OROCOVIS, PUERTO RICO

'Orocovis' (o-ro-KO-vis) is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range, north of Villalba and Coamo; south of Morovis and Corozal; southeast of Ciales; east of Jayuya; and west of Barranquitas. Orocovis is spread over 17 wards and Orocovis Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city).

Contents

History

Flag

Coat of Arms

Demographics

'Barrios' (Districts/Wards)

Anthem

Economic

Agriculture

Business

Industrial

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

Festivals and events

Transportation

Educacion

Sports

Notable "Orocoveños"

References

Footnotes

Books about Orocovis

Additional Information

Photo gallery

External links

History

The town of Orocovis is better know by its nick name "El Pueblo Corazon" (The Town of the Heart) and was originally named the town of Barros and was later renamed to Orocovis to honor the Taino Cacique (Chief) Orocobix. It was founded in 1825 by Juan Rivera de Santiago. Derives its name from a local Taino Indian Chief Orocobix (Orocovis) and his yucayeque or tribe were known as the Jatibonicu Taino.

Flag

The flag of Orocovis is formed by five vertical stripes: Two green at the ends and a blue one in the center divided by two narrower stripes.

Coat of Arms

The oval is symbol of the letter "o", initial of the name of the town. In each quadrant appear representative elements of the town. In the left superior quadrant an Indian bust, symbol of the great "Chief Orocobix", in silhouetted in gold on a silver-plated background. The Indian bust faces towards the star or sun that appears in the superior right quadrant, which is in gold on a blue background and represents the territorial municipality with its seventeen rays or demarcations. In the inferior quadrant a plantain plant is observed, silhouetted in gold on a silver-plated background. A bridge also silhouetted in gold on a blue background, above the river appears in the left inferior quadrant.

Demographics

'Barrios' (Districts/Wards)

★ Ala de la Piedra ★ Barros ★ Bauta Abajo ★ Bauta Arriba ★ Bermejales

★ Botijas I ★ Botijas II ★ Cacao ★ Collores ★ Damián Arriba ★ Damián Abajo ★ Gato

★ Mata de Caña ★ Orocovis ★ Pellejas ★ Sabana ★ Saltos

hola

Anthem

By Celestino Avilés, hijo
Mi patria es una bella isla

y Orocovis su corazón

y a ese pueblo que me dio la vida

hoy le canto con todo mi amor.

Rodeado de verdes montañas

vigilado por un árbol de mangó

centinela y fiel testigo de su historia,

de su gente, de su honra y su valor

Fue en tu suelo que nació

el gran Cacique Orocobix

y muchos hombres que le han

dado tanta gloria a mi país.

Y es por eso que hoy

doy gracias al Señor

de nacer en este suelo...

¡Que orgulloso estoy!

De poder levantar tu escudo

y tu bandera y gritar a donde vaya...

¡Orocoveño soy!

¡Orocoveño soy!

Economic

Agriculture

Cattle, coffee, fruits, tobacco, and wheat.

Business

Industrial

Several small nutritional product industries

Tourism

Landmarks and places of interest

★ Indian Cave

★ Matrullas Lake

★ Orocovis Museum

★ Taíno Refuge

★ Mirador Orocovis - Villalba

★ Bosque Toro Negro (Toro Negro Rain Forest)

★ Cerro La Guaira

★ Chorro Doña Juana (Doña Juana Water Fall)

Festivals and events

★ Infant Theater Festival - April

★ Patron Festivities, Saint John - June

★ Festival del Camaron - July --> This is a Festival where the participants capture "river shrimps".

★ Arts Craft Fair (Festival de Artesanías) - September

★ Youth Festival - October

★ National Festival of The Puerto Rican Pastel - November

Transportation

Educacion

Sports

Notable "Orocoveños"

★ Don Celestino Avilés - Artisan

★ Don Pedro Arroyo Vivas- Historiator

★ Dr. Ismael Rodríguez Bou- Educator

★ Don Pedro Torres - Taino Chief

★ Antonio Ortiz Hernández - Professor

★ José Rojas Cortés- Educator

★ Gladys Vanessa Colón Díaz- former Miss Puerto Rico 1973

★ Efraín Rodríguez Otero - Priest

★ Alberto Meléndez Torres- Educator

★ Dr. Jenaro Collazo Collazo - Former Secretary of Social Services (1977-1984)

★ Manuel Jimenez- folk singer

★ Andres Jimenez - Puerto Rican folk singer

★ Bobby Valentin -salsa band leader, musician, arranger, bass and trumpet player

★ Cruz Manuel Hernández Santiago, aka Manny Manuel - merengue singer

★ Pedro Orlando Torres - stage actor

★ Leopoldo Rojas Reyes- Former Representative 1976-80

★ José Enrique López Torres- Former Representative 1992-96, Former Director CD

★ Angel Virella - Makeup Artist for Fashion, Film and Theater

★ Rafael Santo Domingo - Major League Baseball Player

★ Efraín Colón Zayas - Cuatro Player

★ Edwin Colón Zayas- Cuatro Player

★ Emma Colón Zayas- Cuatro Player

★ Efrain Rivera "El Jataca Mayor"- folk singer

★ Ramón Rodriguez - Salsa Musician

★ Anibal José Torres Torres- former Secretary of the Government

★ Jennifer Guevara Campos- Miss Puerto Rico World 2007

★ Pedro L. Rivera MSG South Central Region Food Servcice Supervisor 82nd Airborne

★ Ismael Torres- Journalist

★ Mardelis Jusino- TV Journalist

★ Dr. Reynaldo Ortiz Colón- Educator

References

Footnotes

Books about Orocovis

Additional Information

For more information on Orocovis, you can visit the following Internet sites:
http://www.orocovispr.com/
http://www.gobierno.pr/GPRPortal/StandAlone/MunicipalityInformation.aspx?Filter=60
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/oroco.shtml
http://travelandsports.com/espanol/oro.htm
http://www.jibaraeducada.com/orocovis.html
http://www.allstates-flag.com/fotw/flags/pr-or.html

Photo gallery

External links