The municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, has 31 barrios, the largest number of barrios among all municipalities in Puerto Rico. Rafael Torrech San Inocencio. El Sur a la Vista. elsuralavista.com. 14 February 2010. Accessed 12 February 2011.Ponce. Proyecto Salon Hogar. Map of Barrios of Ponce. (Map with fully urbanized barrios conglomerated and merged as "Zona Urbana". Barrio not labeled is named "Machuelo Abajo".) Retrieved 30 November 2009."Ponce: General Information." Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Retrieved 30 November 2009.Ponce Puerto Rico. AreciboWeb. (Map showing the 31 geo-numbered barrios of Ponce.) Retrieved 30 November 2009.
Meaning of "barrio"
In Puerto Rico, the term barrio has two very different meanings. Officially, Ponce has 31 barrios; this is according to local, insular, and federal governments. However, there is a second meaning for barrio that does not correlate with the official meaning and one that is meant to refer, loosely, to a sector or portion of an official barrio. It is a meaning that makes reference to a community that shares certain common characteristics (types of homes, income range of its dwellers, its natural or human-made boundaries, etc.). Some examples of these so-called barrios are barrio MameyesConmemoran 30 años de la devastación en Mameyes. Univision. 7 October 2015. Accessed 2 April 2018. (a sector of barrio Portugues Urbano), barrio Corral ViejoA mantener limpio ‘Corral Viejo’: Vecinos del barrio Corral Viejo de Ponce crean alianza con el Municipio para cuidar su comunidad. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 13 December 2016. Accessed 2 April 2018. (a community within Barrio Magueyes), barrio ClausellsOrdenanza Numero 4, Para re-denominar la Calle 1 del Sector Clausells de Ponce con el nombre de Jorge "Griffin" Tirado Marengueli. Ponce Municipal Legislature. 23 July 2010. Accessed 2 April 2018. (a portion of Barrio Segundo), barrio TeneríasRecuerdan inicios de la conmemoración al natalicio de Albizu Campos en Tenerías. Coral Negrón Almodóvar. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 12 September 2016. Accessed 2 April 2018. (part of Barrio Machuelo Abajo), and barrio CaracolesPonce se viste de rumba en el barrio Caracoles. Primera Hora. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1 July 2011. Accessed 2 April 2018. (a community in Barrio Canas). These so-called barrios, unlike the 31 official barrios, do not have well defined borders, and their names ordinarily reference a general, not a precise, sector or area.Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 21.
Introduction to Ponce's 31 barrios The territorial areas known as barrios started to take shape during the 18th century (1700s), and the first barrios named were Cana, Montones, Capitanejo, Quebrada Limón, and Bucana.Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce. Bayamon, Puerto Rico: Impress Quality Printing. p. 36. 2002. Throughout the 19th century, Ponce's jurisdictional zone increased to where it included both urban and rural barrios. With an expanding urban zone, in the 20th century Ponce's list of barrios came to number 31, with 13 located in the urban area of the city plus 18 outside the urban zone.Mapa de Localización Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenación Territorial. Municipio Autónomo de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 March 2010. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Barrios AreciboWeb. Retrieved 22 November 2009.Un Acercamiento Sociohistorico y Linguistico a los Toponimos del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Amparo Morales, María T. Vaquero de Ramírez. "Estudios de lingüística hispánica: homenaje a María Vaquero". Page 113. Retrieved 19 July 2011. Of these 18, and as the urban area continues to expand, seven were considered suburban in 1999. These 7 suburban barrios were: Canas, Magueyes, Portugués, Machuelo Arriba, Sabanetas, Coto Laurel, and Cerrillos.Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 21. The remaining 11 are entirely rural barrios.AREAS IN PUERTO RICO ELIGIBLE FOR RURAL HOUSING LOANS: BARRIOS, TOWNS AND VILLAGES. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rural Development. Page 7. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2012. A 2000 report by the U.S. Census Bureau provides detailed demographics statistics for each of Ponce's barrios.Archived at the WayBack Machine on 16 May 2011, from the originals at U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 12 February 2011.
From a demographics perspective, the 2000 Census showed that Montes Llanos is the least populated barrio in the municipality. Thanks to its larger area, barrio Canas was by far the most populated ward of the municipality.Lo Que No Sabias de Puerto Rico y Mucho Mas. By Boricua Online.com. Barrio Canas Most Populated. Retrieved 7 December 2009. At 68 persons per square mile, San Patricio was the least dense, while Cuarto was the most densely populated at 18,819 persons per square mile.City Melt, San Patricio, Ponce, Puerto Rico Retrieved, February 20, 2010.City Melt, Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico Retrieved, February 17, 2010.
Geographically speaking, Ponce has nine barrios that border neighboring municipalities. These are Anón, Canas, Capitanejo, Coto Laurel, Guaraguao, Marueño, Quebrada Limón, Real, San Patricio. Canas and Capitanejo are also coastal barrios, and together with three other coastal barrios (Playa, Bucaná, and Vayas) make up the municipality's five coastal barrios.Barrios: Ponce, Puerto Rico BoricuaOnline.com Accessed 7 March 2021.
There are also seven barrios within the city limits (Bucana, Canas Urbano, Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Playa, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón) that in addition to the original six city core barrios — named Primero, Segundo, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto — make up the 13 urban barrios of the municipality. The historic zone of the city is within these original six core city barrios. These twelve barrios compose what is known as the urban zone of the municipality.
The remaining eight barrios (Magueyes, Tibes, Montes Llanos, Maragüez, Portugués, Machuelo Arriba, Cerrillos, Sabanetas) are located in the interior of the municipality. These last eight are outside the city limits and are neither coastal nor bordering barrios.Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial. Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
Complete list of barrios A summary of all the barrios of the municipality, their population, population density, and land and water areas as given by the U.S. Census Bureau is as follows:U.S. Census Bureau. Fact Finder. Ponce Municipio, Puerto Rico -- County Subdivision and Place. Retrieved 6 March 2010.Ponce... Pearl of the South. The Real Estate Book. List of Barrios of Ponce from U.S. Census Bureau. This map shows fully urbanized barrios conglomerated and merged as "Zona Urbana". The barrio missing a label is called "Machuelo Abajo" Retrieved 7 December 2009.Welcome to Puerto Rico.Org, Map of Ponce. By Welcome to Puerto Rico.org. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
No. Barrio Population(Census 2000) Density(/sq mi) Total Area(sq mi) Land Area(sq mi) Water Area(sq mi)1Anón1669129.912.8512.850.002Bucaná39632957.52.161.340.813Canas340652349.322.8214.508.324Canas Urbano214829299.62.312.310.005Capitanejo1401355.44.823.950.886Cerrillos42841377.53.313.110.207Coto Laurel52851492.93.603.540.068Cuarto301118818.80.170.160.009Guaraguao1017247.44.114.110.0010Machuelo Abajo133027515.31.861.770.9011Machuelo Arriba137272124.96.616.460.1512Magueyes61341345.24.564.560.0013Magueyes Urbano13321074.21.241.240.0014Maragüez754142.06.425.311.1115Marueño1474350.14.214.210.0016Montes Llanos462214.92.152.150.0017Playa169263864.414.984.3810.6018Portugués Rural48821386.93.563.520.0419Portugués Urbano58865163.21.141.140.0020Primero355014200.00.250.250.0021Quebrada Limón804301.12.672.670.0022Quinto7246581.80.110.110.0023Real3139595.65.285.270.0124Sabanetas64202351.62.792.730.0625San Antón1127110063.41.171.120.0426San Patricio46567.86.866.860.0027Segundo1132117416.90.650.650.0028Sexto474518250.00.270.260.0129Tercero7739662.50.080.080.0030Tibes866123.57.017.010.0031Vayas1338187.910.477.123.35 Ponce1864751625.5193.6114.778.9
Barrios in the urban zone There are 13 barrios in the urban zone of the city of Ponce.Ponce: Notas para su historia. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservacion Historica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 6. Accessed 19 February 2018.Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenación Territorial. Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 24 March 2010. These are the original six urban barrios — named Primero, Segundo, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto - plus seven others that the urban area has expanded to cover as well and which, with time, were incorporated into the city limits, namely, Bucaná, Canas Urbano, Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón.Ponce, Puerto Rico: Barrios AreciboWeb. Retrieved 22 November 2009.Un Acercamiento Sociohistorico y Lingüístico a los Topónimos del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Amparo Morales, María T. Vaquero de Ramírez. "Estudios de lingüística hispánica: homenaje a María Vaquero". Page 113. Retrieved 19 July 2011. The historic zone of the city is within the original six urban zone barrios.
According to the 2000 Census, Cuarto - an urban barrio - was the most densely populated with 18,819 persons per square mile,Lo Que No Sabias de Puerto Rico y Mucho Mas. By Boricua Online.com. Barrio Canas Most Populated. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
No. Barrio Population(Census 2000) Density(/sq mi) Total Area(sq mi) Land Area(sq mi) Water Area(sq mi)1Bucaná39632957.52.161.340.812Canas Urbano214829299.62.312.310.003Cuarto301118818.80.170.160.004Machuelo Abajo133027515.31.861.770.905Magueyes Urbano13321074.21.241.240.006Playa169263864.414.984.3810.607Portugués Urbano58865163.21.141.140.008Primero355014200.00.250.250.009Quinto7246581.80.110.110.0010San Antón1127110063.41.171.120.0411Segundo1132117416.90.650.650.0012Sexto474518250.00.270.260.0113Tercero7739662.50.080.080.00 Ponce1864751625.5193.6114.778.9
Original barrios in the urban zone
When barrios were first created around 1831,Barrios de Ponce. Antepasados Esclavos.(From: Pedro Tomás de Córdoba. Memorias geográficas, históricas, económicas y estadísticas de la Isla de Puerto Rico.) Retrieved 19 June 2012. the urban zone of the municipality of Ponce was divided into four barrios, centered at the intersection of Marina and Comercio streets (as it continues to be today). By 1878, barrio Quinto was added to the urban zone,Barrios de Ponce. Antepasados Esclavos.(From: Ubeda y Delgado, Manuel. (1878). Isla de Puerto Rico: estudio histórico, geográfico y estadístico de la misma. Citado en Municipio de Ponce: memoria suplementaria al mapa de límites del municipio y sus barrios. (1953). Ponce: Junta de Planificación. Page 7.) Retrieved 19 June 2012. and by 1898 Cantera had been renamed as barrio Sexto to take its place among the urban barrios as well. (The port of La Playa, not the entire extension of barrio Playa, was also considered an urban zone in 1898.) These six original barrios that made up the urban zone of the municipality are detailed below.Ponce: Notas para su historia. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservacion Historica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 6. Accessed 19 February 2018.