Luperón is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the Puerto Plata

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of the

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. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. It lies in a coastal bay in the north of the country and is a small tourist center. The town is named after the Dominican president,

Gregorio Luperón Gregorio Luperón (September 8, 1839 – May 21, 1897) was a Dominican president, military general, businessman, liberal politician, freemason, and Statesman who was one of the leaders in the Restoration of the Dominican Republic after the Spani ...

, who is depicted on the city's seal. The town was formerly known as Blanco (White) or Pueblo Blanco (White Town), possibly after the many Spaniards who came to trade timber. Due to its shape and location, Bahía de Luperón (Luperón Bay) is ideal for sheltering from hurricanes, and a large number of ships anchor there during the hurricane season. Although there is no record of early inhabitants, it is said that

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

had to enter the bay to protect his ships from a storm. Columbus named it "Bahia de Gracias" (Thanksgiving Bay), the current official name. The current mayor is Douglas Pichardo of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM in Spanish) who is the youngest mayor in town history. Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo intended to elevate Luperón to the status of a province, but he was assassinated in May 1961, a few months before the scheduled change. Three of the better-known families are the Morrobel, Cueto, and Villamán families. They were the town's pioneers. Their numbers continue to grow. Luperón is known for its beaches, which make it a prime vacation destination. In recent years, a sizeable population of Luperónians have moved abroad (most notably to Spain), often retaining their careers in the resort and catering industries. The bay contains extensive mangroves, unique to

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, which provide habitat for many species.

Cockfights A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a " game", a sport, pastime or ent ...

take place every Friday afternoon in Luperón's arena. Money is made from bets and from the entrance fee. The sport is legal in the Dominican Republic and it is followed by thousands in the country. However, compared to most towns in Cibao (the island's north), cockfighting is less popular here. Every year, the town holds a heavily attended softball tournament. The games take place every Saturday and Sunday, at the local field. Games are played only during the daytime, as the field lacks electric lights. The Williams family is noted for baseball expertise in Luperón. Basketball is also popular, with a basketball tournament being held every summer. The tournament rules permit up to two non-Luperón-born players per team, and a few players come from other municipalities. Unlike softball, the basketball games are played at night, also during the weekends. Attendees are charged a small fee to enter.

Climate

Luperón has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

with a pronounced dry season in summer and a wet season in winter (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: As).

References

Sources

* – World-Gazetteer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Luperon Populated places in Puerto Plata Province Municipalities of the Dominican Republic