Information on Santiago, Dominican Republic

Santiago de los Caballeros (English: Saint James of the Gentlemen) is the second largest metropolis in the Dominican Republic, located in the north-central region of the Republic known as Cibao valley. This city is the capital of Santiago Province.

The original colony was in the city of Jacagua, which was founded in 1495, but when an earthquake destroyed it, it was moved to its present location in 1506. It was devastated by another earthquake in 1562. Santiago de los Caballeros has at times been the capital of the country, and was an important strategic city in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844.

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.

Santiago features a tropical wet & dry climate.  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.

Santiago de los Caballeros, the second largest city in the country.  The city of Santiago is largely dependent on the fertile lands of the region.  This makes Santiago de los Caballeros an important region for farming and livestock. The city has been recently changing into a predominantly service provider economy. This sector has grown a lot in the recent years making it ideal for greater expansion. Santiago 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 too, accounts for an important portion of the city’s economy.

Growth and development

Like Santo Domingo, 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. Santiago like any other fast growing city is faced with numerous problems including irregular electricity service and insufficient potable water. The approximate population of Santiago is about 1,936,721 inhabitants.The fastest growing neighborhood in the city of Santiago is the traditionally upper middle class neighborhood, La Trinitaria.

Religion

The Dominican Republic is 68.9% Roman Catholic, 18.2% Evangelical, 10.6% with no religion, and 2.3% other. However, other sources place the irreligious ratio at 7% and nearly 10%. Recent immigration, as well as proselytizing, has brought other religions, with the following shares of the population: Spiritist: 2.2%, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1.1%, Buddhist: 0.10%, Bahá’í: 0.1%, Islam: 0.02%, Judaism: 0.01%, Chinese Folk Religion: 0.1%. The nation has two patroness saints: Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (Our Lady Of High Grace) and Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (Our Lady Of Mercy).

The Catholic Church began to lose popularity in the late 19th century. This was due to a lack of funding, of priests, and of support programs. During the same time, the Protestant evangelical movement began to gain support. Religious tension between Catholics and Protestants in the country has been rare.

There has always been religious freedom throughout the entire country.

Languages

The Dominican Republic is entirely Spanish speaking. Schools are based on a Spanish educational model, with English being taught as a secondary language in most private schools, it is also being taught in public school as well. The population of Haitian descendants speaks Haitian Creole. There is a community of about 8,000 speakers of Samaná English in the Samaná Peninsula. They are the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who arrived in the nineteenth century. Tourism, American pop culture, the influence of Dominican Americans, and the country’s economic ties with the United States motivate other Dominicans to learn English.

Education

Primary education is officially free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 14, although those who live in isolated areas have limited access to schooling. Primary schooling is followed by a two-year intermediate school and a four-year secondary course, after which a diploma called the bachillerato (high school diploma) is awarded. Relatively few lower-income students succeed in reaching this level, due to financial hardships and limitation due to location. Most of the wealthier students attend private schools, which are frequently sponsored by religious institutions. Some public and private vocational schools are available, particularly in the field of agriculture, but this too reaches only a tiny percentage of the population.

 Culture

The culture and people of the Dominican Republic, like its Spanish Caribbean neighbors, is a blend of the cultures of the Spanish colonists, African slaves, and Taíno natives. European, African and Taíno cultural elements are most prominent in food, family structure, religion and music. Many Arawak/Taíno names and words are used in daily conversation and for many foods native to the Dominican Republic.

Cuisine

Dominican cuisine is predominantly Spanish, Taíno, and African. The typical cuisine is quite similar to what can be found in other Latin American countries, but many of the names of dishes are different. One breakfast dish consists of eggs and mangú (mashed, boiled plantain), a dish that the Dominican Republic shares with Cuba and Puerto Rico. For heartier versions, mangú is accompanied by deep-fried meat (Dominican salami, typically) and/or cheese. Similarly to Spain, lunch is generally the largest and most important meal of the day. Lunch usually consists of rice, meat (such as chicken, beef, pork, or fish), beans, and a side portion of salad. “La Bandera” (literally “The Flag”) is the most popular lunch dish; it consists of meat and red beans on white rice. Sancocho is a stew often made with seven varieties of meat.

Meals tend to favor starches and meats over dairy products and vegetables. Many dishes are made with sofrito, which is a mix of local herbs used as a wet rub for meats and sautéed to bring out all of a dish’s flavors. Throughout the south-central coast, bulgur, or whole wheat, is a main ingredient in quipes or tipili (bulgur salad). Other favorite Dominican foods are chicharrón, yuca, casabe, pastelitos (empanadas), batata, yam, pasteles en hoja, chimichurris, tostones. Some treats Dominicans enjoy are arroz con dulce (or arroz con leche), bizcocho dominicano (lit. Dominican cake), habichuelas con dulce, flan, frío frío (snow cones), dulce de leche, and caña (sugarcane). The beverages Dominicans enjoy include batida (smoothie), jugos naturales (freshly squeezed fruit juices), mabí, coffee, and chaca (also called maiz caqueao/casqueado, maiz con dulce and maiz con leche), the last item being only found in the southern provinces of the country such as San Juan.