Bucaná, Ponce

Bucaná is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Together with Canas, Playa, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Bucaná is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. The name of this barrio is of native Indian origin.^[3] It was founded in 1831.^[4]

Bucaná
Barrio
Río Portugués (L) feeds into Río Bucaná (R), just north of PR-52 in Barrio Bucaná
Location of barrio Bucaná within the municipality of Ponce shown in red
Bucaná Location of Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 17°58′51″N 66°35′41″W[1]
Commonwealth	Puerto Rico
Municipality	Ponce
Area [1]
• Total	2.16 sq mi (5.6 km2)
• Land	1.37 sq mi (3.5 km2)
• Water	0.79 sq mi (2.0 km2)
Elevation [2]	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	3,630
• Density	2,669.1/sq mi (1,030.5/km2)
	Source: 2010 Census
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)

History

Prior to being established as a barrio of Ponce, around 1597, the bay of Ponce had a small place populated by Christian European settlers that was called Bucaná.^[5] In 1800, Bucaná was known as Coto Bucaná,^[6] a type of grant of land suitable for farming to a resident by the Spanish king in recognition for some service provided by the resident to the King.^[7]

Location

Bucaná is an urban barrio located in the southern section of the municipality, within the Ponce city limits, and southeast of the traditional center of the city, Plaza Las Delicias. The toponymy, or origin of the name, alludes to the river that makes its way through it, Río Bucaná.^[8]

Boundaries

Entrance to Julio Monagas Park in Barrio Bucana.

It is bounded on the North by Marginal Street/PR-578 (one block north of PR-1), on the South by the Caribbean Sea, on the West by Rio Bucana, PR-2 (roughly), Rio Portugues, and the Portugues-Bucana Rivers Channel, and on the East by Bucara Street/Los Caobos Avenue, PR-52 (roughly), and the Costa Caribe Country Club East Access Road.^[9]

In terms of barrio-to-barrio boundaries, Bucaná is bounded in the North by Sabanetas, in the South by the Caribbean Sea, in the West by San Anton and Playa, and in the East by Vayas.^[10]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	603		—
1920	512		−15.1%
1930	901		76.0%
1940	695		−22.9%
1950	887		27.6%
1960	841		−5.2%
1970	547		−35.0%
1980	4,179		664.0%
1990	4,053		−3.0%
2000	3,963		−2.2%
2010	3,630		−8.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1899 (shown as 1900)[11] 1910-1930[12] 1930-1950[13] 1960[14] 1970[15] 1980-2000[16] 2010[17]

Bucaná has 1.34 square miles (3.5 km²) of land area and 0.81 square miles (2.1 km²) of water area. In 2000, the population of Bucaná was 3,963 persons, with a density of 2,958 persons per square mile.^[18][19] In 2010, the population of Bucaná was 3,630 persons, with a density of 2,669.10 persons per square mile.^[20] It has the shortest coastline of all five of Ponce's coastal barrios.

The communities of Los Caobos and Camino del Sur are found in Bucana.^[21]

Major roads in barrio Bucana are PR-1, PR-578 and PR-52.^[22]

Landmarks

Barrio Bucaná is home to the Julio Enrique Monagas Family Park.

See also

• Puerto Rico portal

• List of communities in Puerto Rico

References

1. "US Gazetteer 2019". US Census. US Government.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bucaná barrio
3. Sunny A. Cabrera Salcedo. Hacia un Estudio Integral de la Toponimia del Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ph. D. dissertation. May 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Graduate School. Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Page 54.
4. Barrios de Ponce. Archived 30 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Antepasados Esclavos.(From: Pedro Tomás de Córdoba. Memorias geográficas, históricas, económicas y estadísticas de la Isla de Puerto Rico.) Retrieved 28 November 2014.
5. Ponce: Notas para su Historia (second Edition). Archived 7 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservacion Historica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 14. Accessed 19 February 2018.
6. Verdadera Y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. Eduardo Neuman Gandia. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. 1913. Page 66. Accessed 17 June 2018.
7. Verdadera Y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. Eduardo Neuman Gandia. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. 1913. Page 67. Accessed 17 June 2018.
8. Government of the Municipality of Ponce. Periodico "El Señorial". Special issue: Carnaval Ponceño 2013. February 2013. Page 17. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
9. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 20, 2010.
10. Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial. Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 31, 2010.
11. "Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899". War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
12. "Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
13. "Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
14. Census of Population, 1960: Number of Inhabitants, General Population Characteristics, General Social and Economic Characteristics, and Detailed Characteristics. Characteristics of the population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1963. pp. 97–101. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
15. "1990 Census of Population & Housing: Population & Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). Census.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
16. "Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
17. Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
18. BoricuaOnline. Source: US Census Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2010
19. Ponce Municipio, Puerto Rico -- County Subdivision and Place: GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000 (Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data) Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today Retrieved March 10, 2010.
20. Puerto Rico:2010:population and housing unit counts.pdf (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. 2010.
21. Mapa de Localizacion Limite de Barrios de Ponce. Oficina de Ordenacion Territorial. Municipio Autonomo de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 31, 2010.
22. General Purpose Population Data, Census 2000. Unidad de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, Área de Tecnología de Información Gubernamental, Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 14 November 2011.

External links

• Management Plan for La Esperanza Nature Preserve in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Archived 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Matthew Bourque, Drew Digeser, Stephen Partridge, Hussein Yatim. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Worcester, Massachusttes. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.