Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAY : Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality in northern Puerto Rico.
History
Called "El Pueblo del Chicharrón" (Pork Rind Town). Juan Ramírez de Arrellano established Bayamón as a town in May 22, 1772. Derives its name from a local Indian chief Bahamon, others claim that the name came from the Taíno word Bayamongo, which is the name of one of the rivers that cross the city.Other information
Bayamón is one of Puerto Rico's largest cities, and is situated in what is considered to be the island's metropolitan area. Founded in 1772, the city of Bayamón was named after taino Indian chief or cacique. It shares its metropolitan area status with San Juan, Guaynabo, Toa Baja, Cataño and Carolina.
Bayamón has always been a progressive city. Unlike Ponce, Aguadilla and Mayagüez, it does not have an airport due to its proximity to San Juan, the country's capital.
Bayamón's most progressive times came during the tenure of mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Sr., from 1976 to 2001. Rivera was asked by his party, the New Progressive Party, to run for governor. His main reason for opting not to do so was his lack of fluency in English. Instead, Rivera embraced Bayamón as his personal work of art and shaped it into an incredible, urban place to live.
During his tenure, he built many stunning tourist attractions that Bayamoneses (as people from Bayamón are called), Puerto Ricans and international tourists have enjoyed for years. These include:
--El parque del tren, a park featuring what was until 2001 Puerto Rico's only working train, and an example of a DC-3 that used to fly for United Airlines. (This park, however, was destroyed due to major road construction which is still underway.)
--A suspension bridge believed to be one of only 3 of its kind in all of Puerto Rico
--A science-themed park known as Parque De Las Ciencias, and
--The City Hall itself.
It should be noted, that Bayamón's suspension bridge is a pedestrian bridge only.
Rivera built a city hall that crosses over a major road. While walking through a connecting corridor, right above the road, pedestrians may see passing cars underneath. It's believed to be the only building of its class in the world.
Bayamón is also one of the cities to host the Tren Urbano (Urban Transit System commuter train), inaugurated in 2004.
Famous Bayamoneses include painter Francisco Oller, folk singer Jesús Sánchez Erazo, commonly known as Chuito el de Bayamón, musician Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and world boxing champions Hector 'Macho' Camacho and Daniel Santos.
The famous boxing fight between Alexis Arguello and Alfredo Escalera (their first; their equally legendary rematch was held in Rimini, Italy) was held in Bayamón in 1978.
Bayamón was also the site of the infamous 1987 murder of professional wrestler Frank "Bruiser Brody" Goodish. His murderer, Jose Gonzales, was subsequently acquitted of all charges.
The Vaqueros de Bayamón are the city's BSN representatives and the team with the most championships in history, with 13.
Districts (
- Bayamón
- Buena Vista
- Cerro Gordo
- Dajaos
- Guaraguao Abajo
- Guaraguao Arriba
- Hato Tejas
- Juan Sánchez
- Minillas
- Nuevo
- Pájaros
- Santa Olaya
(Guaraguao is also the name of a Puerto Rican bird. It is also called Puerto Rico Broad-Winged Hawk.)See also
- Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rico Islanders USL soccer
References
External links
Official sites
Colleges / Schools / Universities
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