Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Santurce, highlighted in yellow.
Santurce, highlighted in yellow.

Santurce is a district or barrio in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The name Santurce comes from Basque, and in that language it is written as Sant Urtzi , which literally translates to St. George. The original Santurtzi is a town near Bilbao, in Spain. With a 2000 population of 94,067 living in a land area of 5.24 square miles (13.57 km²), it is the most populated "barrio" in Puerto Rico and one of the most densely populated areas of San Juan at 17,951.7 residents per square mile (6,931.2/km²).

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[edit] Geography

View of Miramar and Condado, two of the finest neighborhoods or "Sub-Barrios" in Santurce
View of Miramar and Condado, two of the finest neighborhoods or "Sub-Barrios" in Santurce

Santurce is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the north, with more than five km of beaches from the Condado peninsula in the west, to a point 600 m east of “Punta Las Marías”, where it borders on Isla Verde district of Carolina, and “Laguna San José” and its northern embayment, “Laguna Los Corozos” to the east.

To the south by “Caño de Martín Peña”, and the northern barrios of former municipio Río Piedras (Hato Rey Norte, Hato Rey Central, Oriente), and to the west with the “Bahia of San Juan”, where three bridges; “Puente Dos Hermanos” (Ave. Ashford), “Puente G. Esteves” (Ave. Ponce de León) and “Puente San Antonio” (Ave. Fernandes Juncos) connect Santurce with “La Isleta” (small island) where Old San Juan is located. It has a total area of 8.70 square miles (22.53 km²)composed of 5.24 square miles (13.57 km²) of land and 3.46 square miles (8.96 km²) of water area.

The topography is mainly flat with low hills toward the central areas and swampy areas to the south along Caño Martín Peña and to the east near the Laguna San Jose (San Jose Lagoon). To the west side, most of the land that nowadays is called Isla Grande was part of land reclamation, made possible by by filling in marshes.

[edit] History

View across “Plaza del Mercado de Santurce” in one of Santurces Sub-barrios “Campo Alegre”.
View across “Plaza del Mercado de Santurce” in one of Santurces Sub-barrios “Campo Alegre”.
Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1950 195,007
—
1960 178,179 −8.6%
1970 128,232 −28%
1980 101,103 −21.2%
1990 95,184 −5.9%
2000 94,067 −1.2%

Originally settled by the native Tainos, the area later became home to a significant population of slaves of African ancestry who arrived from the neighboring Danish Virgin Islands. Due to the abundance of crabs found in the area, the district became commonly known as “Cangrejos” (the Spanish word for crabs). Throughout the centuries, the district continued to grow due to its location at the crossroads between San Juan and its southern suburbs. A group or residents led by Pedro Cortijo were granted permission to establish a Roman Catholic church, consecrated to Saint Matthew, and established the settlement (town) of "San Mateo de Cangrejos" on November 20, 1773.

In 1876, Pablo Ubarri, an engineer from the Basque Country region of Spain arrived on the island to help in the construction of a railroad system and a steam tramway between San Juan and the town of Rio Piedras trough the center of “Cangrejos” which prompted the gentrification of the district. Many years after his arrival he was granted the title of Count of Santurce by the Spanish Crown. With his newly acquired title and influence, the district was renamed after his title (a decision that has caused controversy ever since). The neighboring Condado also received its present-name from Ubarri's title, as the district’s name literally translates to “county” (which in medieval tradition is land granted by a monarch to a count).[1]

During most of the 1930s and up to the 1950s, Santurce along with neighboring district Miramar becomes one of the most vibrant areas of the capital. However, by the 1970s, most of the district had fallen into decay and it hasn’t been able to recapture the luster and vibrance it once had.

Today, the district is starting to see a resurgence in importance and life as many business and local establishments such as bars, clubs, and restaurants have opened their doors to locals and tourists alike due to the importance of trade and tourism in San Juan.

[edit] Subdivision

Santurce is subdivided into 40 “sub-barrios” or "sectors". There is an unassigned area (23 on the map) located west of "Merhoff", north of "Las Palmas", east of "Herrera", and south of "Shanghai". Census documents say that the unassigned portion of San Juan Municipio, Santurce barrio should be attributed to Merhoff subbarrio.[1]

Nr. Sub-barrio Land Area
(m²)		 Population
(Census 2000)		 Density
km-2
3 Alto del Cabro 156717 1164 7427.4
8 Bayola 71645 564 7872.1
33 Bolívar 163417 1223 7483.9
32 Buenos Aires 446986 1303 2915.1
6 Campo Alegre 123061 942 7654.7
15 Chícharo 75355 722 9581.3
5 Condadito 62470 748 11973.7
4 Condado 824791 6170 7480.7
37 Figueroa 350927 1016 2895.2
39 Gandul 167753 2035 12130.9
24 Herrera 123369 1841 14922.7
36 Hipódromo 268195 2017 7520.6
41 Hoare 363490 3 8.3
1 Isla Grande1) 2039968 753 369.1
38 La Zona 379687 1280 3371.2
20 Las Casas2) 803500 6775 8431.9
30 Las Marías 242223 1172 4838.5
21 Las Palmas 316171 2772 8767.4
26 Loíza 323012 2139 6622
13 Machuchal 140008 1212 8656.6
25 María Moczó 106196 1964 18494.1
34 Marruecos 267165 0 0
31 Martín Peña 185692 415 2234.9
35 Melilla 129544 926 7148.2
22 Merhoff 300801 2992 9946.8
23 unassigned3) 160256 1963 12249.2
9 Minillas 215963 1484 6871.5
2 Miramar 632154 5440 8605.5
18 Monteflores 172397 1657 9611.5
19 Barrio Obrero 1034200 11467 11087.8
28 Ocean Park4) 520891 1976 3793.5
11 Parque 299804 3251 10843.8
7 Pozo del Hato 176987 137 774.1
14 Pulguero 131613 1196 9087.2
17 Sagrado Corazón 345472 1646 4764.5
12 San Juan Moderno 91500 1083 11836.1
10 San Mateo 168864 1989 11778.7
16 Seboruco 167887 2198 13092.1
29 Shanghai 686961 11331 16494.4
40 Tras Talleres 168076 2453 14594.6
27 Villa Palmeras 163389 2648 16206.7
  Santurce 13568557 94067 6932.7
1) recently named Puerto Rico Convention Center
2) including “Isla Guachinanga” in the “Laguna San José”
3) should be attributed to Merhoff Sub-Barrio (22) [2]
4) including “Isla Piedra” one km off the Atlantic coast

[edit] Transportation

Santurce is served by a metro system called “Tren Urbano” (Urban Train), with the Sagrado Corazón station located on the central-south-east section of the district, an area known as “Parada 27” (Stop 27), which evokes the names of the old trolley stops. Various bus lines (guaguas) operated by the Metropolitan Bus Authority (Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses or AMA in Spanish) provide service in the area as well.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Places of interest

[edit] Notable natives or residents of Santurce

[edit] Sports

Santurce currently has a basketball team and in the past had a baseball team for over 70 years. Both teams are known as the Santurce Crabbers, because of the original name of the district.

Main article: Santurce Crabbers (baseball)

Santurce was one of the original teams in Puerto Rico's Professional Baseball League. They were the first Puerto Rican team to win the Caribbean World Series (in 1951) and the first to win a second Series (in 1953). In total, Santurce won 12 domestic titles from 1951 until 2000, and five Caribbean World Series. However, after several years of declining attendance, the team moved to Manatí in 2004.

Main article: Santurce Crabbers (basketball)

In basketball, the Crabbers currently play in the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum (Coliseo de Puerto Rico) for important games and the Coliseo Mario Morales for games against teams from small towns. The attendance for games at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico is usually between 7,000 and 12,000 and for games in the Coliseo Mario Morales is between 500 and 1,000. They have won 8 tittles (1962, 1966, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007) and have been runners-up 4 times (1942, 1951, 1952, 1964 and 2006).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cangrejos - Santurce - Authors; Aníbal Sepúlveda, Jorge Carbonell, Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR, Oficina Estatal de Preservación Histórica. (Spanish)