Santa Cruz del Seibo or El Seibo, is a city and municipality in the

El Seibo Province El Seibo (), alternatively spelt El Seybo, is a province of the Dominican Republic. Before 1992 it included what is now Hato Mayor province. Municipalities and municipal districts The province as of June 20, 2006 is divided into the following m ...

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 with ...

, located in the eastern part of the country.

History

El Seibo is one of the oldest towns in the country, it was created by the Constitution of November 6, 1844 although it already existed as a territorial division since colonial times, for this reason its foundation dates back to 1502 by the Spanish conqueror

Juan de Esquivel Juan de Esquivel (c. 1480 - c. 1515) was a Spanish colonist and first governor of Jamaica. Biography Juan de Esquivel was a native of Seville, the son of Pedro de Esquivel and Constanza Fernandez de Arauz. His grandfather, Gabriel Sanchez, had b ...

. The name of Seibo comes from a tribal chief of Taino race. The name of Santa Cruz del Seibo, is taken from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

custom of placing the ''Cruz de Cristo'' (Holy Cross) in the cardinal points, as protection against evils. A cross called Asomante is still preserved, in the West Sector of the city of El Seibo.

Economy

In the municipality there has been a factory for more than 100 years that produces a refreshing drink called mabí, made from the stem of a plant called Indian bejuco and cane sugar. It is currently the second cocoa-producing province, it is estimated that it produces about 132,000 quintals of cocoa per year, which contributes significantly to the economy of its municipalities. Another agricultural line of great impact is dual-purpose livestock (meat and milk). According to statistics from the Adolfo Mercedes breeders' association, meat production is around 3.2 million kilos per year and milk production is around 45.6 million kilos. liters per year.

Notable residents

Some of the distinguished people from El Seibo include Manuela Díez, mother of

Juan Pablo Duarte Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a Dominican military leader, writer, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic and bears the title of Father of ...

, Cesáreo Guillermo and Alexander Woss y Gil, who were Presidents of the Republic. In addition, Monsignor Octavio A. Beras, Archbishop of Santo Domingo and Cardinal of the Catholic Church and

Minerva Bernardino Minerva Bernardino (1907 – August 29, 1998) was a diplomat from the Dominican Republic who promoted women's rights internationally, and is best known as one of the four women to sign the original charter of the United Nations. Biography Berna ...

, who represented the country in several international events and defended women's rights, were also from Santa Cruz del Seibo, as well as world-renowned and respected tenor, Francisco Chahin Casanova. Also famed baseball player César Jerónimo (Jr). Famous psychiatrist and public personality: Dr. Máximo Beras Goico; TV personality, actor and comedian: Freddy Beras Goico, and pop singer and TV personality Charytín. Legendary Dominican General Antonio Duvergé of French origin who served in the Dominican War of Independence settle in El Seibo and later in San Cristóbal.

Attractions

El Seibo, which venerates Saint Cruz with great fervor, have celebrations to honour this saint from 1 May to 10 May. It is the only city in the country that in its supervisory celebrations organizes bullfights. Another attraction of the supervisory celebrations is the popular vigil of "atabales", a type of popular percussive music. These celebrations enjoy great popularity in all sectors of the community.

Climate

El Seibo has a relatively dry

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

( Köppen ''Am'').

References

* Source: Síntesis de Ciudades, Pueblos e Islas del País. {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz De El Seibo Populated places in El Seibo Province Municipalities of the Dominican Republic Populated places established in 1506 1506 establishments in the Spanish Empire