MUNICIPALITIES AND RAPID RESEARCH
Girl in a green hoodie walking along a country highway. The road is surrounded by pines.
My novel follows Ramona Martinez in her journey to recreate her identity through an exploration of her family’s past and how it ties into her present life.
In the book, Ramona has just found out about barrios and municipalities, structures unfamiliar to her in the Pacific Northwest.
To my best understanding, a municipality is a town and a barrio is a section of that town. It sounds a lot like a borough in New York, but then again, I don’t really know a lot about that either. And neither does Ramona.
A few years back, I spent a day in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I walked parts of El Morro, shopped at a local market, and explored the Catedral de San Juan, one of the oldest (and coolest) cathedrals in the Western Hemisphere. I felt so at peace with myself during this trip. I felt more connected to my Latinx roots and to Abuela than ever before. I can’t wait to visit Puerto Rico again (and for more than a day this time).
However, upon further research, it became clear to me that the part of Puerto Rico that I’d visited was a lot different from Abuela’s home town. Since Ramona isn’t financially able to travel to Puerto Rico, and neither am I, I thought I’d do some light research into the differences between the municipality of San Juan and Aguadilla, the place where Abuela grew up.
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Picture from El Morro.
San Juan:
Named after John the Baptist after the colonizers started doing their thang…
Most heavily populated city in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s capital.
Contains 3 sections: Old San Juan, The Beaches/Resorts, and other communities. The other communities surrounding Old San Juan and the beaches include: Río Piedras, Hato Rey, Puerta de Tierra, and Santurce. I think I visited Old San Juan almost exclusively, but I barely skimmed the surface of all that Old San Juan has to offer.
San Juan’s harbor is one of the largest natural harbors around. Its harbor has been important for military functions. When visiting San Juan, the giant walls surrounding the city remind citizens and tourists of the complicated military history of the island.
Produces and distributes a wide variety of products, including: rum, sugar, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco.
Picture of Cuesta Vieja, street in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico by Nelson Corales. Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuesta_Vieja,_street_in_Aguadilla,_Puerto_Rico.jpg
Aguadilla
Means “city of springs,” but is also known as the city of gardens and the town of sharks (cue Jaws theme).
A municipality in Puerto Rico on the North West coast of the island.
Contains 16 barrios, some of which are very rural and farm-y.
Has some of the most pristine, clear, surf-worthy beaches in Puerto Rico.
Produces and distributes primarily rubber, plastics, leather, clothes, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods.
Some cool historical places are the Ruins of the old Spanish lighthouse and the Aguadilla Art Museum.
My grandma lived in the Maleza Baja barrio as a girl. It’s hard to find information about.
Readers, I know this is all very basic. But I’ve got to start somewhere! I’m here more to learn. So you tell me: what am I missing? What do you know about Aguadilla and/or Maleza Baja? What barrios/municipalities should I look into or visit in the future? Which places hold the most history (interesting, painful, or otherwise)?
Aguadilla information: http://nuestropuertorico.com/municipalities/en-aguadilla/
Aguadilla information: https://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/aguadilla.shtml
San Juan Information: https://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/sanjuan.shtml
