La Vega, is the fourth largest city and municipality of the Dominican Republic. It is in La Vega Province. The city is known as the Carnaval epicenter of the Dominican Republic for its tradition and culture, its large agricultural production methods throughout its province.

History

Fuerte Concepcion de la Vega RD 12 2019 2019 3185

Christopher Columbus built a military fort near present-day La Vega, in 1494, intended to guard the route to the interior gold deposits of the Cibao valley. A Spanish settlement known as Concepción de la Vega gradually grew up around the fort. After 1508, when gold was found in quantity there, Concepción became the first gold boomtown in the island. It already had a cathedral, two convents, a hospital, and several administration buildings. In La Vega the first coin was minted and the first merchants settled. By 1510 it was one of the largest and most important European cities in the hemisphere. The city was destroyed and buried by an earthquake on December 2, 1562, and the survivors moved to the present site on the banks of the

Camú River The Camú River (Spanish: ''Río Camú '') is long river located in the northern Dominican Republic. It rises in Cordillera Central, flowing first north and then east past the city of Concepción de la Vega before reaching its mouth at the Yuna ...

. The second foundation of the city corresponds to its current location and it is believed that it took place between the years 1562 and 1563. In the days of National Independence, the city of La Vega joined the cause of freedom with soldiers. On March 4, 1844, La Vega formalized its declaration in support of the War of Independence, and that same day it became the first town in the country to raise the national flag. Commerce, agriculture and industry gained new momentum in the late 1800s and early 1900s. An event that strengthened the economic development of the area was the inauguration of the railway between the port of Sánchez and the city of La Vega. The transport by this means of fruits and merchandise led to new living conditions with settlers arriving from Santo Domingo, Santiago, Moca and other places. The first theater in the country was also built in La Vega. In 1915 the city received the name of a cultured city, due to its art and culture. In the place of the ruins of the first city, there is an archaeological park and a museum, the

Pueblo Viejo National Park The Archaeological and Historical National Park of Pueblo Viejo, La Vega (also known as the National Park of Concepción de la Vega), in the La Vega Province of the Dominican Republic, includes the old city of Concepción de la Vega, and the Pue ...

. Over the years, a town called Pueblo Viejo has emerged, in honor of the first place where the city existed.

Geography

La Vega is bounded on the north by the Camú River. This river flows about 100 kilometers before emptying into Yuna River. South of the city is the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

, the largest mountain system of the Dominican Republic.

El Ponton Field El Ponton Airport is located in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. ...

, a local airport, bounds the city on the east. To La Vega's west are the Camú River again and Montellano.

Climate

La Vega has a tropical rainforest climate ( Köppen: ''Af'')

Sectors

Government

Economy

The local industries are based upon

cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...

, coffee, tobacco, rice, and cattle production. There is also a small but very famous brewery called Cervecería Vegana known for its pilsener-style beers, named ''Quisqueya'' and ''Soberana''. There is a factory known for making the famous sausage Induveca.

Religion

The shrine of

Our Lady of Mercy Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regula ...

called ''Santo Cerro'' is located in the place where Virgin Mary appeared to Christopher Columbus during a battle.

Education

There is an extension of the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña and there is the

Universidad Católica Tecnológica del Cibao Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

. Since 2005 the national and local governments are planning to build an extension of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, but there are some conflicts and the project is behind schedule. This city also has one of the most expensive schools in the country, the famous Colegio Agustiniano, which is the only in the country.

Private, public, and high schools

Laura vicuña

The Book Fair

Annually, the famous ''Feria del Libro de República Dominicana'' (Dominican Republic Book Fair) takes place in the city of La Vega. In this fair most of the famous books and literary works from Dominicans writers such as Juan Bosch, Joaquín Balaguer, w:es:Federico García Godoy, among others, and international writers such as Gabriela Mistral, Rubén Darío, Gabriel García Márquez, among others, are sold, and some theatrical works are shown to the public. The fair is celebrated each year in the month of September, lasting about one week, and brings to this city all the editors from all around the country, selling many kinds of books, theatrical works, etc. Image:Bookfair01.JPG, Concepción de La Vega section Image:Bookfair02.JPG,

Hermanas Mirabal The Mirabal sisters ( es, hermanas Mirabal ) were four sisters from the Dominican Republic, three of whom (Patria, Minerva and María Teresa) opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo () and were involved in clandestine activities against his r ...

section Image:Bookfair03.JPG, Monte Cristi section Image:Bookfair04.JPG, Santiago section Image:Bookfair05.JPG, Puerto Plata section Image:Bookfair06.JPG,

Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ...

section Image:Bookfair07.JPG, San Francisco de Macorís section Image:Bookfair08.JPG, Nagua section Image:Bookfair09.JPG, Dajabón section Image:Bookfair10.JPG, Samaná section Image:Bookfair11.JPG, Santiago Rodriguez section

Transportation

There are many bus companies which travel between La Vega other cities like: Santo Domingo, Santiago, Samana, Puerto Plata, and others. There is also

, which serves domestics flights.

Sports

Each year between the months of October and December a basketball tournament is held in this city, it is called in Spanish ''Torneo Superior de Baloncesto de La Vega'' in English Superior Basketball Tournament of La Vega, This tournament started in October 1994 (after a time of political and cultural crisis between the years 1978 and October 1994). One team is still active, the other ("El Country Team") disappearing. Fernando teruel stadium

{, class="wikitable" , - ! 1994 - 2002 !! Club DOSA !! Club Enriquillo !! Club La Matica !! Club Parque Hostos !! Club Villa , - , 1994 , , bgcolor="FFFFFF", did not compete , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", runner up , - , 1995 , , bgcolor="FFFFFF", did not compete , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", runner up , - , 1996 , , bgcolor="FFFFFF", did not compete , , bgcolor="FF0000", canceled , , bgcolor="FF0000", canceled , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 1997 , , bgcolor="FFFFFF", did not compete , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , - , 1998 , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 1999 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified, , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , - , 2000 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , - , 2001 , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2002 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - ! 2003 - 2012 !! Angelitos del DOSA !! Guerreros del Enriquillo !! Potros de La Matica !! Tigres del Parque Hostos !! Villanos de La Villa , - , 2003 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2004 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2005 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2006 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2007 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2008 , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2009 , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2010 , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , 2011 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , - , 2012 , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - ! 2013 & 2014 !! Angelitos del DOSA !! Rebeldes del Enriquillo !! Potros de La Matica !! Tigres del Parque Hostos !! Villanos de La Villa , - , 2013 , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , , 2014 , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - ! 2015–present !! Angelitos del DOSA !! Rebeldes del Enriquillo !! Potros de La Matica !! Tigres del Parque Hostos !! Fieras de La Villa , - , , 2015 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , - , , 2016 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , - , , 2017 , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , , 2018 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , - , , 2019 , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , , 2020 , , colspan=5 {{n/a, Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, no competition was held in 2020 , - , , 2021 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , bgcolor="#FFCC00", Champion , , bgcolor="#FFCC99", Runner up , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , - , , 2021 , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified , , , , bgcolor="gray", disqualified *El Parque Hostos is the most winning team with ten crowns (1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2018) and six times as runner up (1997,2003,2008, 2014, 2015, 2021). *La Matica is the second most winning team with six crowns (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2021), six times as first runner up (1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) and qualified to the finals in 1996 but that year's finale was eventually canceled. *DOSA is the third most winning team with five crowns (1998, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017) and five times as first runner up (2001, 2009, 2010, 2013,2019). *Enriquillo is the fourth most winning team with three crowns (2003, 2016, 2019), and two time as first runner up (2012,2017) and qualified to the finals in 1996 but that year's finale was eventually canceled. *La Villa is the fifth most winning team with two crowns (1997, 2015) and five times as runner up (1994, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2016, 2018). *In the tournament number 19 (2012) was the first time in the history of this tournament that none of the most winning teams ''Club La Matica'' & ''Club Parque Hostos'' didn't advance to the final.

Notable people

* Juan Bosch: famous writer, former President of the Dominican Republic, from February 27, 1963, to September 24, 1963, and for decades a top, national political leader * Rhina Espaillat:

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United St ...

poet * Zoilo H. Garcia:

Aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Luis Alberti Luis Alberti (6 April 1906 – 26 January 1976) was a Merengue music, Dominican Merengue musician, arranger, conductor, and author of significant popular songs such as ''Compadre Pedro Juan'' and many others performed and recorded by noted interpr ...

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Juan Carlos Payano Juan Carlos Payano (born April 12, 1984) is a Dominican professional boxer who held the WBA (Undisputed) and then concurrently the IBO bantamweight titles between 2014 and 2016. As an amateur he won two silver medals at the Pan American Games ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

* Victoriano Sosa:

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

* Antonio Guzmán Fernández: former President of the Dominican Republic, 1978–1982 *

Larimar Fiallo Larissa del Mar Fiallo Scanlon (born 17 June 1983 in La Vega (city), Concepción de la Vega), commonly known as Larimar Fiallo, is a Dominican people (Dominican Republic), Dominican beauty pageant titleholder who represented her Dominican Republi ...

: Miss Dominican Republic 2004 * Cirilo J Guzmán:

Lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

* Francisco Moncion: ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet and choreographer * Carlos de la Mota: Televisa actor *

Vielka Valenzuela Vielka Veronica Valenzuela Lama (born November 7, 1972, in New York, New York, U.S.) is a Dominican talk show host and former Miss Dominican Republic. Raised in Concepción de la Vega, Dominican Republic, she worked in television in the Domin ...

: Miss Dominican Republic 1994 *

Carola Durán Carlina Durán Baldera (born January 17, 1987 in Concepción de La Vega) is a Dominican model who won the national crown of Miss Dominican Republic 2012, initially giving her the right to compete in Miss Universe 2012 representing her country ...

Miss Dominican Republic 2012 Miss República Dominicana 2012 was held April 17, 2012 in ''Renaissance Auditorio de Festival del Hotel Jaragua'', Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Miss República Dominicana 2012 winner will represent the Dominican Republic in Miss Univ ...

* Ana Julia Quezada: murderer *

Jonathan Villar Jonathan Rafael Villar Roque (born May 2, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Toronto Bl ...

: professional baseball player for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.

References

{{Reflist

Photo gallery

Image:La_vega_01.JPG, The Catedral of La Vega Image:La_vega_03.JPG, Plaza Duarte Image:La_vega_04.JPG, A typical neighborhood Image:Concepcion_de_la_vega_comercial.JPG, Commercial center in La Vega Image:La_vega_05.JPG, Electrical center in La Vega {{Provincial capitals of the Dominican Republic {{Municipalities of the Dominican Republic {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega Populated places in La Vega Province Municipalities of the Dominican Republic Populated places established in the 1490s