San José de Ocoa, or simply Ocoa, is the capital of

San José de Ocoa province San José de Ocoa () is a province in the southern region of the Dominican Republic, and also the name of the province's capital city. It was split from Peravia on January 1, 2000. Published statistics and maps generally include this province in ...

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 with ...

. It is located north of the Peravia province, and was part of that province until 1 January 2002.

History

The town was founded in 1805 by people from the southern town of Baní. The Spanish Canarian descendants were the first ethnic group to settle in San José de Ocoa, remaining a significant minority in the town. Other families from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Italy and France would soon follow. Blacks also would later settle in San José de Ocoa, most of them being Afro-Caribbean Cocolo descendants arriving from San Pedro de Macoris. In December 1858, San José de Ocoa was elevated to the category of

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the former province of Santo Domingo; in 1895, it was transferred to the province of Azua. In 1944 when the province of Peravia was created, San José de Ocoa became a municipality of this province. Finally, the town became the capital municipality of the new province of San José de Ocoa on 6 September 2000.

Geography

The city lies in a valley in the southern region of the Central Cordillera. It is located at an altitude of . The municipality covers an area of .

Climate

Economy

Agriculture is the dominant sector in the economy of the municipality. The main crops are coffee,

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

s and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United S ...

es. Other

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s, such as

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nbs ...

and

carrot The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nati ...

are also grown as well as some

tropical fruit A tropical fruit one that typically grows in warm climates, or equatorial areas. Tropical fruits Varieties of tropical fruit include: * Acerola ( West Indian Cherry or Barbados Cherry) *Ackee * Banana * Barbadine (granadilla; maracujá-a ...

s ( avocado and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

). Other economic activities are trade, carpentry workshops, mechanical and some processing of agricultural products.

Prominent residents of the city

* Rafael Sanchez, better known by the alias of

Jack Veneno Jack Veneno (born Rafael Antonio Sánchez; May 2, 1942 – April 6, 2021) was a Dominican professional wrestler and politician. Professional wrestling career He became interested in wrestling as a teen, watching the Mexican luchador El Santo. ...

, former professional wrestler and current sub-secretary of sports, was born in San José. * Félix Estrella, ex-governor and candidate for senator for the province of San José De Ocoa for the PLD.

References