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Arecibo (ah-re-SEE-boh) is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo (The downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Arecibo is located on the north coast of the island of Puerto Rico, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of San Juan, or approximately a 1-hour trip by car. The nearby Arecibo Observatory is known for housing the world's largest radio telescope.
History Arecibo, settled in 1556, was the island's third Spanish settlement, after Caparra (which later became San Juan), and San German. It is named after the Taíno Cacique Xamaica Arasibo, who ruled the Taino yucayeke (town), then named Abacoa. Arecibo was officially founded as a city by the Spanish crown May 1, 1616, under the governorship of Captain Felipe de Beaumont y Navarra, when the King of Spain granted the land (and the Tainos living there) to Lope Conchillos. Arecibo is known as El Diamante Del Norte (North's Diamond) as well as La Ribera del Arecibo (The shore of Arecibo). Arecibo is also known as La Villa del Capitán Correa (Captian Correa's Villa) after the Puerto Rican hero Captain Antonio de los Reyes Correa, who as a member of the Spanish Army defended Arecibo from a British invasion led by Admiral Whelstone in August 5, 1702. Arecibo is the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arecibo. Flag The flag of Arecibo derives its composition and colors from the Shield of the City. It is divided vertically in two equal parts. The left side is blue having a belt that stands for "Captain Correa", a local military hero from Spanish times. The other part is yellow with fifteen blue rhombis with the vertices touching each other and placed in three horizontal rows of five each and five vertical columns of three each. Coat of Arms The shield is divided by diagonal lines in golden and blue rhombis with a blue stripe in the superior part, in which resides an opened five-point crown and which is adorned with drawings characterizing the art of the Taínos. This combination of symbols represents the Indian Cacique (Chieftain) from whom the population's name derives, the governor that erected the town and the hero Captain Correa who defended it. Barrios (Districts/Wards) Geo/Topography Cambalache Forest Reserve Dos Bocas Lake Río Abajo Forest Reserve Anthem By José A. Monrouzeau Villa y ciudad te conocí acariciada por el mar prodigio es ver cerca de tí ríos formandose un collar porque eres tú cuna gentil de nuestro gran Pachín Marín, Víctor Rojas también de Campeche un jardín, del Capitán Correa, el invicto, fue un edén. Arecibo, Arecibo yo nunca te podré olvidar, pueblecito de mis amores que como tú no hay otro igual. Por tus atletas y tus héroes tus hijos te saben querer, con sus mujeres en sus quereres gratos recuerdos del ayer. En el baseball estrellas son Rodríguez Olmo con Pellot. En basketball gran sensación con John Padilla en Nueva York. Así también cual campeón Petaca Iguina es colosal. Nuestros atletas son bravos por su ideal por eso gozan de fama y admiración. Arecibo, Arecibo yo nunca te podré olvidar, pueblecito de mis amores que como tú no hay otro igual. Por tus atletas y tus héroes tus hijos te saben querer, con sus mujeres en sus quereres gratos recuerdos del ayer. Business Arecibo's main shopping malls are The Atlantic Plaza. Landmarks and places of interest In 1898 the spaniards built the Arecibo Lighthouse which was automated in 1964 and is in use today. Arecibo is known for the nearby world-famous Arecibo Observatory, the largest single-unit radio telescope ever constructed and one of the world's most powerful radar-radio telescope. While the observatory exists to support scientific studies, a number of Hollywood movies have been filmed there, most recently GoldenEye and Contact. The radio telescope was used in 1974 to send the Arecibo message to space. Also nearby () is a facility for launching sounding rockets. Since 1966 many rockets of the Nike Apache, Nike Javelin, Nike Iroquois, Nike Tomahawk, Black Brant, Taurus Orion, and Terrier Orion types have been launched from this facility. Festivals and events Transportation Arecibo has a small noncommercial airport, named Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport, which has not had airline flights in about two decades. Sports Arecibo has two professional sports franchises, the Lobos de Arecibo in baseball and the Capitanes de Arecibo in BSN basketball. The Lobos won the 1983 national baseball championship and the 1983 Caribbean World Series, the only time the franchise won both titles. At that time, they had MLB prospect Dickie Thon, then also of the Houston Astros, on their roster. Thon then suffered a life-threatening and career-affecting eye injury during an Astros game in 1984. The Lobos won a championship again in 1996. The Capitanes have not had much luck in their basketball tournaments, but in 2002, they started to turn things around, reaching the semifinals. However they lost the series to the Vaqueros by losing 4 straight games, after having a 3-0 game lead in the series. The Capitanes won the National Superior Basketball championship on 2005 beating the Vaqueros of Bayamón in 4 games. This was the first championship in 46 years. Notable "Arecibeños" Photo gallery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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