Monción is one of the 3 municipalities of the province in Santiago Rodriguez, Dominican Republic. Previously it was called Guaraguanó, a name from the

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

, but in 1898, the President of the Republic at that time, Ulises Heureaux, assigned the name of Monción, in honor of the hero of the

Dominican Restoration War The Dominican Restoration War or the Dominican War of Restoration () was a guerrilla war between 1863 and 1865 in the Dominican Republic between nationalists and Spain, who had recolonized the country 17 years after its independence. The war r ...

, General Benito Monción. In 1907, Monción became the official municipality of the

Monte Cristi Province Monte Cristi () is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the northwest of the Dominican Republic. The capital city is San Fernando de Monte Cristi (usually simply Monte Cristi). The spelling Montecristi is also seen. The Montecristi p ...

. Then in 1948, when the Province of Santiago Rodríguez was created, it became its municipality. It is located specifically in the southwest part of the province. Its main economic source is the production of

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, being this municipality, the largest producer of this product in the country, for this reason it is known as the capital of Cassava.

Limits

South: Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic North:

Mao, Dominican Republic The Dominican city of Santa Cruz de Mao, or simply Mao, is the head municipality of the Valverde province, in the northwest of the country. It is the largest city of the Dominican northwest and the centre of the region. Its name, a Taíno word, ...

East:

San José de las Matas San José de las Matas, also known as Sajoma, is an important municipality (''municipio'') of the Santiago province in the Dominican Republic. The mayor of Sajoma is Alfredo Reyes. there has been many positive changes in the last four years such ...

West: Sabaneta, Dominican Republic

Climate

Monción 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 ...

(

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 ...

: Aw) with a dry season on winter and a pronounced wet season on summer.

Municipal districts

* Gurabo * Cepillo * Gurabito * Cañada Grande * Meseta * Barrio Nuevo * Mata del Dajao * Jicomé * Cacique * Los Pinos * Mamoncito * Veladero * Bulla * Clavijo * Durán * El Rodeo * Loma del Tanque

Geography

Relief

The municipality of Monción is located at the foot of the Cordillera Central (Hispaniola), surrounded by mountainous areas and beautiful natural landscapes that embellish the environment. To the south of the municipality is the José Armando Bermúdez National Park, the most important forest reserve in the region. To the east is the Piky Lora National Park.

Hidrology

The main river that crosses Monción is the Rio Mao, which flows into the Monción Dam in the southern part of the municipality.

Monción Dam

It was inaugurated on September 22, 2001 by President Hipólito Mejía. It is the highest dam in 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 ...

. In 2003, won the El Puente Alcántara International Prize. The purposes of this are the production of electrical energy, consumption of drinking water, tourism and services for agricultural production in the region.

Demography

For the year 2010, the population was 11,753 inhabitants.

Economy

The main source of economic is the production and export of

. It has more than 50 factories for this product, which makes it the main economic activity. Also the manufacture of

Cabinetmaking A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

products and international remittances, due to the large number of moncioneros residing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In this municipality is the main office of the Cooperativa Mamoncito, one of the main savings and credit cooperatives in the country, founded on April 2, 1978 and which has more than 8 offices nationwide.

Art and culture

Festivities

Since 1912, the patronal feasts in honor of

San Antonio de Padua San Antonio de Padua, or plainly Padua, is a city in the Greater Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is located in Merlo Partido. The city has an area of and a population of around 38,000. The name commemorates the village founded by Francisco de Me ...

in June. In 1913, the Dominican musician

Ñico Lora Francisco Antonio Lora Cabrera (1858 in Maizal, Santiago – 1971 in Bisonó (Navarrete)) popularly known as Ñico Lora was a folk musician from the Dominican Republic. He is considered one of the fathers of merengue. - '' El padre del merengue ...

composed the merengue San Antonio, in honor of

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...

and the moncionero people. Since then, it has been declared as the anthem of this municipality. The festivities begin with the celebration of Holy Mass in the church and then live music where the main orchestras of the country and also local musicians and talents participate. June 13 is for municipal rejoicing and a large part of the population gathers in the central park to celebrate this important day in the municipality. Festivities Since 1912, the patron saint festivities in honor of San Antonio de Padua have been held in June. In 1913, the Dominican musician Ñico Lora composed the merengue San Antonio, in honor of San Antonio de Padua and the moncionero people. Since then, it has been declared as the anthem of this municipality. The festivities begin with the celebration of Holy Mass in the Parish and then live music where the main orchestras of the country and also local musicians and talents participate. On June 12 there is a parade from the community of Cepillo to the municipal park. June 13 is for municipal rejoicing and a large part of the population gathers in the central park to celebrate this important day in the municipality.

Carnival

For the beginning of March, the moncionero carnival celebration takes place for three days.

Field day

In September, the field day is held at the ''Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Mercedes'', owned by the Catholic Church, where hundreds of people gather for the celebration of Mercedes Day.

Tourism

The main tourist attraction is the Monción Dam, in the southern part of the Municipality.

Education

Schools

* ''Juan Pablo Duarte High School'' * ''La Trinitaria School'' * ''Professor Juan Bosch School'' * ''Anastacio Valle School'' * ''San Antonio Labor School'' * ''Juan Francisco Lora Music School'' * ''Cañada Grande School'' * ''Yisel Arias Secondary School'' * ''La Meseta School'' * ''English by immersion''

Health centers

* Monción Municipal Hospital * Dr. Morel Clinic * Dental health

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moncion Populated places in Santiago Rodríguez Province Municipalities of the Dominican Republic