Abby Epplett, Historian

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.

Back in June 2023, I visited Fortaleza San Luis in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. The site of the fort was founded in 1674, when Ignacio Zayas Bazán was governor of the island, and Andrés Núñez de la Torra was mayor of the city. The current version of the fort may have been built in the early 19 th century, around 1804-5, during Era de Francia [French Era] when Haiti and the Dominican were ruled by France. At that time, Jean-Louis Ferrand was governor of the island, and Agustín Franco de Medina was mayor of the city. The men were friends and chose to name the fort after Louis IX , an early 13 th century king of France and a saint in the Catholic church whose feast day was last Friday, August 25. At the end of Independence, around 1848, President Pedro Santana ordered the building of barracks and jails in the space. Later, during the Restoration in 1863, the fort served as a training ground for troops, but the hastily constructed wood structures burned ...

A gorgeous museum deserving of international acclaim, Centro León provides the residents of Santiago and Valle del Cibao the opportunity to experience Dominican history, art, culture, and industry on a modern and at times unconventional campus. Official called Centro Cultural Eduardo León Jimenes , the museum began as an art contest run through La Fundación Eduardo León Jimenes by the descendents of the man for whom these institutions are named. The three-part complex contains an outdoor area with sculptures and an aviary; a large museum showcasing the art and culture of the Dominican Republic, including pieces that won the content; and a small museum focused on the history and industries of the León family, specifically beer and cigars.

Fully called Jardín Botánico de Santiago Profesor Eugenio de Jesús Marcano Fondeur , the botanical gardens in Santiago, DR take advantage of the Carribean weather to grow plants and create ecosystems from around the world. Professor Marcano was a botanist (plants), entomologist (bugs), herpetologist (reptiles), and speleologist (caves) who greatly contributed to the understanding of natural sciences in the Dominican, especially the Cibao Valley. He died in 2003 at age seventy-nine, just one year before the beginning of the botanical garden project named in his honor. According the official website of the garden, the area became part of Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas or SiNAP (National System of Protected Areas) under the name Monumento Natural Saltos de la Tinaja (Rocky Pool Waterfalls Natural Monument) . The garden itself was named in 2015. When I visited, the park was free and open to the public while quietly undergoing further construction. One of my favor...

Back in June 2023, I visited Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración (Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration) in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. In the last two posts, I discussed las plazoletas (the little plazas) surrounding the monument and las escaleras (the steps) leading up to the monument . In this post, I finally go inside the monument to explore the lobby, diorama museum, murals, special exhibit, and rooftop overlook. Lobby If you enjoyed the statues on the steps outside the monument, you are in for a treat. More statues stand inside the lobby! My two favorite statues were of Ulises Francisco Espaillat , a political leader and president during the Second Republic (1865-1916) who supported the work of General Gregorio Luperón but primarily worked as a pharmacist; and Eugenio Perdomo , a patriotic poet from Santiago. On the wall is an excerpt from a letter written by military general Matías Ramón Mella to Spanish royalist and Do...