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Mask Festivity

Hatillo is located in northwest Puerto Rico, and measures 109 square kilometers (42 square miles). It is known as the "Capital of the Dairy Industry," "Hatillo of our Hearts," the "Land of the Green Fields," the "Towntown, founding: A group of vecinos that wanted to found a town had to grant a power of attorney to one or more other vecinos to represent them before the governor and viceroy. This person could authorize the founding of the town and the establishment of a parish. The grantors of the power of attorney had to be a majority in the given territory and more than ten in number. Once the case had been made, the governor appointed a capitán poblador or settlement official to represent the vecinos and one or more delegates, who usually lived in nearby cabildos vecinos to receive the necessary documentation. Proof was required that the settlement was so far from a church that it was very difficult for the settlers to partake of sacraments and municipal services. In general, proof was provided of the absence or bad condition of roads and bridges. If the petition was approved, it was required that the vecinos mark off the new municipality and build public works such as a church, a parish house, a government house (Casa del Rey), a slaughterhouse, and a cemetery, and to set aside land for the town square or plaza and the commons (ejidos). The vecinos were expected to cover the cost of building these works by levying special assessments. Usually one of the land owners donated some land for the founding. Once the requirements had been met, the governor authorized the founding of the town and the parish, and he appointed a Lieutenant at War who usually was the same capitán poblador. with no Soup" and "The Ranchers'' Town." According to the 2000 census, there are 38,925 hatillanos, living in ten wards: Aibonito, Bayaney, Buena Vista, Campo Alegre, Capáez, Carrizales, Corcovado, Hatillo, Hatillo Pueblo, and Naranjito. The annual patron saint's festival is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The town also celebrates the traditional Day of the Masks, on December 28th, the Day of the Holy Innocents.

Since its founding, Hatillo's principal activity has been the cattle industry and the town is currently the world's largest producer of milk per square mile, producing one third of the milk consumed in Puerto Rico. The town also has factories sponsored by the government Economic Development Administration, as well as the Plaza del Norte shopping mall, the fifth largest on the island. There is excellent fishing in its coastal waters, which are still used for this purpose.


Geography

Hatillo is located on the north coast of the island, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the north, the town of Utuado on the south, Arecibo on the east, Camuy on the west, and briefly bordered by Lares on the southwest. The town is part of the northern coastal plain in a zone designated as the northwest meseta where there is a belt of predominantly flat or slightly rolling land. The territory is divided into a northern and a southern belt, consisting of karst haystacks and sinkholes. Towards the center, the topography is irregular, extending towards the mountains of the island. Hatillo is bathed by the Camuy River.