Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SANTIAGO
POP 691,000
One of the oldest settlements in Spain's New World empire, Santiago is the country's
second-largest city, spilling over its original border, the Río Yaque del Norte. This sprawl-
ing city churns out rum and cigars, feeding off the large-scale tobacco and sugarcane plant-
ations that make up much of the topography of the surrounding valley floor. The Cordillera
Central to the west and Cordillera Septentrional to the north hem in the city, which is bi-
furcated by Highway Duarte, the country's primary north-south thoroughfare.
Overlooked by most travelers, Santiago is a good place to familiarize yourself with the
ordinary Dominican's way of life. Typical of poor barrios throughout the country, Santi-
ago's are a maze of haphazardly constructed homes made with corrugated iron roofs.
Meanwhile, just east of downtown is the neighborhood of Cerros de Gurabo - surely one of
the wealthiest in the DR - where the roads are lined with enormous mansions concealed
behind high walls. But all strata of society cheer for the hometown baseball team and come
together around the Monument, the city's raucous nightlife center.
History
Santiago was founded in 1495 by Christopher Columbus' elder brother, Bartholomew. But
the earthquake of 1562 caused so much damage to the city that it was rebuilt on its present
site beside the Río Yaque del Norte. It was attacked and destroyed several times by invad-
ing French troops, as part of long-simmering tension between Spain and France over con-
trol of the island. Santiago also suffered terribly during the DR's civil war in 1912.
The years immediately following the civil war were some of the city's best. WWI caused
worldwide shortages of raw tropical materials, so prices soared for products such as sugar,
tobacco, cocoa and coffee - all of which were being grown around Santiago. From 1914
through the end of the war and into the 1920s, Santiago's economy boomed. Lovely homes
and impressive stores, electric lighting and paved streets appeared throughout town. In May
1922, Highway Duarte opened, linking Santiago with Bonao, La Vega and Santo Domingo
to the south.
