Santiago de los Caballeros

History

The colony originally was located in the city of Jacagua, which was founded in 1495, but when it was destroyed by an earthquake it was moved to its current location in 1506. In granting in 1508 the Royal Privilege of Concession de Armas to the Villa de Santiago of Hispaniola, the heraldic emblem that was included in his shield was venerated. The royal decree signed by King Ferdinand as administrator of the kingdoms of his daughter Joanna I of Castile.

The city was devastated by another earthquake in 1562. The survivors settled on land belonging to Petronila Jáquez of Minaya, adjacent to the Yaque del Norte, which is the current location of the city's river. The domination of the French during the Peace of Basel (which yielded the Spanish part of the island to France in 1795) left its mark on Santiago. During this era Santiago began its modern urban planning. European neoclassicism is represented at the Palace Hall, built between 1892 and 1895, by a Belgian architect named Louis Bogaert. The Victorian era was the zenith of architecture in the city. Numerous residences were built in this European style, which makes up the historic center of Santiago.

Santiago de los Caballeros has historically been the capital of the country, and was an important strategic city in the Dominican War of Independence. The name of the city, Saint James of the Knights refers to the Hidalgos de la Isabela, a group of knights who had come from La Isabela city to stay in Santiago. When they got back to Spain they put a formal complaint before the king stating that their horses had been unfairly commissioned as beasts of burden and their weapons had been appropriated by the Columbus brothers (Diego and Bartolomew) and that they had been made to do manual labor, something considered beneath their station as knights, who were meant to engage only in battle. Sometimes the city is called Santiago de los 30 Caballeros (English: Saint James of the 30 Knights).

Geography

Santiago de los Caballeros is located on a hilly terrain in the middle of the Cibao Valley in the Central Region of the Dominican Republic, one of the most fertile lands found in the island. The Yaque del Norte River passes by Santiago which is in between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Septentrional, two of the three major mountain ranges on the island of Hispaniola, forming the Cibao Valley.

Climate

Santiago features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature varies little in the city, because the tropical trade winds help mitigate the heat and humidity throughout the year. December and January are the coolest months and July and August are the warmest. Santiago and the rest of the country are in the Caribbean and have a tropical climate, which, when coupled with the city's altitude, 183 meters above sea level, causes cloudy conditions to persist through much of the year. Whilst the city lies within the Hurricane belt, Santiago is more sheltered than other parts of the country from hurricanes because of its location in the Cibao Valley.

Economy

Santiago, as most cities and towns in the Cibao valley, benefits from the fertile lands of this region. This makes Santiago de los Caballeros an important area for farming and livestock. Santiago's industrial sector is also one of the most dynamic in the country. It has the concentration of 15% of domestic industries. This means 308 manufacturing companies, which in 2004 employed more than 14,000 people or 12% of the labor of Dominican manufacturing work. The products range from cigars, coffee, and alcoholic beverages, to concrete, plywood and sheet products.

Santiago is the 2nd largest city in the Dominican Republic after Santo Domingo and currently produces the 2nd highest percentage of the nations GDP. Telecommunications, such as; wireless phones, cable service, internet service and other services are important for the local economy. Tourism, to a lesser extent, also accounts for a portion of the city's economy.

Growth and development

Santiago has recently experienced an era of rapid growth and development. It has become a city of great importance for the nation and the region's development. The approximate population of Santiago is about 691,262 inhabitants (as of 2010).

Architecture

The Cathedral of Santiago was built in 1895 by Onofre de Lora, an architect native to the city.

The Hermanos Patiño Bridge is both the largest and oldest bridge in the city connecting the North and South sides of the city of Santiago. Its construction was started by Rafael Leónidas Trujillo and inaugurated in 1962, one year after his death. The bridge is named after the five brothers that died in an effort to end Trujillo's regime and dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in the mid 20th century. The anti-Trujillo legacy of the Patiño family did not begin with the brothers, but with their father who was killed in 1931 in the first anti-Trujillo insurrection of the Dominican Republic.

On a hill overlooking Santiago is a 67 meters (220 ft) high marble monument. Construction of the monument began in 1944 on the orders of then-dictator Rafael Trujillo. He named it the "Trujillo's Monument to Peace", and was designed by architect Henry Gazón Bona. Trujillo was assassinated in 1961, after which the monument was renamed the "Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration", in remembrance of the Independence Restoration War of 1863, in which the Dominican Republic regained its independence from Spain.

Sites

Museums

Museums in the city include the Museo Folklórico Yoryi Morel which exhibits Santiago's Carnival culture, and displays some garments worn by lechones of Santiago Province in the Carnival, as well as those worn in other provinces. The museum is named after noted Santiago painter Yoryi Morel. Museo del Tabaco or The Tobacco Museum which shows manufacturing methods as well as the effect of the tobacco plantations along the city's history, the Museo Histórico Fortaleza San Luis or Historic San Luis Fort Museum which previously served as a municipal prison., the Museo de los Héroes de la Restauración or Restoration Heroes Museum is currently under Construction and houses a display of pictures from the Restoration War from the 1863–1865 battles between the Dominican Government and the Spanish army. and Centro León which displays elements of the Caribbean and Dominican cultures, Natural Dominican History, Native Indian Evolution and Culture.

Sports

As much as the rest of the nation, Santiago residents enjoy baseball and look forward to the Dominican winter season with the local team being the Aguilas Cibaeñas. Besides baseball, basketball is also played at a professional level in the city of Santiago. The institution in charge of organizing these events is the Asociación de Baloncesto de Santiago de los Treinta Caballeros (ABASACA)

Santiago's major baseball and basketball teams are Las Aguilas Cibaeñas and Los Metros de Santiago.

Santiago has two stadiums, and the stadiums are The Estadio Cibao home of the Aguilas Cibaeñas and The Gran Arena del Cibao home of Los Metros De Santiago

The Female Volleyball Team have claimed two bronze medals in the professional Dominican Volleyball League.

In early 2015, there was the official launch of Liga Dominicana de Fútbol in the Dominican Republic. Santiago is the first city in the country to hold a FIFA Certified Stadium, which was built in the campus of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra by the construction group Grupo Estrella, and became the home of the major and first city soccer team Cibao FC from Liga Dominicana de Fútbol.

Education

Santiago is home of several universities including Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA). Other higher learning institutions present in Santiago are: Universidad Organización & Método (O&M), Universidad Abierta para Adultos (UAPA), Universidad Nacional Evangélica and one regional campus belonging to the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo

Santiago is also home to a Binational Center, the Centro Cultural Domínico-Americano (CCDA), which founded in 1962 by a group of Dominicans and Americans living in Santiago. At the beginning, the CCDA set about providing English language courses. Later, the library was opened and included the lending of overhead projectors and documentary films. These last two were sponsored by the American Embassy.

CCDA is located on Estrella Sadhalá Avenue. These facilities of the CCDA were opened in July 23, 1962. Throughout its 50 years of existence, the CCDA has taught English language courses, painting classes and manual activities.

Transportation

Santiago has Share taxis (called Carros Públicos or conchos) and private and independent bus owners who form their own routes according to their demands

The city has private bus transportation to other cities. Bus companies include Dioni, Metro, Caribe Tours, Transporte Espinal, Aetra Bus.

The Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte highway, officially known as DR-1, passes by the city center and connects the city directly to Santo Domingo. Other minor highways connect the city to Puerto Plata, Samana, and the northwestern region of the country.

The Cibao International Airport serves mostly Dominicans living in the United States and other Caribbean islands like Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and Panama. The former airport of the city was the Santiago Municipal Airport, a regional airport that closed in March 2002. It served destinations such as San Juan, Port-au-Prince, Miami and Santo Domingo with regular services.

Health

Facilities include Cabral y Baez, Clínica Corominas, and Union Médica, and Hospital Metropolitano De Santiago which offer their services in the city.

New projects

The industrialists of Santiago have defended the project since it is considered to be a solution to the lack of green spaces suitable for relaxation in the city. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the granting of contracts for the different phases from this project violate the frame of transparency and legality. In the Strategic Plan of Santiago it is indicated that the construction of the Metropolitan Park would increase the Santiagos green area from its currently 1.1% to 4%.

Recreation

Some of the recreational places found in Santiago are:

Actors, artists, musicians, writers

Athletes

Politicians

Francisco Augusto Lora - Dominican Vice President, Ambassador to Washington, USA, lawyer

Other

Twin towns – Sister cities

Santiago has twinning agreements with the following sister cities: