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Barceloneta, Puerto Rico

Barceloneta is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the north region, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Florida (city and municipality in Puerto Rico), east of Arecibo, and west of Manatí. Barceloneta is spread over 3 barrios and Barceloneta Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology
The name of Barceloneta ("Little Barcelona") is derived from the Spanish city, from where the town's founder originated. Barceloneta is also the name of a beach and neighborhood of Barcelona.

History
Barceloneta was founded on July 1, 1881 by Bonocio Llenza Feliú, an immigrant from Barcelona, Spain. Barceloneta was one of the last municipalities created by the Spanish Government in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Barceloneta was 9,357.

About a decade after its foundation, the town had a significant economic development led by agriculture and industry. By 1894, there were three sugarcane estates, 93 sugar mills, and the production of other fruits. Because of its location next to the Río Grande de Manatí, Barceloneta was known for many years as a site of important port activity, for shipment of sugar and salt, as well as passengers to New York City and Barcelona. Bonocio's son was the owner of a sail ship that made those routes.

In 1899, Barceloneta requested to be annexed to the town of Manatí. An election was scheduled for August 14, 1899 to decide the matter. However, on August 8, the island suffered the effects of Hurricane San Ciriaco, which prevented the elections from being held. The following year, Governor George Whitefield Davis ordered the annexation of Barceloneta into Manatí. The annexation was short-lived. Eleven years later, the government reinstated Barceloneta as a municipality.

After Central Plazuela, a large sugar cane mill, closed in 1963, Barceloneta started reinforcing its agricultural economy with pineapples and other minor fruits. Efforts to revive the economy were not too successful, until pharmaceutical industries established themselves in the town during the 1970s. For a time, Barceloneta supplied all of the Viagra for North America.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 causing large-scale damage and destruction to infrastructure. In Barceloneta, some homes and establishments along the coast were flooded with up to 15 feet of water, and nearly all wooden homes were destroyed.

Geography
The Municipality of Barceloneta sits on the Northern Karst region of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the municipalities of Arecibo, Florida, and Manatí. In terms of physical features, the municipality occupies a roughly rectangular area in the northern coast of the island. It has a surface area of 36.4 square miles (94.24 km2).

Barceloneta's terrain is predominantly plain. Since it is located in the karst region, it features hills, ponors, and caves. Near the coast, the terrain is occupied by the Caño Tiburones wetlands.

Updated flood zone maps (as of 2019) show that Barceloneta is extremely vulnerable to flooding, along with Humacao, Rincón, Toa Baja, and Corozal. For its many wetlands, Barceloneta ends up being extremely vulnerable when hit by a major hurricane.

Water features
The Río Grande de Manatí travels across the municipalities of Manatí and Barceloneta and drains into the Atlantic Ocean. Barceloneta also features the Caño Tiburones, a natural reserve.

Barrios
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Barceloneta is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.

 * 1) Barceloneta barrio-pueblo
 * 2) Florida Afuera
 * 3) Garrochales
 * 4) Palmas Altas

Sectors
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) and subbarrios, are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Barceloneta: Abra del Pimiento, Abra los Caballos, Cité Sector in Garrochales, Palenque, and Seboruco.

Landmarks and places of interest
There are six beaches in Barceloneta including a black sand beach called Machuca.

Barceloneta has many places of interest.
 * Antiguo Muelle (the old seaport)
 * Cambalache Forest Reserve
 * Caño Tiburones marshland
 * La Monserrate Refinery Ruins
 * Las Criollas Beach
 * Marqués de la Esperanza Hacienda Ruins
 * Palmas Altas Beach
 * Sixto Escobar Museum
 * Centro Cultural de Barceloneta: Located in the heart of the city, the museum is dedicated to the culture and history of Barceloneta. Also features a collection of archaeological artifacts and Taino pieces.

To stimulate local tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Voy Turisteando Barceloneta passport page lists Malecón de la Boca, Antiguo Hospital Bonocio Llenza Feliú, La Mirada del Taíno, Semilla (for agritourism), and Playa Arena Negra, as places of interest.

Festivals
Barceloneta celebrates its patron saint festival in mid-July, generally from Wednesday to Sunday. The Fiestas Patronales de la Virgen del Carmen is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. The festival has featured live performances by well-known artists such as Odilio González, La Sonora Ponceña, Pedro Capó, Andrés Jiménez, José Alberto "El Canario" and Tito Nieves.

Economy
Barceloneta has the biggest pharmaceutical complex in the world (14 industries). These companies have chosen Barceloneta to establish their facilities for its underground water reservoirs. The water in Barceloneta requires very little treatment for use in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.

The employment created by these companies, along with a well-developed plan for urban growth, has allowed Barceloneta to be more than simply a town where people go to work. Puerto Rico Premium Outlets, near the expressway, have made the town into a destination for shopping and consumerism and consequently a place for investment in food chains and entertainment. Increased employment opportunities have also caused an increase in population in Barceloneta and its surrounding municipalities.

Barceloneta is also known for its black sand beaches.

Government
Barceloneta is known for its political stability. Mayor Sol Luis Fontanes held the mayor's seat for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) from 1986 until 2012. He assumed the role after the sudden death of elected mayor Héctor Ruíz Martínez, also of the PPD. After that, Fontánes was elected by only a narrow margin (49.2% vs. 48.6%), but he gained popularity with time. At the 2008 general elections, Fontánes received more than 70% of the votes and his margin of victory was one of the biggest of that election. However, on 2012, Fontánes was arrested on charges of extortion, after 24 years as mayor. He resigned on March 1, 2012 while in prison. In 2012, Wanda Soler was elected as Fontánes replacement. She was reelected in 2020 for her third term with 75% of the vote.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district III, which is represented by two senators. In 2008, José Emilio González and Angel Martínez were elected as district senators.

Names and symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag
The flag of Barceloneta is a variation of the flag of Barcelona in Spain, from where the town borrows its name. It features four fields, two of them bearing the cross of Saint George (in Catalan, Sant Jordi), with five red and yellow bars in vertical direction to the right of each cross. These are all symbols pertaining to the city of Barcelona, and the community of Catalonia, where it is located, since the town was founded by a Catalan immigrant. The remaining two fields in the flag are blue, representing the Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the north of Barceloneta.

Coat of arms
Barceloneta's coat of arms is similar to the flag, since it features the same Catalan symbols. However, it features three sugarcane flowers (guajanas) on top of the blue fields. The sugarcane flowers symbolize the source of life of the old agricultural economy of Barceloneta. The blue symbolizes the beaches and marine ports that contributed to the industry and commerce of the town. Like many coat of arms, it features a crown with three towers.

Nicknames
Barceloneta is referred to as "La Ciudad de las Piñas" (Pineapple City) for its many pineapple plantations. It is also known as "La Ciudad Industrial" (Industrial City) for its many industries, mainly pharmaceutical.

Other names are "Ciudad de los Indios" (City of the Indians) and "Pueblo de Sixto Escobar" (Town of Sixto Escobar) for being the birthplace of the Puerto Rican boxer.

Transportation
Barceloneta has recently added the use of trolley cars, free of charge, for local transport within the town itself. For travel outside Barceloneta, there is a station for carros publicos (public car transportation), which is a type of taxi.

There are 9 bridges in Barceloneta.

Gallery
Places in Barceloneta:

title: Barceloneta, Puerto Rico


text: User talk:65.242.124.54

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:65.242.124.54


text:
Ciales, Puerto Rico

Ciales is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located on the Central Mountain Range, northwest of Orocovis; south of Florida and Manatí; east of Utuado and Jayuya; and west of Morovis. Ciales is spread over eight barrios and Ciales Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Toponym
Sources diverge on the origin of the Ciales name. Nineteenth-century historian Cayetano Coll y Toste stated that it was named as such by then-governor Gonzalo de Aróstegui Herrera in honor of General Luis de Lacy, who had gone against Ferdinand VII's absolutist wishes. Coll y Toste suggested that the Villa Lacy name came from the anagram "es-la-cy" anagram.

Other sources, such as Manuel Álvarez Nazario and Luis Hernández Aquino, put forward the theory that it comes from the plural of cibales, plural form of ciba, meaning "stony place" or "place of stones" in Taíno, which "had undergone loss of the intervocalic -b- and the addition of the Spanish suffix referring to place -al." Lisa Cathleen Green-Douglass, who carried out a study of toponymics in Puerto Rico and compared both theories, believed the latter to be most plausible since Coll y Toste, per Green-Douglass, must have defined an anagram as a reversal of syllables and the resulting "Cial" or "Cyal" would have to then be made plural.

Yet others believe it originates from the Spanish sillar (meaning "carved stones") in reference to the stones carved by the Río Grande de Manatí's currents.

History
Until its founding on June 24, 1820, by Isidro Rodríguez, it was part of the neighboring Manatí municipality, a process that took four years to achieve.

On 13 August 1898, after the armistice ending the Spanish–American War was signed, Ciales was one of three towns that held uprisings. Led by Ventura Casellas, between three hundred and four hundred individuals proclaimed the Republic of Puerto Rico. However, it has not been determined without a shadow of a doubt whether it was a clear independence-supporting event or a defense of Spanish rule. Edwin Karli Padilla Aponte calls it an "alleged revolutionary uprising" since he finds no official historical record for it, even though it appears in a vignette in the Pueblos Hispanos monthly written by a Gabriel Aracelis, a possible pseudonym for Juan Antonio Corretjer. The column describes the battle, mentions the participants by name and connects it to the Grito de Lares by identifying a Pedro González as a grandson of a Manuel González who allegedly fought in the 1868 revolt, establishing a continuity between both events. Paul G. Miller, Education Commissioner between 1915 and 1921, considered this to be caused by the Seditious Parties (Partidas Sediciosas), gangs of bandits that raided Spaniards' homes in the late-nineteenth century, an idea that Corretjer refuted.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Ciales was 18,115.

The first truss bridge erected in Puerto Rico, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, is in Ciales. It is over the Río Grande de Manatí and is on the list of National Register of Historic Places.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, its eye passing through northeastern Ciales, leaving all municipalities without power for months. Ciales received 19.23 inches of rain which caused landslides. An estimated 3,000 homes in Ciales were completely destroyed by Hurricane María. Three months after the hurricane struck, engineers were hoping to have electrical service established, at least for the Ciales barrio-pueblo (downtown) area. The following December, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the opening of a disaster recovery center in Ciales to attend the home and business owners, as well as tenants, affected by the hurricane.

Energy consortium
An Energy Consortium was signed in late February, 2019 by Villalba, Orocovis, Morovis, Ciales and Barranquitas municipalities. The consortium is the first of its kind for the island. It is intended to have municipalities work together to safeguard and create resilient, and efficient energy networks, with backups for their communities. This is part of the hurricane preparedness plan of these municipalities, which were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.

Geography
The northern part of the municipality is located in the Northern Karst zone of Puerto Rico while the southern part is in the Cordillera Central. The highest point in the municipality is Cerro Rosa at 4,143 feet (1,262 m), itself the third highest point in Puerto Rico. Ciales is home to a forest reserve called Toro Negro Forest Reserve and a number of rivers including: Río Cialitos, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Toro Negro, Río Yunes, Pozas, and Barbas. Over 40% of its territory falls within protected areas, ranking as the 6th municipality with the largest portion of protected territory overall. Consequentially, the destruction of 508 native planted trees at the Finca Don Ingenio in the Toro Negro Forest Reserve in August 2021 was caused for an uproar. The trees, which included ceiba and maga specimens, had been planted as part of the Hurricane María recovery by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust's Para La Naturaleza program.

As part of the karst region, there are many caves, such as Archillas Cave, located in Jaguas Ventana, named after the family that owns it. Since Ciales has a saying "to graduate as a Cialeño, you have to go up to the Archillas," then-mayor Luis R. Maldonado Rodriguez attempted to acquire it. The cave has been associated with the Arcaicos, though it also holds some Taíno petroglyphs. The cave system was first studied by Alphonse L. Pinart in 1890. Since then several investigations have been carried out that have aided in the identification of silex as the main material used by the Taíno for their carving tools and the discovery of ceramic fragments, as well as the theory that the caves were used for rituals, such as cojoba-induced ceremonies. During his research in the early 1900s, Jesse Walter Fewkes identified the Ciales' caves as some those occupied by the Taíno as well as several of the best preserved sites with their stone-carved implements. One of these caves, La Cohoba Cave, was named after the namesake object found in it. Another notable find, carried out by Carlos M. Ayes Suárez, was of a zoomorphic idol from the Arcaico era in Pesas that "consists of a cobble that presents an engraved representation seemingly zoomorphic in shape" which is considered unique in Puerto Rico and the Antilles.

Due to the mountainous nature of Ciales' topography, landslides occur, such as the rock fall that occurred in June 2021 in Pozas that caused several buildings and fences to be destroyed, road closures and the removal of residents.

Barrios
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Ciales is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo".

 * 1) Ciales barrio-pueblo
 * 2) Cialitos
 * 3) Cordillera
 * 4) Frontón
 * 5) Hato Viejo
 * 6) Jaguas
 * 7) Pesas
 * 8) Pozas
 * 9) Toro Negro

Sectors
Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Ciales: Sector El Hoyo in Pozas, Calle Morovis, Comunidad Los Ortega, Cruces-Cialitos, Parcelas Cordillera, Parcelas María, Parcelas Seguí, Santa Clara, and Toro Negro.

Demographics
Ciales has one of the lowest percentages of English speakers in Puerto Rico.

When researching the town's parochial baptismal records historian Fernando Picó found that more than half the offspring baptised at the end of the nineteenth century were born out of wedlock.

Tourism
To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Ciales page lists Museo Juan Antonio Corretjer, Puente Mata de Plátano, and Cascada Las Delicias, as places of interest.

Landmarks and places of interest
Places of interest in Ciales include:
 * Artesanía en Muebles La Cialeña, family-owned factory that produces widely recognized enea grass-weaved furniture
 * Aserrado Fernando Otero, located in Hato Viejo, it is the largest sawmill in Puerto Rico of native woods.
 * Hacienda Carvajal, environmental education coffee and cacao farm that also houses a printing museum and a batey.
 * Hacienda Negrón
 * Las Archillas Cave
 * Las Golondrinas Cave
 * Yuyú Cave
 * Parada Choferil
 * Toro Negro Forest Reserve
 * Paseo Lineal Juan Antonio Corretjer, a lookout
 * Museo Biblioteca Casa Corretjer, houses the library of Juan Antonio Corretjer.
 * Museo del Café, a coffee museum

Festivals and events
Ciales celebrates its patron saint festival in October. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Señora del Rosario y San Jose is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. The festival has featured live performances by well-known artists such as Sabor Latino.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Ciales include:
 * Three King's Day, held in January
 * Corretjer Cantata, held in March
 * Fresh Water Festival (in Festival de Agua Dulce), mud bogging competition and music festival held in August
 * Frontón Festival, held in July
 * Saint Elías Festival, held in July

Sports
Ciales is the home town of Juan "Pachín" Vicens - Puerto Rico's national basketball star, named Best Player in the World at the 1959 World Basketball Championship, Santiago de Chile (a.k.a., Juan "Pachín" Vicens, "Astro del Balón", "El Jeep"; younger brother of Puerto Rico's National Poet, Nimia Vicens, who also hailed from Ciales). Their middle brother, Enrique "Coco" Vicens, a former Puerto Rico Senator, was a track and field athlete in his own right.

Agriculture
The Ciales economy has always depended heavily on agriculture, especially coffee products, minor fruits (such as lettuce) and dairy production.

Government
All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Ciales is Alexander Burgos Otero, of the Progressive New Party (PNP) who had previously served in the municipal legislature and grandson of previous Ciales mayor, Roque Otero Cortés. He was elected at the 2020 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district III, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, José Emilio González Velázquez and Angel Martínez Santiago were elected as District Senators.

Symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms. On the 150th anniversary of the founding of Ciales, the flag and coat of arms were adopted with Resolution No. 13 Series 1969–1970, sanctioned by Don Ismael Nazario, who was mayor at the time.

Flag
The flag is divided into seven unequal stripes described in sequence: yellow, red, yellow, purple, yellow, red, and yellow.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms consists of a gold shield with a lion standing on its rear legs and silver-plated nails grasping a silver coiled parchment between its front claws. The lion also shows a red tongue. Above the lion in the superior part of the shield are located three heraldic roses arranged horizontally with red petals and green leaves. A golden crown of three towers rests on the shield. The three towers are united by walls, simulating masonry blocks. The shield is surrounded by a crown of coffee tree branches with their berries, all in natural colors.

Nicknames

 * Cohoba City (Ciudad de la cojoba) for the discover of instruments used by the Taíno in the Cohoba ritual, whereby they inhaled the hallucinogenic powder extracted from the cojoba seeds.
 * Town of the Brave (Pueblo de los valerosos) for the high concentration of independence supports, such as Juan Antonio Corretjer, some of which participated in the Grito de Lares.
 * Cradle of Poets (Cuna de poetas) due to it being the birthplace of several poets, such as Juan Antonio Corretjer and Nimia Vicéns, both considered Puerto Rico's national poets.
 * Central Cordillera Gate (Puerta de la Cordillera Central) owing to its geographic location on the Cordillera Central mountainous range.
 * Switzerland of Puerto Rico (Suiza de Puerto Rico) on account of "its similarity to European valleys with abundant vegetation," and the wooden houses that are located in them.

Transportation
There is a public transportation terminal in downtown Ciales. In addition, there are 18 bridges in Ciales, including the NRHP-listed Manatí Bridge at Mata de Plátano.

Notable people from Ciales

 * Armando Carlo Asencio Rosado-barril de bomba artisan.
 * Edwin Avilés - singer and part of the Los Pleneros de la Cresta quintet.
 * Ramón Barrios - Socialist Party delegate to the Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico.
 * Juan Antonio Corretjer - Nationalist and poet, considered the National Poet of Puerto Rico.
 * Ángel de Jesús Sánchez - fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
 * Raúl Feliciano - basketball player and lawyer.
 * Ed Figueroa - MLB Baseball Player
 * Juan Figueroa - Former-president of Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.
 * Antonio J. González - Puerto Rico Independence Party founder and gubernatorial candidate, Puerto Rican Union Party gubernatorial candidate, and UPRRP College of Social Sciences dean.
 * Jovino González Rodríguez - seven-time National Troubadour.
 * José Emilio González Velázquez - Politician
 * Luis Maldonado - Politician
 * Ángel Chayanne Martínez - Politician
 * - Film director and scriptwriter.
 * - Poet and writer
 * Jeyluix Ocasio - singer and part of the Los Pleneros de la Cresta quintet, brother of Joshua and Joseph Ocasio.
 * Joshua Ocasio - singer and part of the Los Pleneros de la Cresta quintet, brother of Jeyluix and Joseph Ocasio.
 * Joseph Ocasio - singer and part of the Los Pleneros de la Cresta quintet, brother of Joshua and Jeyluix Ocasio.
 * Mercedes Otero - Politician
 * Jorge L. Porras Cruz - Educator and writer, Hispanic Studies department chair at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus
 * - Poet and writer
 * José L. Rivera - USMC, recipient of the Navy Cross
 * Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló - Politician
 * Juan José Rodríguez Pérez - Politician
 * Hiram Rosado - Nationalist
 * Carlos Manuel Rosario - Activist
 * Luis Sánchez Morales - Politician
 * Adalberto Santiago - Salsa singer, Tony Vega's cousin.
 * Arturito Santiago Labrador - singer and restaurateur, highly recognized in the jíbaro music scene.
 * Arturo Santiago Guzmán - four-time National Troubadour, son of Arturito Santiago Labrador.
 * Lisvette M. Sanz González - singer and guitar player, part of the Hermanos Sanz duo.
 * Luis Sanz González - singer and cuatro player, part of the Hermanos Sanz duo.
 * Tony Vega - salsa singer, Adalberto Santiago's cousin.
 * Vanessa Vélez - Volleyball player.
 * Enrique "Coco" Vicéns - Basketball Player
 * Juan "Pachín" Vicéns - Basketball Player
 * Nimia Vicéns - poet, proclaimed Puerto Rico's national poet by Pedro Albizu Campos.

title: Ciales, Puerto Rico


text:
Talk:Greifswald

Nationalist bias?
I can't quite get behind the concept of adding the Polish word for Greifswald. Why not add French, Italian, Russian, Estonian, Spanish, etc. then, too? Anyway, I took it out. There never was a sizeable Polish speaking population in Greifswald. It would make sense to add the Swedish form, but I don't know it.

To answer your question, Gryfia was a Pomeranian city that had belonged to the Kingdom of Poland before 1199, by all means the Danish monks were NOT the first ones to have settled here, I'm not certain anyone in Germany believes that Greifswald was only settled in 1199 or that it is originally a non-Slavic town, most people in Greifswald are aware that the city had a clear Slavic Pomeranian history. This German propaganda is way beyond belief, see the article: Dukes of Pomerania for more. The town was germanized and lost its slavic feel around 1295, the same goes to Wołogoszcz ( Wolgast), Dymin ( Demmin ) and Bardo ( Barth ). As you know Pomerania was a fief of Poland therefore these territories had belonged to Poland at one point. I am not saying that Polish name has to be included but there is a clear feeling among some Poles that the some of the Vorpommern territory incl. Gryfia, Wołogoszcz, Strzalowo ( Stralsund ) should have been given to Poland in 1945 as well. Germans can try to revert history but these territories have a clear Pomeranian past and therefore are very dear to some Poles. VicFromTheBlock

That is the largest nonsense, which I ever read. Here is a Polish nationalist at the work! Muggmag 11:04, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Don't you think that "communist dictatorship" is a bit biased? I mean the PDS as the successor party of the SED still gets a seizable proportion of the vote from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, so clearly, at least some people must have liked it. I suggest substituting it with something slightly less value-ladden. Freddie

I concur with Freddie, and note that those who have written this article show absolutely no interest in its Nazi history. Google Greifswald Nazi to find 63,000 pages with references to that subject. When I have time, I will try to summarize some of that history. In the meantime, this is a glaring omission, showing extreme bias --and blinders --- in this article. Skywriter 21:47, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Considering there was no "near melt-down" in 1989 and it thus could not have been the reason for shutting down the powerplant, I took out that sentence. Greetings -- Ms.Griffin 22:22, 10. Juli 2007

Illustrations
The images are very repetitive. I'll clear some, according to the German article. Feel free to suggest new photos. Ahoi Horst-schlaemma (talk) 18:05, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Is it a city?
Why is this place described as a city? Does it have official administrative status as a city? Because it's home to just one-third the number of people as Germany's 50th most populous city/town, it really does seem like a town and not a city.Rayman60 (talk) 19:47, 12 June 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Greifswald


text:
San Marino national football team

The  San Marino national football team (Nazionale di calcio di San Marino) represents San Marino in men's international association football competitions. The team is controlled by the San Marino Football Federation and represents the smallest population of any UEFA member. They are currently the lowest-ranked FIFA-affiliated national football team, having only ever won one match since inception.

The first official match played by a San Marino team was a 4–0 defeat in a European Championship qualifier to Switzerland in 1990. A San Marino side played an unofficial match against the Canada U-23 team in 1986, losing 1–0. Since making their competitive debut, San Marino has competed in the qualifiers of every European Championship and FIFA World Cup but has never won a match.

Until November 2014, San Marino was tied for last place in the FIFA World Rankings. This run lasted since the rankings were given a new calculation methodology. They were tied for last with Bhutan (208th) in the October 2014 rankings, but a 0–0 draw with Estonia in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers ended their tenure at the bottom of the rankings. In the same qualifying phase, San Marino scored their first away goal in fourteen years against another Baltic side, Lithuania. When the ranking methodology was revised again, the team fell back to the bottom following a 1–0 loss to Moldova in the Nations League.

History
Though the San Marino Football Federation was formed in 1931, the Federation did not establish a national team until 1986, when a team representing the Federation played against the Canada U-23 team in an unofficial international, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. San Marino gained affiliation to FIFA and UEFA in 1988, allowing the team to participate in major championships. Before this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.

San Marino's first match in a FIFA-sanctioned competition was against Switzerland on 14 November 1990 in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships. San Marino lost 4–0 and would lose all eight of their other qualifiers. The team struggled in away matches, losing all by at least four goals. San Marino scored only one goal, which was a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home by Romania, and conceded 33 goals in total.

For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, San Marino were drawn in a group with England, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Turkey. The opening match resulted in a 10–0 defeat to Norway. The return match was less one-sided, finishing 2–0 to the Norwegians. A 4–1 defeat in Turkey saw San Marino score their first goal in a World Cup qualifier (also their first from open play), and a goalless draw against the same opposition on 10 March 1993 gave them their first-ever point. In their final qualifier against England, Davide Gualtieri scored the then-fastest goal in World Cup qualifying history after 8.3 seconds. However, San Marino went on to lose 7–1. San Marino finished the campaign with one point and conceded 46 goals in 10 matches.

The team's qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 1996 followed a similar pattern to the previous European championships as they lost every match. A match away to Finland gave San Marino their first goal away from home in the European Championship qualifiers. Still, the team lost 4–1. Their only other goal came in a 3–1 home defeat by the Faroe Islands; the two wins over San Marino were the only points gained by the Faroe Islands in the group. In the first match, a 3–0 score in Toftir is the Faroe Islands' record competitive win.

Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was disappointing. Losing every match by three goals or more, San Marino failed to score a single goal. This is the only World Cup qualifying tournament in which they have failed to score. Qualification for Euro 2000 again resulted in defeats in every match. The closest San Marino got to gaining a point was against Cyprus, a 1–0 defeat on 18 November 1998.

In April 2001, San Marino gained their first ever away point, drawing 1–1 with Latvia in Riga. The team ended the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying group with a new best of three goals, though one of these came in a 10–1 defeat by Belgium. In the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, San Marino lost all eight matches, failing to score. The closest result was a 1–0 home defeat by Latvia, with the winner scored in the last minute. Latvia went on to qualify for the final tournament. A 2–2 draw against Liechtenstein in a friendly in August 2003 saw the team set a new national record for most goals scored in a match; only once since, in a 2–3 loss to Malta in another friendly nine years later, have the team scored multiple goals in a game.

In April 2004, San Marino gained their first win after more than 70 attempts, a 1–0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly on 28 April 2004 courtesy of a fifth-minute goal by Andy Selva. The match was Martin Andermatt's debut as Liechtenstein manager. Results during qualification for the 2006 World Cup followed a similar vein to previous qualifying groups. Matches were generally one-sided defeats, except for single-goal defeats at home by Lithuania and Belgium.

San Marino's opening UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match resulted in a record 13–0 defeat at home by Germany on 6 September 2006. They scored only twice and conceded fifty-seven goals in losing all twelve matches. However, the home matches against Ireland, Cyprus and Wales were each lost by a single goal.

In the qualification campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they lost all ten matches and failed to qualify. They conceded 47 goals in those fixtures, including 10 in a defeat by Poland, which became Poland's highest scoring victory of all time, and scored just once, in a 3–1 defeat by Slovakia. The UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers started in a similar way, the first nine matches all being defeats with an aggregate of 49 goals conceded and none scored, their best result being a one-goal loss to Finland at home, with the worst being a heavy 11–0 loss to the Netherlands, which became the Netherlands' highest scoring victory of all time and San Marino's worst-ever away defeat. This was then followed up by two lighter defeats, a 5–0 home loss against Sweden, before completing the campaign with a 4–0 away loss to Moldova.

On 10 September 2013, Alessandro Della Valle scored San Marino's first competitive goal in five years. With the score 1–0 to Poland in the Stadio Olimpico, Della Valle headed in a free-kick in the 22nd minute, beating goalkeeper Artur Boruc at his front post. Poland then regained the lead a minute later and eventually won 5–1. It was the first international goal of any kind scored by San Marino since the national team lost 3–2 at home to Malta in 2012.

On 15 November 2014, San Marino drew 0–0 at home against Estonia. It was the first time in ten years that the team had not lost a match, ending a 61–match losing streak, and securing the country's first-ever point in a European Championship qualifier.

In October 2016, Mattia Stefanelli scored for San Marino in their 4–1 loss to Norway.

On 16 November 2019, Filippo Berardi scored a goal in a 3–1 loss to Kazakhstan in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match—the first goal for San Marino in two years (5–1 vs. Azerbaijan on 4 September 2017) and their first home goal in six years (5–1 vs. Poland on 10 September 2013).

On 13 October 2020, San Marino recorded their fourth competitive draw and their first since 2014, after their UEFA Nations League match with Liechtenstein ended 0–0. A month later they made history by holding Gibraltar to a goalless draw, surviving with ten men after Davide Simoncini was sent off. This heralded several firsts for them: the first major tournament in which they had gained more than one point, the first time they had gained more than one point in a calendar year, and the first time that they had gone unbeaten without conceding a single goal in two consecutive competitive matches.

On 7 December 2020, San Marino was drawn into Group I for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The team failed to get a single point and lost all their matches, including a 0–10 home defeat against England, and with a record of one goal scored, at home against Poland in a 1–7 loss, against 46 conceded.

On 28 March 2022, San Marino played the first official match in its history against a non-European team in a friendly game against Cape Verde played on a neutral venue in Spain, the result being a 2–0 loss. San Marino then took on a second African side with a much lower standard than the previous one, the 198th ranked Seychelles, whom they hosted in a friendly at Stadio Olimpico on 21 September 2022. San Marino ended an 18-game losing streak with a goalless draw but disappointed overall, failing to capitalize on their chances and win at home against an opponent within its reach, who played defensively in a 4–5–1 formation. The 2022–2023 edition of the UEFA Nations League saw the selection again in Group B of League D composed of three teams, but they lost their four games without scoring a goal. As a result, San Marino is the only European team that has not yet scored a goal in three participations.

On 17 October 2023, San Marino scored their first competitive goal in two years against Denmark in a 1–2 loss during UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. They would score again against Kazakhstan on 17 November 2023, losing 3–1, and just three days later they scored again in a 2–1 loss to Finland. This marked the first time San Marino scored in three consecutive games. They were also their first-ever European Qualifiers in which they were not the worst overall team (Liechtenstein only scored one goal in the tournament, while Gibraltar scored none).

On 20 March 2024, San Marino scored in four straight games for the first time in their history after taking a 1–0 lead against Saint Kitts and Nevis, eventually losing 3–1. On 24 March 2024, San Marino ended a 12-game losing run with a 0–0 draw against Saint Kitts.

Home stadium
San Marino plays home matches at the San Marino Stadium, a municipally owned stadium in Serravalle, which also hosts the matches of club side San Marino Calcio. It has a capacity of 7,000. Crowds are low but there is always a fan group called "Brigata Mai 1 Gioia", mainly composed of Italians from Emilia-Romagna. On occasion, traveling supporters outnumber the Sammarinese support. For example, in the fixture against the Republic of Ireland in February 2007, 2,500 of the 3,294 crowd were Irish supporters.

San Marino has played four "home" matches outside their borders. For World Cup qualifiers against England and the Netherlands in 1993, the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna was used, and for UEFA Nations League match against Liechtenstein in 2020 at the Stadio Romeo Neri in Rimini. A fourth match took place in the Nations League against Kazakhstan in June 2023, being played at Ennio Tardini as a new pitch was being laid at San Marino's usual stadium.

Reputation
San Marino has the smallest population of any UEFA country. As of 20 November 2023, the team has never won a competitive fixture. A 1–0 friendly win against Liechtenstein in 2004 remains their sole victory.

The national side is mainly composed of amateur players. Only a small number of players are at least semi-professionals, as many hold second jobs outside of the sport. Their 13–0 defeat at home against Germany was a European Championship record until France eclipsed this in 2023 with a 14–0 victory over Gibraltar. And they have conceded ten goals on seven other separate occasions.

In the FIFA World Rankings, San Marino traditionally has the lowest rank of any UEFA country. Since the creation of FIFA rankings in 1992, San Marino's average position has been 176th.

In 2001, Latvia manager Gary Johnson resigned after failing to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier. The Republic of Ireland's 2–1 win over San Marino in February 2007 (from a last-second goal) resulted in scathing press criticism for the Irish team.

San Marino held the record for the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualifying history for 22 years when they stunned England with a goal after only 8.3 seconds in 1993. England went on to win the match 7–1.

San Marino set a European record when they went over 20 matches without scoring between October 2008 and August 2012. On 8 September 2015, San Marino scored its first away goal in 14 years when Matteo Vitaioli scored against Lithuania in Euro 2016 qualification.

An interesting result of San Marino's weaknesses is that many people see them as football's biggest underdogs; as a result, they have gained a substantial following online from across the world, including a Twitter account dedicated to covering their games.

Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Coaching staff
Current technical staff:

Manager history
''

Current squad
The following players were called up for two friendlies against Slovakia and Cyprus on 5 and 11 June 2024 respectively.

Caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2024 after the match against Cyprus.

Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent.

INJ Withdrew due to injury

PRE Preliminary squad / standby

RET Retired from the national team

SUS Serving suspension

WD Player withdrew from the squad due to a non-injury issue.

Records

 * Players in bold are still active with San Marino.

title: San Marino national football team


text:
Cidra, Puerto Rico

Cidra is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, north of Cayey; south of Comerío and Aguas Buenas; east of Aibonito and Barranquitas; and west of Caguas. Cidra is spread over 12 barrios and Cidra Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Cidra is known as "El Pueblo de la Eterna Primavera" ("Town of the Eternal Spring") and "El Pueblo de la Paloma Sabanera" ("Town of the Plain Pigeon").

History
The region of what is now Cidra belonged to the Taíno region of Cubuy, which covered a portion of the center of Puerto Rico. The region was led by cacique Caguax.

There are not many records that show that the region was populated after the Spanish colonization. However, it is believed that around 1795, a Catalan named Frujols built a hermitage or shrine around which a small village settled. The settlement became a ward of Cayey, until 1807 when the residents gave the power to Victoriano de Rivera to ask the Governor for permission to found an independent town. In 1809, a landowner known as Bibiana Vázquez donated the land needed for the foundation, and Governor Salvador Meléndez approved the petition. Victoriano de Rivera was appointed to lead the town, but he was quickly replaced by Wenceslao Vázquez due to illness.

At the time of its foundation, Cidra had 26 houses and 11 huts. It is believed that its name is derived from the citron fruit which was widely cultivated in the region. During the years following its foundation, a church and city hall were built. By 1822, there were already two public schools in town. Two years later, a road communicating the town with Caguas was opened. In 1868, the population of Cidra was more than 5,000 residents, which included European immigrants and slaves.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Cidra was 7,552.

In 1902, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico approved a law for the consolidation of certain municipalities. As a result, Cidra was again incorporated to the town of Cayey. However, in 1905 a new law revoked the previous one, turning Cidra into an independent municipality again.

Hurricane Maria
A category 5, and high-end category 4 Hurricane Maria when it hit Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Cidra. A week before Hurricane Irma, another category 5 had passed over Puerto Rico causing some damage. With Hurricane María, some areas of Cidra experienced more than 25 landslides per kilometer. Citizens, with machetes in hand, worked to clear the roadways of debri after the hurricane hit, especially in Rabanal, Arena and Ceiba, barrios of Cidra located at high altitudes. 1500 homes were left without a roof and many would never receive funds for repairs. One local (analog) radio antenna survived the catastrophe allowing for some communication within the town to take place. Before the hurricane there had been plans to eliminate the radio tower, but when 92.7% of Puerto Rico's towers were destroyed by the hurricane, plans to eliminate the analog radio tower were scrapped. Puerto Rico Highway 172, the main highway into Cidra from the San Juan area had to remain closed for repairs for five months. It was not until six months after the hurricane struck that power was restored to Cidra.

Geography
Cidra is located at the top of a hill in the eastern part of the Cordillera Central. It is bordered by the municipalities of Aguas Buenas, Caguas, Cayey, Aibonito, and Comerío. Cidra is a small municipality, covering only 36.1 square miles (94 km2).

Water features
Cidra's hydrographic system consists mainly of Lago de Cidra reservoir, located in the municipality. The reservoir, which was built in 1946, provides water to several areas in the island. There are also several rivers and creeks that cross the town like Arroyata, Bayamón, and Río de la Plata.

Fauna
The town is known for being the nesting place of the paloma sabanera (a subspecies of the plains pigeon). The bird, which is at risk of extinction, is currently found mostly in the municipality of Cidra and other nearby municipalities. In addition, there is various species of fish residing in the Lago de Cidra, as well as iguanas which have been introduced into the surrounding the area and are now considered an invasive species.

Barrios
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cidra is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.

 * 1) Arenas
 * 2) Bayamón
 * 3) Beatriz
 * 4) Ceiba
 * 5) Certenejas
 * 6) Cidra barrio-pueblo
 * 7) Honduras
 * 8) Monte Llano
 * 9) Rabanal
 * 10) Rincón
 * 11) Río Abajo
 * 12) Salto
 * 13) Sud
 * 14) Toíta

Sectors
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores  (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Cidra: Barriada Ferrer, Candela, Comunidad San José (Laberinto), La Línea, La Milagrosa, Río Abajo, and Santa Teresita.

Places of interest
Although Cidra is not known as a tourist main stop, it has some attractions. The town center features historic places like the Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen church and the Iberia Theater, both built during the first half of the 20th century.

On the outskirts of the town, there is Lake Cidra and Perico's Waterfalls. Frog's Rock and Hamacas Bridge are also landmarks visited by tourists.

The renovation of el Parque del Niño (children's park), which includes water features and a skatepark was completed in 2019.

To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Cidra page lists Destilería Club Caribe, Mirador del Lago de Cidra, and Parque del Niño, as places of interest.

Economy
The economy of Cidra has relied mostly on agriculture, particularly coffee, tobacco, and minor fruits. Cattle ranching is also a source of economy in the town. In recent years, pharmaceutical and clothing industries have become participants of the economy of Cidra.

Festivals and events
Cidra celebrates its patron saint festival in July. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Sra. del Carmen is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

A number of cultural events take place during the year, most prominently:
 * Myrna Vázquez Week - held in February
 * Paloma Sabanera Festival - held in early December

Religion
There are a number of churches and chapels from several denominations in Cidra. The main Catholic parish, Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen, was established in 1813. The original structure was destroyed by earthquakes in the 1860s, but completely rebuilt by 1952. Cidra's patron saint is the Virgin Mary. Its festivities are held each July.

Also in front of the town square is the First Baptist Church, which was established by missionary Edgar Humphrey in 1903. The original wood structure was destroyed in 1928 by San Felipe Hurricane, but rebuilt in concrete, wood, and zinc.

Sports
Cidra doesn't have a professional sports team, however, they have a successful amateur team, Bravos de Cidra, that participate in the Puerto Rican Amateur Baseball Federation. The Bravos team has won nine championships, and as of 2014, are en route to win their third consecutive one. The main baseball facility is the Jesús María Freire Stadium, where the Bravos play.

Cidra is also the birthplace of several important figures in the Puerto Rican sports scene. Some of them are former MLB players Luis Rivera and Luis López, as well as former coach of the Puerto Rico men's national basketball team Flor Meléndez. Boxer José Pedraza was also born in Cidra.

Notable Cidreños

 * Pura Belpré
 * Vicente Carattini - Singer and Composer of Puerto Rican Christmas related songs
 * Isabel Freire de Matos - was a writer, educator, journalist, and activist for Puerto Rican independence
 * Antonio Torres Pérez (Pancholo) - Actor and Comedian
 * Felito Félix - Singer.
 * Carmen Vazquez Rivera - Head Nurse and decorated veteran of the US Army and Air Force who was among the Puerto Rican women that served in World War II and later the Korean War.

Demographics
The population of Cidra increased steadily during the 20th Century. Since 1899, the population has risen more than 200%. According to the 2010 census, the municipality had 43,480 inhabitants. The 2020 census shows a decline in population to 39,970.

According to the 2010 Census, 77% of the population identifies themselves as White, and 8.3% as African-American. Also, 48.9% of the population identified themselves as males, and 51.1% as females. Finally, 25% of the population is under 18 years old. The next biggest percentage of population (20.7%) is between 35 and 49 years old.

Government
All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. In the November 2019 elections, Angel David Concepción González succeeded over the incumbent, Javier Carrasquillo, of the New Progressive Party (PNP) as mayor. He succeeded Angel L. Malavé Zayas in 2012, after Malavé was accused of lewd conduct in 2011. Malavé had served as mayor since being elected at the 1988 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two Senators. In 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as District Senators.

Symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms. The coat of arms, flag and seal of Cidra were designed by J.J. Santa Pinter and approved on September 25, 1975 by Cidra.

Flag and coat of arms
The flag of Cidra features one brown vertical stripe on the left side, with a width of about one-third the length of the flag. It also features two equal-sized horizontal stripes to the right side of the brown one. The above stripe is green, while the lower one is yellow, or golden. The golden color symbolizes the richness of the fruits and its hydrography, as well as the spiritual wealth of the region. The green symbolizes the green landscape that can be seen in Cidra throughout the year, which is also the reason why the town is called the "Town of the Eternal Spring". The brown symbolizes the Virgin, patron saint of the town, and also the Paloma sabanera that is widely seen in the area.

Some versions of the flag also feature the coat of arms on the left hand side, over the intersection of the three stripes. The coat of arms was approved in the 1970s by the Municipal Assembly. It features a red band crossing the shield diagonally, from left to right. Over the red band lies a golden citrus, which is believed to be one of the reasons for the town's name, and a cornucopia of fruits, which alludes to Cidra's role as one of the major producers of fruits of the island. The upper field is either white or silver, and features two symbols: a black scapular representing the Virgin, and a black bishop hat referencing San Juan Nepomuceno, bishop and martyr. The lower field is mostly blue and features a brown pigeon flying over a mountain range, representing the location of the town in the Central Mountain Range, and a set of silver water waves. The whole seal is capped by a three-tower crown, which is usually seen in municipal seals in the island.

Nicknames
Cidra is known mostly by two names. It is known as the "Town of the Eternal Spring" for its cool temperatures. It is also known as the "Town of the Plain Pigeon" because of the abundance of that bird in the town.

Education
There are around 15 public schools in Cidra. As with all other municipalities, education is handled by the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

Elementary school

 * Ceiba Nueva - Ceiba
 * Luis Muñoz Rivera - Cidra
 * Escuela Regino Vega Martínez - (Anterior: Escuela Nueva Santa Clara, Escuela Nueva de Arenas)
 * Violeta Reyes (PreK-8) - Río Abajo

Junior high school

 * Jesús T. Piñero (7-8) - Cidra

Mixed (elementary/junior high)

 * Clemencia Meléndez Santos - Rabanal
 * Certenejas (I & II) - Certenejas
 * Juan D. Stubbe - Bayamón

High school

 * Ana J. Candelas - Sud
 * Luis Muñoz Iglesias - Cidra
 * Vocacional Ruth Evelyn Cruz - Sud
 * Escuela Especializada en Música Jesús T. Piñero - Pueblo

Transportation
The main road to Cidra is Road 172, which branches out from the Puerto Rico Highway 52. Its distance from the capital is approximately 40 minutes. Other roads that lead to the town are #787 and #173.

There are 19 bridges in Cidra.

title: Cidra, Puerto Rico


text:
Comerío, Puerto Rico

Comerío is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico in the center-eastern region of island, north of Aibonito; south of Naranjito and Bayamón; east of Barranquitas; and west of Cidra and Aguas Buenas. Comerío is spread over 7 barrios and Comerío Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Comerío was founded on June 12, 1826. Originally named Sabana del Palmar, but later changed to Comerío.

In 1854, nearly 1000 acres (1000 cuerdas) of land were being used for agriculture. In 1894, there was one sugar and two coffee plantations (estates) in Comerío. In the early 20th century, Comerio residents, had a short but legendary territory war with residents of the city of Barranquitas.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Comerío was 8,249.

Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Comerío. The flooded river went through the center of Comerío. A week later the hospital, trying to run via generator, was out of diesel but due to the landslides, travel and deliveries, into and out of Comerío was next to impossible. Over 4,000 homes were affected, and of those 1,537 completely destroyed. After the hurricane, the National Guard from Ohio were tasked with restoring water purification systems for the people of Comerío. Two months after the hurricane, the mayor of Comerío said no personnel had made it yet to attempt the restoration of electrical power to Comerío. On October 9, another landslide happened blocking transit on PR-167. On October 10, a group of doctors from New York announced they would travel to volunteer their services to Comerío and nearby mountain municipalities.

Geography
The rivers located in Comerío are Río de la Plata and Río Hondo.

Barrios
Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Comerío is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.

 * 1) Cedrito
 * 2) Cejas
 * 3) Comerío barrio-pueblo
 * 4) Doña Elena
 * 5) Naranjo
 * 6) Palomas
 * 7) Piñas
 * 8) Río Hondo
 * 9) Vega Redonda

Sectors
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) and subbarrios, are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Comerio: Barriada Cielito, Sector Villa Brava in Piñas Abajo, El 26 in Palomas Abajo, El Higüero in Palomas Abajo, El Verde in Naranjo, La Juncia in Río Hondo II, La Pietra Cedrito, Río Hondo, and Vuelta del Dos.

Tourism
To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Comerío page lists Las Pailas, Represa el Salto, and Media Luna, as places of interest.

Landmarks and places of interest
Some of the landmarks of Comerío include:
 * La Tiza Peak
 * La Mora Caves
 * La Plata River
 * Las Bocas Canyon
 * Las Pailas
 * Los Pilones
 * Media Luna Recreation Park
 * Tobacco Warehouse
 * The main town square
 * El Salto Hydroelectric Dams 1 and 2

Agriculture

 * Tobacco (not as predominant in recent years). Comerío was known as "El Pueblo del Tabaco" (Tobacco Town), and its original flag had a tobacco plant in its center.

Festivals and events
Comerío celebrates its patron saint festival in August. The Fiestas Patronales Santo Cristo de la Salud is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Comerío include:
 * Spring Carnival – April
 * La Mora Cave Festival – June 1,2,3
 * Jíbaro Festival – June
 * El Jobo Festival – July
 * San Andrés Apóstol Festivities – November
 * El Seco Marathon – December
 * Christmas Fantasy – December

Religion
First Methodist Church of Comerío was founded in 1904.

Government
All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Comerío is José A. Santiago, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected at the 2000 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.

Symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag
Quartered in cross, of green and white, and superimposed the right superior quarter is an anchored yellow cross.

Coat of arms
The Comerío coat of arms is made up quarters (4) bearing what is known as an escutcheon of displays a shield in the center. There's a green field with a golden cross in the left quarter which represents Holy Christ the Healer, the patron of the town. Green stripes on a silver field are on the lower left quarter, symbolizing the Comerío falls and the La Plata River. Three royal palms in the right quarter to remember the original name of the town, and an undulating line symbolizes the mist that often covers the town. A crown with Taino motifs represents the cacique. The tobacco plant is a reminder of what was once an important part of the economic activity of the municipality. Inscribed with "the pearl of La Plata" a reference is made to the location of Comerío, on the banks of the La Plata River and the turreted castle which is a symbol of municipalities of Puerto Rico.

Transportation
Public bus from Bayamón to Comerío at Centro de Estacionamiento de Bayamón is the main public transportation.

There are 16 bridges in Comerío.

Notable Comerieños

 * Manuel A. Pérez (1890–1951) – Professor
 * Enrique Pérez Santiago – Hematologist

title: Comerío, Puerto Rico


text:
Corozal, Puerto Rico

Corozal is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 barrios and Corozal Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city name is derived from the "palma de corozo" (grugru palm, Acrocomia media) which abounds in the Cordillera Central zone of the Island.

History
Corozal's local Taino Indian Cacique (Chief) was named Orocobix and his tribe was known as the Jatibonicu Taino.

Corozal was founded in 1795 and officially became a town in 1804. Commonly known as La Cuna del Volibol or Volleyball's Cradle. It takes its name from the Acrocomia media, in Puerto Rican palma de corozo.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Corozal was 11,508.

From 1902 to 1905 Corozal became one with Toa Alta, an adjoining municipality.

In 2000 census the population of Corozal was 36,867, and it had a land area of 43 sqmi.

Intense wind and rainfall from Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017 triggered numerous landslides in Corozal, and bridges and homes were destroyed. Some residents of Corozal had to resort to collecting spring water as access to potable water was limited after the devastation caused by the hurricane. During the event, the police station in Corozal suddenly became flooded by the Cibuco River while there were nineteen officers inside. The officers climbed up and standing on the rooftop, made a human chain so as not to be swept away by the hurricane winds. Seeing them, several young people began a rescue operation by cutting tree limbs and debris to allow the river to subside just enough. With a firehose in hand, they waded in waters up to their necks and were able to help the officers get to dry land.

Geography

Corozal is located in the mountainous region near the center of the island. Quebrada Jacinta is a valley in Corozal.

Updated flood zone maps (as of 2019) show that Corozal is extremely vulnerable to flooding, along with Humacao, Rincón, Barceloneta, and Toa Baja. Due to its large number of rivers and streams, Corozal is regarded as being extremely vulnerable to damage from major hurricanes.

Hydrography
Rivers and streams of Corozal include Río Cibuco, Río Corozal, Río Dos Bocas, Río Grande de Manatí, Río Mavilla, Río Orocovis, and Río Unibón.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Corozal is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo."

 * 1) Abras
 * 2) Cibuco
 * 3) Corozal barrio-pueblo
 * 4) Cuchillas
 * 5) Dos Bocas
 * 6) Magueyes
 * 7) Maná
 * 8) Negros
 * 9) Padilla
 * 10) Palmarejo
 * 11) Palmarito
 * 12) Palos Blancos
 * 13) Pueblo

Sectors
Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Corozal: Aldea Vázquez, Comunidad Los Indios, Cuba Libre-EI Idilio, El Guarico, La Escalera, La Mina, and Parcelas Medina.

Climate
Corozal experiences a tropical climate.

Tourism
To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Corozal page lists Reserva Natural Monte Choca, Tres Cruces, and Gran Mural de la Cultura Corozaleña, as places of interest.

Corozal is home to the Historical Center of Cibuco, a park and museum with relics from the Puerto Rico's (Taínos) as well as objects, paintings and artifacts of the town's history.

El Balalaika is a cafeteria which opened its doors around 1962.

Landmarks and places of interest

 * El Rancho Recreation Center
 * El Jíbaro Centro Recreativo
 * Cine-Teatro San Rafael de Corozal, a movie theatre which reopened in 2017 after being closed for 28 years.
 * Mavilla Bridge

Agriculture
One of Puerto Rico's major plaintain producers. New small businesses producing eggs and hydroponic crops (lettuce, recao) are emerging.

Business
Crafts, services. Several manufacture enterprises have reduced or moved operations in recent years.

Festivals and events

Corozal celebrates its patron saint festival in January. The Fiestas Patronales de la Sagrada Familia is a religious and cultural celebration in honor of the Holy Family and generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Corozal include:

 * Corozal Carnival - June
 * San Juan Bautista Carnival - June
 * Plantain Festival - September
 * Festival del Corozo - October

Volleyball

 * Plataneros de Corozal (Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino) - 9 time LVSM national champions; recent title win was in 2009
 * Pinkin de Corozal (Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino) - record-setting 18 time LVSF national champions; recent title win was in 2022

Swimming
The Gold Fish Swim Team for kids and youth and a new Master's Swim Team created in 2008 under the direction of Arlene Ortiz.

Government
All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor, elected every four years. The current mayor of Corozal is Luis “Luiggi” García, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected at the 2020 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district VI, which is represented by two senators. In 2012, Miguel Pereira Castillo and Angel M. Rodríguez were elected as district senators.

Transportation
There are 26 bridges in Corozal. Mavilla Bridge in Corozal is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places:

Symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag
Consists of three horizontal stripes of equal width, yellow the top, green the middle and blue the bottom, and in some instances the middle stripe could have embroidered or printed the coat of arms.

The flag is very similar to the provincial flag of Islas del Caró (I.D.C.) except that the yellow stripe is half the size as the green and blue stripes much like the flag of Colombia except that the red stripe is replaced by the green one at the bottom. It is unknown whether the flag was made to coincide with the densely populated province of El Conquistador or was created by natural and neutral causes.

Coat of arms
On a gold background three corozo palm trees, with clusters in their original color, planted on a green landscape and in front of a mountain range. At the bottom, blue and silver water waves sprinkled with gold nuggets. The three-tower-crown is gold with black stones. The corozo palms represent the name of the town and its river, whose ends were populated with palms. The mountains represent the high striking mountains of Corozal. The waves represent the Corozal River and gold nuggets, a metal that was panned. The gold background represents the hard labor and alludes to the gold of Corozal, appreciated long ago for its purity. The crown is an emblem used to designate the cities and towns.

Education
Public high schools in Corozal include Escuela Superior Emilio R. Delgado and Escuela Superior Porfirio Cruz García High School in Barrio Cuchillas. The only private high school is Colegio Sagrada Familia in Barrio Pueblo.

In popular culture
The following songs mention Corozal:

 * Controversia navideña
 * Guineítos con corned beef
 * Oubao Moin
 * Que nunca muera nuestra tradición

Notable "Corozaleños"

 * Carmen E. Arroyo, first Puerto Rican woman elected to the New York State Assembly
 * Lunay, Reggaeton artist
 * Maria del Carmen Arroyo, member of the New York City Council
 * Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia, professor and writer
 * Viviana Ortiz Pastrana, fashion model and Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2011
 * Sixto Febus, Painter, poet, writer, teacher, philanthropist and restorer
 * Eddie Perez, politician served as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut from 2001 to 2010.
 * April Carrión, Drag queen and contestant on Rupaul’s Drag Race season 6 who would go on to place 11th overall.
 * Ashleyann Lozada, (born 1991) boxer

title: Corozal, Puerto Rico


text:
Florida, Puerto Rico

Florida is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the karst region north of Ciales, south of Barceloneta, east of Arecibo, and west of Manatí. Florida is not like other municipalities of Puerto Rico with multiple subdivisions called barrios. It has one barrio called Florida Adentro and two other subdivisions: Florida Zona Urbana and Pajonal comunidad. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Florida was founded first as a barrio of Barceloneta in 1881 when a priest named Father Carrión, the mayor of Barceloneta, and other dignitaries visited a tract of land of almost 4 acres. They decided to establish a new barrio. The owner of the land, Don Manuel Cintrón, granted the land while he retained a piece of it. The barrio was first called Florida Adentro.

During the 20th century, several efforts were made to declare Florida as a municipality. First, on April 14, 1949, House Representative Francisco Díaz Marchand presented a project to create a legislative commission that would study the economic and social conditions of the barrio, to determine the suitability of it as an independent municipality. The project was unsuccessful. In 1960, Manuel Frías Morales presented a law that would permit the study to establish the municipality but it was also unsuccessful.

Finally, on June 14, 1971, the Senate of Puerto Rico and Governor Don Luis A. Ferré approved the law that officially created the municipality of Florida. It is thus the youngest municipality established in the island.

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. In Florida, 1400 homes were a total loss and 2,295 homes were partially damaged.

Geography
Florida is the second smallest municipality of Puerto Rico, with an area of 10 square miles. As the only municipality in Puerto Rico that has its urban area within the northern karst region (sometimes referred as the Northern Karst Hills), it is surrounded by low elevation, red clay and limestone haystack hills known in Caribbean Spanish as mogotes. The southern border of the municipality with Ciales remains one of the least developed areas on the island, due to the ruggedness of the karst. The Río Encantado, a subterranean river, drains this area. Several caves are found in the town, including Román Cave, Miró Cave, and Juana Gómez Cave. Balcon Cave (Cueva Balcón) is located in Florida.

Barrios
As with all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Florida is subdivided into administrative units called barrios (which means barrios or boroughs or neighborhoods in English). A newer municipality of Puerto Rico, Florida has one barrio called Florida Adentro and two sub-barrios: Florida Zona Urbana and Pajonal. It does not have a "barrio-pueblo" like most of the other municipalities of Puerto Rico.

The following areas are neighborhoods in Florida:
 * Parcelas Arroyo
 * Parcelas Selgas
 * Pueblo Viejo
 * San Agustín
 * Perol
 * Tosas
 * La Villamil
 * Dolta

Sectors
Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others. For all

Special Communities
Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Florida: Sector El Hoyo in Comunidad San Agustín, Comunidad Arroyo, Sector Polvorín in Comunidad La Ceiba, Comunidad La Fuente, Estancias de Arroyo in La Joya, Sector El Cerro in Pajonal, and Sectors La Charca and Los Quemaos (both) in Parcelas Selgas.

Culture and tourism
To stimulate local tourism, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo ("I'm Touring") campaign, with a passport book and website. The Florida page lists Parque Ecológico Janet González, Río Encantado, and Bandera de Puerto Rico of the project Una Bandera, 78 Pueblos (One Flag, 78 Pueblos), as places of interest.

Festival and events
Florida celebrates its patron saint festival in September. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

Other festivals and events celebrated in Florida include:
 * Three Kings Festival – January
 * Cayenalisa Pineapple Festival – July
 * Cultural Fair of Río Encantado – October

Economy
Historically, Florida's economy relied heavily on agriculture, specifically pineapple crops and other fruit-related products. In recent decades, along with the rest of the Island, rapid urbanization and industrialization, along with economic challenges, have forced Florida's fruit industry to near extinction. Pharmaceutical manufacturing plants have been established in Florida.

Demographics
Florida is one of the least populated municipalities of Puerto Rico, perhaps due to its small size. The population, according to the 2000 census, was 12,237 with a population density of 1,236.7 people per square mile (475.6/km2). After its establishment in 1974, the population has steadily increased over the years, with 7,232 people in the 1980 census.

Statistics taken from the 2000 census shows that 86.0% of Florideños are of White origin, 4.9% are black, 0.2% are Amerindian etc.

Government
After its initial establishment, Florida belonged to the Barceloneta region. In 1949 and 1960 there were some attempts to separate the barrio from Barceloneta, but these were unsuccessful. However, in 1974, Governor Luis A. Ferré and the Puerto Rican Senate officially declared Florida an independent municipality. Its first mayor was Jorge L. Pérez Piñeiro. The current mayor is José Gerena Polanco, of the New Progressive Party (PNP). He was elected in the 2012 general elections.

The city belongs to the Puerto Rico Senatorial district III, which is represented by two Senators. In 2008, José Emilio González and Angel Martínez were elected as District Senators.

Symbols
The municipio has an official flag and coat of arms.

Flag
It consists of three horizontal stripes, with the following colors and widths: green the superior and white the inferior, with five modules of width each one, the center one red, with a width of one module.

Coat of arms
Field of silver, in an abyss, a gules (red) anchored cross, like the one in the Asturian district of Llanes. The cross is anchored between two branches of bloomed poinsettias (Poinsettia pulcherrima). A green terrace represents the hilly terrain of the town, with a stripe forming waves outlined in silver which represents the underground river of Encantado. At the top, a three tower gold crown distinct in municipalities coat of arms. The shield can be surrounded, to its flanks and bottom by two crossed coffee tree branches with fruits.

Names
Florida derives its name from the abundant flowers and natural resources on its land. It is also known as La Tierra del Río Encantado due to an underground river called Encantado. Another nickname is the Pueblo de la Piña Cayenalisa due to its pineapple crops.

Education
There are several public and private schools, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, distributed throughout the municipality of Florida. Public education is handled by the Puerto Rico Department of Education. These are some of the schools in Florida, as of 2020:
 * Adolfo Egüen School
 * Juanita Ramírez González School
 * Juan Ponce De León II School
 * Francisco Frías Morales School
 * Ricardo Rodríguez Torres School
 * Early Head Start

Transportation
Puerto Rico Highway 22 provides access to PR-140, which leads to Florida from the cities of Mayagüez in the west, or San Juan in the north.

Like most other towns on the Island, it has a public transportation system consisting of small, subsidized private buses and vans called públicos.

There is only one bridge in Florida.

Mayors of Florida

 * 1974–1981 – Jorge Luis Pérez Piñeiro
 * 1981–1984 – Heriberto González Vélez
 * 1984–1992 – Juan Ramon De León Vélez [Johnny]
 * 1992–2004 – Maria Dolores Guzmán Cardona [Maggie]
 * 2004–2012 – José Aaron Pargas Ojeda
 * 2012–present – José Gerena Polanco

Notable Florideños

 * Charlie Montoyo – Former Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and former Major League Baseball player
 * Alexis Mateo – Drag queen and contestant on Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race

title: Florida, Puerto Rico


text:
Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is the personality trait of being responsible, careful or diligent. Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well, and to take obligations to others seriously. Conscientious people tend to be efficient and organized as opposed to easy-going and disorderly. They tend to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; they display planned rather than spontaneous behavior; and they are generally dependable. Conscientiousness manifests in characteristic behaviors such as being neat, systematic, careful, thorough, and deliberate (tending to think carefully before acting).

Conscientiousness is one of the five traits of both the Five Factor Model and the HEXACO model of personality and is an aspect of what has traditionally been referred to as having character. Conscientious individuals are generally hard-working and reliable. When taken to an extreme, they may also be "workaholics", perfectionists, and compulsive in their behavior. People who score low on conscientiousness tend to be laid back, less goal-oriented, and less driven by success, if they also score high on Big Five Agreeableness; otherwise, they are also more likely to engage in anti-social behavior and commit blue-collared crimes and crimes of passion.

Personality models
Conscientiousness is one of the five major dimensions in the Big Five model of personality (also called Five Factor Model or OCEAN), which consists of openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Two of many personality tests that assess these traits are Costa and McCrae's NEO PI-R and Goldberg's NEO-IPIP. According to these models, conscientiousness is a continuous dimension of personality, rather than a categorical "type" of person.

In the NEO framework, Conscientiousness has six facets: Competence, Order, Dutifulness, Achievement Striving, Self-Discipline, and Deliberation. Other models suggest a smaller set of two "aspects": orderliness and industriousness form, with orderliness associated with the desire to keep things organized and tidy and industriousness being more associated with productivity and work ethic.

Other Big Five personality traits such as low extraversion, high agreeableness, low openness, and low neuroticism are linked to high conscientiousness.

Conscientiousness also appears in other models of personality, such as Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory, in which it is related to both self-directedness and persistence. The traits of rule consciousness and perfectionism are included in Cattell's 16 PF model. It is negatively associated with impulsive sensation-seeking in Zuckerman's alternative five model.

Traits associated with conscientiousness are frequently assessed by self-report integrity tests given by various corporations to prospective employees.

Origin
Terms such as "hard-working", "reliable", and "persevering" describe desirable aspects of character. Because conscientiousness was once believed to be a moral evaluation, it was overlooked as a psychological attribute. The reality of individual differences in conscientiousness has now been clearly established by studies of cross-observer agreement. Peer and expert ratings confirm the self-reports that people make about their degrees of conscientiousness. Furthermore, both self-reports and observer ratings of conscientiousness predict real-life outcomes such as academic success.

During most of the 20th century, psychologists believed that personality traits could be divided into two categories: temperament and character. Temperament traits were thought to be biologically based, whereas character traits were thought to be learned either during childhood or throughout life. With the advent of the FFM (Five-Factor Model), behavior geneticists began systematic studies of the full range of personality traits, and it soon became clear that all five factors are substantially heritable. Identical twins showed very similar personality traits even when they had been separated at birth and raised apart, and this was true for both character traits and temperament traits. Parents and communities influence the ways in which conscientiousness is expressed, but they apparently do not influence its level.

Measurement
A person's level of conscientiousness is generally assessed using self-report measures, although peer-reports and third-party observation can also be used. Self-report measures are either lexical or based on statements. Deciding which measure of either type to use in research is determined by an assessment of psychometric properties and the time and space constraints of the study being undertaken.

Lexical
Lexical measures use adjectives that reflect conscientiousness traits, such as "efficient" and "systematic", and are very space- and time-efficient for research purposes. Goldberg developed a 20-word measure as part of his 100-word Big Five markers. Saucier developed a briefer 8-word measure as part of his 40-word mini-markers. Thompson revised these measures to develop the International English Mini-Markers which has superior validity and reliability in populations both within and outside North America. Internal consistency reliability of the International English Mini-Markers for the Conscientiousness measure for native English-speakers is reported as .90, that for non-native English-speakers is .86.

Statement
Statement measures tend to comprise more words than lexical measures, so consume more research instrument space and more respondent time to complete. Respondents are asked the extent to which they, for example, often forget to put things back in their proper place, or are careful to avoid making mistakes. Some statement-based measures of conscientiousness have similarly acceptable psychometric properties in North American populations to lexical measures, but their generally emic development makes them less suited to use in other populations. For instance, statements in colloquial North American English like Often forget to put things back in their proper place or Am careful to avoid making mistakes can be hard for non-native English-speakers to understand, suggesting internationally validated measures might be more appropriate for research conducted with non-North Americans.

Development
Currently, little is known about conscientiousness in young children because the self-report inventories typically used to assess it are not appropriate for that age group. There are likely individual differences in this factor at an early age. It is known, for example, that some children have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which is characterized in part by problems with concentration, organization, and persistence. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies suggest that conscientiousness is relatively low among adolescents but increases between 18 and 30 years of age. Conscientiousness generally increases with age from 21 to 60, though the rate of increase is slow.

Individual differences are strongly preserved, meaning that a careful, neat, and scrupulous 30-year-old is likely to become a careful, neat, and scrupulous 80-year-old.

Daily life
People who score high on the trait of conscientiousness tend to be more organized and less cluttered in their homes and offices. For example, their books tend to be neatly shelved in alphabetical order, or categorized by topic, rather than scattered around the room. Their clothes tend to be folded and arranged in drawers or closets instead of lying on the floor. The presence of planners and to-do lists are also signs of conscientiousness. Their homes tend to have better lighting than the homes of people who score low on this trait.

Academic and workplace performance
Conscientiousness correlates with successful academic performance in students and workplace performance among managers and workers. Low levels of conscientiousness are strongly associated with procrastination. Conscientiousness has a moderate to large positive correlation with performance in the workplace, and in contrast, after general mental ability is taken into account, the other four Big Five personality traits do not aid in predicting career success.

Conscientious employees are generally more reliable, more motivated, and harder working. They have lower rates of absenteeism and counterproductive work behaviors such as stealing and fighting with other employees. Furthermore, conscientiousness is the personality trait that mostly correlates with performance across all categories of jobs. Agreeableness and emotional stability may also be important, particularly in jobs that involve a significant amount of social interaction. Of all manager/leader types, top executives show the lowest level of rule-following, a conscientious trait. Conscientiousness is not always positively related to job performance; sometimes the opposite is true. Being too conscientious could lead to taking too much time in making urgent decisions and to being too attached to the rules and lacking innovation.

Subjective well-being
A 2008 meta-analysis found that conscientiousness has a positive relationship with subjective well-being, particularly satisfaction with life. Highly conscientious people tend to be happier with their lives than those who score low on this trait. Although conscientiousness is generally seen as a positive trait to possess, research suggests that in some situations it may be harmful for well-being. In a prospective study of 9,570 people over four years, highly conscientious people suffered more than twice as much if they became unemployed. The authors suggested this may be due to conscientious people making different attributions about why they became unemployed, or through experiencing stronger reactions following failure. This finding is consistent with perspectives which see no trait as inherently positive or negative, but rather the consequences of the trait being dependent on the situation and concomitant goals and motivations.

Problematic life outcomes
Low conscientiousness is linked to anti-social behavior, blue-collared crimes, and crimes of passion, as well as unemployment and homelessness. Low conscientiousness and low agreeableness taken together are also associated with substance use disorders. People low in conscientiousness have difficulty saving money and their risky borrowing practices make them fall prey to subprime and predatory lending more often than conscientious people. High conscientiousness is associated with more careful planning of shopping trips and less impulse buying of unneeded items. While conscientiousness is generally linked to a lower level of anti-social behaviour, it is not always the case, and conscientiousness is not always negatively correlated with criminality. It has been shown that conscientiousness is positively correlated with business, white-collared, and premeditated criminal behavior.

Health and longevity
According to a multi-decade study begun in 1921 by psychologist Lewis Terman on over 1,500 gifted adolescent Californians, "The strongest predictor of long life was conscientiousness." Specific behaviors associated with low conscientiousness may explain its influence on longevity. Nine different behaviors that are among the leading causes of mortality—alcohol use, disordered eating (including obesity), drug use, lack of exercise, risky sexual behavior, risky driving, tobacco use, violence, and suicide—are all predicted by low conscientiousness. Health behaviors are more strongly correlated with the "conventionality" rather than the "impulse-control" aspect of conscientiousness. Apparently, social norms influence many health-relevant behaviors, such as healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, and moderate drinking, and highly conscientious people adhere the most strongly to these norms. Conscientiousness is positively related to health behaviors such as regular visits to a doctor, checking smoke alarms, and adherence to medication regimens. Such behavior may better safeguard health and prevent disease. The only known health benefits of low conscientiousness are relaxation and reduced anxiety.

Relationships
Relationship quality is positively associated with partners' levels of conscientiousness. Highly conscientious people are less likely to get divorced due to their own fault. Conscientiousness is associated with lower rates of behavior associated with at-fault divorce, such as extramarital affairs, spousal abuse, and alcohol use disorder. Conscientious behaviors may have a direct influence on relationship quality, as people low in conscientiousness are less responsible, less responsive to their partners, more condescending, and less likely to hold back offensive comments. More conscientious people are better at managing conflict and tend to provoke fewer disagreements, perhaps because they elicit less criticism due to their well-controlled and responsible behavior.

Intelligence
Conscientiousness has distinct sub-components, including two major branches (i.e., orderliness and industriousness). The largest set of meta-analyses found that these branches of conscientiousness have disparate connections with cognitive abilities. Orderliness has negative correlations with some cognitive abilities (e.g., fluid reasoning abilities, math knowledge, lexical knowledge, and science knowledge) whereas industriousness has strikingly positive correlations with multiple abilities (e.g., general mental ability, memory, processing speed, and knowledge).

Some previous studies in selected samples (e.g., job candidates, university students) have found negative correlations between conscientiousness and intelligence. One potential explanation is that these negative correlations may be artificially created by the selection of the sample. For example, with students who are low on one trait and high on the other (negative relationship) using the strong one to compensate and pass the selection, while students who are low on both (positive relationship) are removed by the selection.

Political attitudes
Conscientiousness correlates with conservative political attitudes.

Because conscientiousness is positively related to job performance, conservative service workers have been shown to earn higher ratings, evaluations, and tips than their liberal counterparts.

Although right-wing authoritarianism is one of the most powerful predictors of prejudice, a large scale meta-analysis found that conscientiousness itself is uncorrelated with general prejudice. Rebellion against control is significantly negatively correlated with conscientiousness.

Hence, conscientiousness is associated only with rule compliance, obedience, and integrity, not necessarily with right-wing authoritarianism, which requires reduced Big Five Agreeableness as well.

Creativity
The orderliness/dependability subfactors (order, dutifulness, and deliberation) of conscientiousness correlate negatively with creativity while the industriousness/achievement subfactors (competence, achievement striving, and self-discipline) correlate positively. People who score high on the order subfactor of conscientiousness show less innovative behavior, especially if coupled with a low score on the industrious subfactor. Group conscientiousness has a negative effect on group performance during creative tasks. Groups with only conscientious members have difficulty solving open-ended problems.

Adaptability
A study from 2006 found that those scoring low on conscientiousness make better decisions after unanticipated changes in the context of a task. Specifically, the subfactors order, dutifulness, and deliberation negatively correlated with decision-making quality, but not competence, achievement striving, and self-discipline.

Religiosity
General religiosity was mainly correlated with high Agreeableness and Conscientiousness among the Big Five traits.

Conscience
Conscientiousness in psychology is defined, as noted above, by notions such as "orderliness and industriousness", not by reference to the ordinary language notion of conscience, or such as is referred to in the legal doctrine of equity, by concern with preventing unconscionable actions.

United States
Average levels of conscientiousness vary by state in the United States. People living in the central part, including the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri, on average have higher scores than people living in other regions. People in the southwestern states of New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona also have relatively high average scores on conscientiousness. Among the eastern states, Florida is the only one that scores in the top ten for this personality trait. The four states with the lowest scores on conscientiousness on average were, in descending order, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Maine, and Alaska.

Great Britain
A large scale survey of residents of Great Britain found that average levels of all the Big Five, including conscientiousness, vary across regional districts in England, Wales, and Scotland. High levels of conscientiousness were found throughout much of Southern England, scattered areas of the Midlands, and most of the Scottish Highlands. Low levels of conscientiousness were observed in London, Wales, and parts of the North of England. Higher mean levels of regional conscientiousness were positively correlated with voting for Toryism and the Conservative Party, and negatively correlated with voting for the Labour Party, in the 2005 and 2010 elections, and also correlated with a higher proportion of married residents, with higher life expectancy for men and women, fewer long-term health problems, and with lower rates of mortality from stroke, cancer, and heart disease. Higher regional conscientiousness was also correlated with lower median annual income in 2011.

title: Conscientiousness