Aibonito

History

Before the Spanish colonization of the Americas, it is believed that there were Taíno settlements in the region that belonged to Cacique Orocobix domain. After the Spanish arrived, it is believed that a ranch was established in the region by Pedro Zorascoechea in 1630, which led the development of a hamlet. However, it wasn't until 1822 when Don Manuel Veléz presented himself before the government, representing the inhabitants of the area, to ask for Aibonito to be officially declared a town. This was authorized on March 13, 1824, by Governor Don Miguel de la Torre. The first Catholic church in Aibonito was built in 1825. The building was replaced by the current church, which was started in 1887 and completed in 1897. After the town was officially constituted, barrios started developing in the area. On the Spanish–American War of 1898, around 800 Spanish and Puerto Rican soldiers were able to defeat the invading American troops due to their strategic placement in Asomante Mountain. This scrimmage came to an end when the Spanish government surrendered on August 12, 1898. The Spanish and Puerto Rican forces at Asomante never surrendered and would have held their position indefinitely if not for the buckling of the Spanish government in Madrid. 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 Aibonito was 8,596. Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Aibonito with the significant amount of rainfall. Around 1,500 homes were completely or partially destroyed. The hurricane destroyed the poultry industry of Aibonito with…

Geography

Aibonito is located in the Sierra de Cayey, part of the Cordillera Central in Puerto Rico. Aibonito is the town with the highest elevation in Puerto Rico, located at above sea level. Some of its mountains are La Sierra (), Asomante () and Buena Vista (). Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Aibonito is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , near the center of the municipality. #Aibonito barrio-pueblo # Algarrobo # Asomante # Caonillas # Cuyón # Llanos # Pasto # Plata # Robles Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) (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 Aibonito: the Municipal neighborhood, Algarrobo barrio, Amoldadero and Los Muros in La Plata barrio, El Campito, El Coquí, El Fresal, La Españolita, La Represa, Las Bambúas, Los Cuadritos, Parcelas Nuevas in Pasto barrio, Parcelas Rabanal, Parcelas Viejas in Pasto, San Luis, Sector El Nueve, and Sector Gallera. Some of the rivers that flow through Aibonito are the Río de Aibonito, Río Cuyón, Río de la Plata and Río Usabón. Rio Manu Aibonito features a rather mild tropical rainforest climate, owing to its elevation and location, close but still slightly removed from the equator, as well as being directly exposed to the wind and moisture of the Trade Winds. It borders on a subtropical highland climate, and also a humid subtropical climate, though like the former, summers are not much hotter than the warm to…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• DR. JOSE N. GANDARA
  High · AIBONITO · 484 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• RAFAEL PONT FLORES
  Other · AIBONITO · 473 students · 8.9:1 ratio
• SU PASTO
  Other · AIBONITO · 387 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• DRA. CARMEN DELIA COLON MARTINEZ
  Elementary · AIBONITO · 302 students · 10.1:1 ratio
• SU JOSE CELSO BARBOSA
  Elementary · AIBONITO · 301 students · 9.7:1 ratio
• BONIFACIO SANCHEZ JIMENEZ (GANDARA)
  High · AIBONITO · 264 students · 8.5:1 ratio
• FEDERICO DEGETAU II
  Elementary · AIBONITO · 215 students · 7.7:1 ratio
• RABANAL
  Elementary · AIBONITO · 154 students · 11:1 ratio