OUR COUNTRY

Formed by the peaks of two undersea mountains, (which come from Jamaica and Cuba), the island of Hispaniola lies in the heart of the Caribbean. It is the second largest island in the Caribbean with an area of 18,704 square miles. Covering two-thirds of the island on the eastern side is the country of Dominican Republic.

This beautiful country combines the modernity with the Old World charm, blessed with 400 kms. of white sandy beaches stretching from coast to coast.

Is divided into 32 provinces and the capital which is located on the south coast where the Caribbean Sea caresses the island.

POPULATION: With a  population of almost 9 million, about 2.5 million live in the capital city. Most of the Dominican population is formed by a mixture of descendants of Africans and European.  Approximately a 11% of the Dominicans are mainly of African descendants, including many Haitian immigrants and their descendants.  A 16% of them are of Spanish or European origin.  The remainder is composed by Asians, the descending majority of Chinese and also Arabian origin.

ECONOMY:  The economy is mainly based on the tourism, agriculture and free zone trade.  The tourism became an important source of incomes from the middle of the 90's.  This represents an income of more than 3 billion of dollars.

CLIMATE: Has a predominantly tropical weather with an average temperature between 25º and 30º C. The hottest month is August while the coolest is January.

CULTURE: The Colonial Zone of the city of Santo Domingo is the richest one of the Caribbean in architecture of the colonial era: impressive monuments magnificently conserved and fortresses and churches where predominate the brick and the stone in harmonious arches and columns, alleys, streets of stone and ruins. 

ART: The art runs for the veins of the the Dominicans as essential part of its lives being declared in simple aspects of the same: in the pot of bougainvillea that decorates the table, in the houses painted with intense tropical colors, in the oral traditions of songs and stories, in short, in all that that carry out with love and like expression of the intrinsic beauty that conforms them as the Dominicans. 

MUSIC:  Its main rhythm is the Merengue, which has several sides, but its origin this given in the typical jam or perico  ripiao.  This rhythm is touched with: guira, tambora, accordion and marimba. Various instruments more have been included.  It was very popular during the tyranny of Rafael L. Trujillo, but after its death was blocked, from the 70's, began to record merengues.

Also the Bachata whiche is a rhythm similar of the bolero from the 30's and is very popular already in all the areas of the country.

GASTRONOMY:  By its condition of agricultural insular country and cattle raiser, the Dominican Republic offers a variety of attractive dishes where mixes the influences taínas, European and African in an explosion of rich flavor. 

You can find also international gastronomy in plenty of the best restaurants in the caribbean region.