Quick History Stops: Santiago de los Caballeros
During my trip to the Dominican Republic in June 2023, I visited several quick history stops around the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. A cathedral, public park, monuments, and government buildings are all in the same area as Fortaleza San Luis, about a 600m (0.4 mile) or 6 minute walk from the popular tourist attraction.
Slowly constructed between 1868 and 1895 with delays due to the Restoration, Catedral de Santiago Apóstal [Cathedral of Saint James the Apostle] is an active Catholic church. The designer, Onofre de Lora, lived in Santiago and is considered both the first Dominican architect and father of Dominican architecture. Lora preferred an eclectic style, borrowing elements from neoclassical and gothic buildings while adding a uniquely Caribbean spin to his work. At the time I visited, the cathedral was whitewashed, but older photographs reveal a bright yellow coat of paint typical of many Dominican buildings.
A short list of Lora’s other works include Santo Cerro in nearby La Vega completed in 1880; reconstructing the façade of Iglesia Nuestra Sra. De La Altagracia (Church of Our Lady of Grace) in Santiago in 1881; designing Cementerio Cosmopolita in 1896, which was later merged with Cementerio Municipal; and finishing Logia Nuevo Mundo No. 5 (Masonic New World Lodge #5) in 1917. Lora is sometimes credited with the design of Puente de Nibaje, a now abandoned bridge, although this appears to be a contentious decision in the Dominican architectural history.
Next door to the cathedral is Parque Duarte, a community plaza marked with a statue of Juan Pablo Duarte. As I previously discussed in blogs about my trip to the Dominican, Duarte is called “Padre de la patria” [Father of the fatherland] due to his work during la Guerra de Independencia Dominicana [Dominican War of Independence] and the Restoration. Many statues, plazas, parks, roads, and buildings are named in his honor.
A lesser known figure honored in Parque Duarte is Dominican poet Juan Antonio Alix. He is portrayed as sitting on a chair and reading from a book. Called “Cantor del Yaque” for his poems about the common people of Santiago and the rest of Cibao, Alix was born in 1833 and came of age during Independence. He later served during the Restoration, writing the entire time. His favorite form was décimas, a series of ten-line stanzas commonly written by Spanish-language poets and sometimes set to music. Despite his fame in the Dominican, I could not find an English-language biography or professionally translated poems. Maybe this is a future project!
Besides these two statues, the park has its own Monumento A Los Mártires y a Los Héroes de la Restauración. This monument is much smaller than the better known monument at the center of the city with its plazas,stairs, and museum.
Bordering the park on a corner opposite the cathedral are the buildings Palacio Consistorial and Gobernación Provincial de Santiago. Both buildings house government offices. A government building has stood on this site since 1578, but earthquakes destroyed early iterations. Italian-Chilean architect Joaquín Toesca, also called Gioacchino Toesca, created a neoclassical building in 1790. His former employee, fellow Chilean Juan Jose Goycolea, renovated the building in 1811. The palace became a national monument in 1976. In contrast to these flourishes inspired by ancient Greek and Roman, the other government building is in the late 20th century cement block style.
This area is a popular relaxation spot for local people, both families with children and people who may have no other place to live. The area is generally wheelchair accessible and has plenty of benches, although these are typically filled with locals. The area is not a standard tourist zone, with few if any hawkers and minimal signage. Only on-street parking is available, but Dominican rideshare services are inexpensive and convenient. A driveby of the area would allow you to see major buildings and monuments without leaving the comfort of the vehicle.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 7/10
Accessibility: 5/10