destroyed by French corsairs and the populace retreated inland.

In November 1511, Juan Ponce de León handed over the governorship of Puerto Rico to Juan Cerón, lieutenant to Viceroy Diego Colón. Cerón ordered Miguel de Toro, a lieutenant of Juan Ponce de León, to create a "Christian township" on the western part of Boriquen, calling it San Germán ("Saint Germanus"). This town was established on December 1511 on the mouth of the Guaorabo River, near the area known today as Añasco. This town was attacked by French corsairs in August 1528, May 1538 and 1554. The construction of a small fort began on 1540, but work stopped on 1546, when the population of the town began moving inland. Even with the exodus of people, the port of Guaorabo was still used by those who left.

) ordered that both the populations of San Germán and Santa Maria de Guadianilla be merged into a single city due to the constant attacks. The new city would be built on the hills of Santa Marta, next to the Guanajibo River, on 1573. Its official name was Nueva Villa de Salamanca, named after the city of Salamanca, in Spain. However, the population would call the city San Germán el Nuevo (The New San Germán) and, eventually, the Villa de San Germán (The Village of San Germán).

Flag

Green - Colors of the Shield of Chistopher Columbus and his son, Viceroy of America. White - The purity of the blood of the great families who colonized San Germán. Violet - Color of the Shield of Juan Ponce de Leon, first governor of Puerto Rico.

Coat of Arms

First Quarter: A green field a royal gold castle. Second Quarter: The second quarter exhibits the arms of the kingdoms of Aragon and Sicily, where don Fernando the Catholic reigned. Third Quarter: In this quarter the arms combine with the County of Foix and the Kingdom of France, which constitute the family shields of Germana de Foix whose name perpetuates the city of San Germán. Fourth Quarter: Is Ponce de Leon's shield, The Crown: Is a civic or municipal standard and is used as a stamp for towns and cities, San Germán was assigned five towers to denote that this population formally obtained the title of city from the Spanish crown, in the last century.

Demographics

Racial distribution

Geography

Mountains; Alto del Descanso (768 meters) and Tetas de Cerro Gordo (883 meters).Rivers; Caín, Duey, Rosario, Guanajibo (Estero), Hoconuco and Guamá.

Barrios (Districts/Wards) [http://welcome.topuertorico.org/maps/sangerman.pdf]

*Ancones *Caín Alto *Caín Bajo *Cotuí *Duey Alto *Duey Bajo

*Guamá *Hoconuco Alto *Hoconuco Bajo *Maresúa *Minillas** *Retiro

*Rosario Alto *Rosario Bajo *Rosario Peñón *Sabana Eneas *Sabana Grande Abajo *San Germán Pueblo *Tuna

**Due to its large size, Minillas is usually subdivided into Minillas Valle, Minillas Carretera and Minillas Parcelas.

Culture

Anthem

By Raquel Quiñones

San Germán es mi pueblo querido,
en sus lomas alegres nací,
y no encuentro otro sitio en el mundo
donde yo pueda ser tan feliz.
Es antiguo, legendario y muy culto,
y fue cuna de hombres grandes ayer,
de poetas, maestros artistas,
y de damas muy nobles también.

Porta Coeli se levanta orgulloso
cual reliquia de un tiempo que fue,
en sus muros antiguos aun vibra,
un pasado de gloria y de fe.

Yo no cambio mis verdes colinas
por París, Nueva York, ni Berlín
porque allí no se ven golondrinas
como siempre las vemos aquí.

Dios bendiga este pueblo tan más,
este pueblo en donde nació,
del que puedo yo estar orgulloso,
donde siempre me siento feliz.

Festivals and events

*Patron Celebrations - July
*Anón Festival - September
*Christmas Festival - December
*Festival de la Pana - July

Landmarks and places of interest

* Puente de Bolas (Bridge of Balls)
* Casa Morales
* Ceiba de la Libertad
* Historic Gallery
* Lola Rodríguez de Tió Museum
* Ramírez de Arrellano y Rossell Museum
* Santo Domingo Plazuela
* Three Races and One Culture Mural
* San German Antiguo National Historic Site
* Porta Coeli
* Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico (Interamerican University of Puerto Rico)

ports

San Germán has only one professional sports team, BSN's San Germán Athletics. Nicknamed either "El monstruo anaranjado" ("The orange monster", in reference to their uniform) or "Los nenes", San Germán's basketball team is the oldest in the island and has been one of the most successful in Puerto Rican basketball history, winning fourteen championships. From 1955 to 1985 the Atléticos did not win a championship. But the 1985 team, helped by Jose Ortiz, beat the Guaynabo Mets in six games to win the national title, and, at the same time, helped San Germán revitalize its economy by raising awareness of the town's historic importance for the island.

Economy

Agriculture

The area around San Germán grows fruits (banana, pineapple) and sugar cane on mid-scale. Dairy farms are also present in small scale. Some locals grow other produce on a small scale. Other industries in the municipality include Baxter Serum Mfg., Cordis, Insertco (Print shop for medical instructions inserts), Wallace International, General Electric (production of circuit breakers) and several other companies in the service industry.

Business

Most businesses are located in or near the "downtown" area (San Germán Pueblo). Plaza del Oeste is the main shopping center.

Industrial

Major employers of the city include Baxter Serum Mfg., Johnson & Johnson's Cordis Division, Insertco (Print shop for medical instructions inserts), Wallace International, General Electric (production of circuit breakers) and several business owners.

Tourism

San Germán is the site of the Porta Coeli church, one of the earliest Spanish cathedrals built in Latin America. Porta Coeli is still a major attraction that brings both domestic and international tourists every year.

Education

San Germán has 15 public schools: 8 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 4 second units and 2 high schools. Here's a list of the schools.

*Amina Tió de Malaret (Elementary)
*Antonia Martínez (Elementary)
*Bartolomé de las Casas (Elementary)
*Carmen Borrás Batistini (Elementary)
*Georgina Alvarado (Elementary)
*Henry W. Longfellow (Elementary)
*Herminia C. Ramírez (Elementary)
*Mariano Abril (Elementary)
*Julio Víctor Guzmán (Middle)
*Luis Muñoz Rivera (Second Unit)
*Federico Degetau (Second Unit)
*Francisco Mariano Quiñones (Second Unit)
*Galo Rosado (Second Unit)
*Laura Mercado (High School)
*Lola Rodríguez de Tió (High School)

It also has several private schools, such as Colegio San José, Academia Bárbara Ann, Academia Sangermeña and Academia Presbiteriana.

The main campus of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico is located in the downtown area of San Germán. It was the first private university in Puerto Rico.

Notable "Sangermeños"

*Aurelio Tió - Historian
*Francisco Mariano Quiñones - Abolition leader, politician and writer.
*Lola Rodríguez de Tió - Poet and patriotic.
*Manuel F. Rossy - Lawyer, journalist, orator and leader of the statehood movement.
*Samuel R. Quiñones - Participated in the Liberal Party and was one of the founders of the Popular Party.
*Benicio del Toro - is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award- and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award-winning actor and film producer.

References

External links

* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=05000US72125&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-PH1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-redoLog=false&-format=CO-2&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_CO2 San Germán and its barrios, United States Census Bureau]
*wikitravel|San Germán
* [http://www.portadelsolpuertorico.com/san-german-puerto-rico.html San German, Puerto Rico]
* [http://www.atleticos.org/ Official Webpage of the San German Atleticos]