San Fernando de Monte Cristi is the capital town of Monte Cristi Province 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 in the northwest region of the country in a coastal area above the border with

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

History

Monte Cristi was founded by

Nicolás de Ovando Frey Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres (1460 – 29 May 1511 or 1518) was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a military order of Spain. He was Governor of the Indies ( Hispaniola) from 1502 until 1509, s ...

in 1506 and populated in 1533 by Juan de Bolaños and 63 families from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

. These migrated to various parts of the country afterwards leaving the town behind. It was later repopulated and became a very wealthy port in the mid-to-late 16th century. Downtown Monte Cristi Dominican Republic

Downtown Monte Cristi Dominican Republic

In 1606, one hundred years after its founding, it was destroyed as retribution for doing business with pirates. In 1756 the city was rebuilt and again became a prosperous trading center, until the early 20th century. In 1895, it was the site of the signing of the

Manifesto of Montecristi The Manifesto of Montecristi is the official document of the Revolutionary Party in Cuba; it was written by José Martí and signed by himself and Máximo Gómez on March 25, 1895 in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. In this document, José Mart� ...

Máximo Gómez Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 – June 17, 1905) was a Dominican Generalissimo in Cuba's War of Independence (1895–1898). He was known for his controversial scorched-earth policy, which entailed dynamiting passenger trains a ...

and

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

, at the Gómez home on Mella St. They sailed from "La Granja" beach, also in Montecristi, to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

to fight for its independence.

Climate

Monte Cristi has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

( Köppen: ''BSh'') with a pronounced dry season in the summer, and a wet season in the winter. It has an average temperature of and an average annual rainfall of . The average evaporation is . Precipitation is highest in the eastern part of the park where the winds collide with the Northern Range and discharge their waters. The same applies to the area of Manzanillo. The same winds hit the Central Cordillera and its extension, the

Massif du Nord The Massif du Nord is the longest mountain range of Haiti. Geography The mountain range is located in the northern region of Haiti, in the departments of the and in . The range's altitude varies from . The Plaine-du-Nord lies along the norther ...

in Haiti. The effect is felt mainly in the foothills near

Loma de Cabrera Loma de Cabrera is the second largest city in the province of Dajabón, Dominican Republic. It is located in the northwest portion of the country, in the Cibao region. The river named ''Dajabón'', also known as Masacre, runs through Loma de Cab ...

and

Dajabón Dajabón is a municipality and capital of the Dajabón province in the Dominican Republic, which is located on the northwestern Dominican Republic frontier with Haiti. It is a market town with a population of about 26,000, north of the Cordiller ...

, and to a lesser extent in Manzanillo. Hurricanes and tropical storms have little effect on the area of Monte Cristi, however, they can cause increased rains and flooding in the

Yaque del Norte River The Yaque Del Norte River (Spanish, ''Río Yaque del Norte'') is the longest river in the Dominican Republic, as well as the second longest river on Hispaniola, behind the Artibonite River. It is 296 km long and flows northwest into the Atlan ...

, which brings sediment that affects reefs in the area. During the winter, some cold fronts come from North America, with low temperatures and strong northerly winds. It is also common that cold currents coming down from the Arctic seabed emerge when they hit the island shelf.

Airport

Osvaldo Virgil Airport is an airport in the Dominican Republic. It serves the city and province of Monte Cristi, in the north of the country. It was out of service for a long time and was put into operation in 2007 after being remodeled by the DA (Airport Department). He was named Osvaldo Virgil, the first Dominican baseball player in the Major Leagues, born in Monte Cristi. Its track and facilities were built under the direction of Montecristeño engineer Manuel Isidor.

Culture

Within the traditions of the province, the patron saint festivities of San Fernando stand out, which are celebrated every May 30 with religious acts, as well as sporting events, dances, bag runs, a fishing tournament, etc. Also the celebration of the day of San Juan Bautista, on June 24 and the Carnival of the Bulls, events that are very crowded. One of its main cultural heritages is the first pyramid of territorial division between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

References

External links