La Vega, officially Concepción de la Vega, is the most populous city in the D.R. Province of La Vega and the third most populous city in the Dominican Republic. With an estimated population of 202,864 (2014), it is also the second most populous city in the Cibao Region (Northern Dominican Republic). La Vega is the seat of La Vega Province, the sixth most populous province in DR.
About[]
La Vega is located in the north center of the country, in the Vega Real valley, in the upper valley of the Camú river. It was founded at the foot of a mountain bearing a silver filigree cross planted by the order of Charles V. The primitive village was created in 1494 by Christopher Columbus but moved after a major earthquake in the 1560s. Its establishment began with the construction of a fort ordered by Christopher Columbus in 1495, at the same place where Guarionex, king of Maguá had his residence.
La Vega, DR
History[]
Precolonial[]
Maguá was one of the five kingdoms, known as cacicats or xis, of the indigenous people at the time Haiti was discovered. It was referred to as the Kingdom of the Plain, with its capital located where Conceptión de la Vega now stands. The leader of this region was cacique Guarionex.
Spanish Domain[]
Mardi Gras in La Vega, DR
The initial village, called La Concepción de La Vega, began with the foundation of the La Concepción fortress (where part of its name emerges) commissioned to be built by Admiral Don Cristóbal Colón in 1494. Bartolomé de Las Casas expresses that Columbus, marveled by the beauty of the place, called it "La Vega Real". Its initial economic development was to be based on the smelting of gold and the cultivation and processing of sugarcane. Over time, the gold resources of Concepción de la Vega were depleted. The economic growth of the city in the times of gold gave its inhabitants a high level of purchasing power and this made it assimilate into a European city.
In the Concepción de la Vega section today you will find the archaeological remains of the Spanish Gold Factory, where the Taíno Indian workers brought the gold they took from the rivers to wash it better, melt it and turn it into ingots that they stored in the fortress until It was time to ship them to Spain.
There the first coin was minted and the first merchants were established. In 1508 it was given a city title and in 1512 it was erected as the seat of the first bishopric established on the island, being its sole holder Doctor Pedro de Deza. Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas and Fray Pedro de Córdoba, defenders of the natives, traveled through it.
In 1510, the virtuous Barthelemy de las Casas sang at his church the first high mass that was heard in America: this imposing ceremony took place in the presence of Columbus and a crowd of people who had been attracted there by gold smelting.
In the city of Concepción de La Vega, the first distribution of Indians was produced by Rodrigo de Alburquerque, and the convent of the Order of the Mercedes was established, which was legendary associated with the cross planted by Columbus at Holy Hill, giving rise to the birth of the cult of said Marian invocation in the country. This cross would reach a remarkable reputation with the name of Vera Cruz.
Tradition has it that in one of the battles between Spaniards and Indians, in this place, the Virgin of Las Mercedes appeared, in the middle of the two sides in struggle, who performed the miracle of returning the arrows that the natives threw at the Spaniards, benefiting their victory. An artistic painting details this legend, of hispanophilic tradition, which is preserved in the Church of Las Mercedes, in Santo Cerro.
• On December 2, 1562 the city was destroyed by an earthquake, being moved to the southern shore of the Camú River. By 1598 there were only sixteen straw houses and there was no square or streets. In the time of Antonio Osorio forty neighbors were registered, among them a shoemaker, a tailor and a trafficker, and fifteen stays of cassava and corn were counted.
• The date of the foundation of the new town is ignored. Historians report that, after the earthquake, the neighbors, terrified, decided to found the new population at a distance of two leagues, on the southern margin of the Camú River, where there was a hermitage dedicated to San Sebastian. Tradition says that the land was donated by a rich widow.
• In the first decades of the 18th century, La Vega had a population that approached 3,000 people, who lived in a very poor way. Of them, 450 were men of arms.
• With the establishment of free trade, the town took on a new life, which resulted in the creation of Monte Cristi as a neutral port and the repopulation of Puerto Plata. The pre-priest Francisco Amézquita y Lara was the first historian that La Vega had.
Barranca, a locality of La Vega
Haitian Occupation[]
At the beginning of the 19th century, the population of La Vega was burned, like other towns in the Cibao region, by the troops of Jean-Jacques Dessalines who returned in disarray from the city of Santo Domingo. Guido Despradel tells in his History of La Vega that:
"Only the Church and two more masonry houses were freed from the destructive fury of the fire to which it was subjected to it, and at that time, a smiling village of Concepción de La Vega, the illiterate Jean Jacques Dessalines. And such was the terror that seized their neighbors in the face of the irascible and brutal rush of the black hosts in defeat, who fled in terror to the mountain and the thicket of the forests, seeking a safe refuge from which they only let them out, to return to build housing on the ashes of their homes a religious game of the order of St. Augustine, expressly sent to perform such a useful and necessary work of trust and rapprochement."
From that time to that of the Haitian occupation, its progress was slow and low in obtaining material benefits. But during the Haitian intervention, La Vega had a very progressive ruler named Placide Le Brun, who ordered the first streets paved, to which he gave his name. Bridges were built and agriculture was stimulated.
• On May 7, 1842, the city was once again struck down by an earthquake, which destroyed the main buildings it had, such as the Government Palace and the church.
Independence of the Dominican Republic[]
In the days of the Dominican National Independence, the city of La Vega was integrated into the cause of freedom, serving as the pre-bishop priest José Eugenio Espinosa y Azcona. On March 4, 1844 La Vega formalized its pronouncement in favor of independence, and that same day it became the first town in the country that hoisted the tricolor pavilion, made by Miss Villa.
Commerce, agriculture and industry, gained new momentum with immigration from Santo Domingo, Santiago, Moca, and other places. The historian Manuel Ubaldo Gómez points out that at that time public instruction only reached the wealthy.
A fact that came to decisively strengthen the economic development of the area was the inauguration of the railroad between the port of Las Cañitas (Sánchez Ramírez) and the city of La Vega, product of the effort of the meritorious Gregorio Rivas. In fact, the transportation by that means of fruits and merchandise brought new living conditions to Vegan society.
• In 1915, the city received the title of Cultured City for its dedication to art and culture. In the place of the ruins of the first city, there is an archaeological park and a small museum. Over the years, a town called Pueblo Viejo has emerged, in honor of the first place where the city existed.
Geography[]
Municpal map of La Vega, DR
Demography[]
Girls at carnival in La Vega
Population estimates have increased from 189,000 inhabitants in 1995, to 241,000 in 2000, 385,500 (2004), 415,500 in (2007), with a great immigration activity.
The vast majority of immigrants come from rural areas and surrounding towns such as Bonao, Moca, Cotuí, Jarabacoa, Constanza, Jima, Tenares, Villa Tapia, Fantino, and Angelina.
Climate[]
The weather in the city is hot and humid.
Economy[]
Its economic activity was based on agriculture in its fertile lands and livestock and logging in the mountains, but its economy became dependent on the commercial and industrial economy. Although agriculture is still reflected a lot every day it disappears since these lands are used to turn them into urbanizations and commercial areas. Local industries are derived from the production of products, including the production of coffee, cocoa, food, textiles and alcoholic beverages.
The activity of the services sector is centered on supermarkets, large shopping centers and a variety of establishments.
The city grows rapidly both in population, in economy, urban expansion, the industrial sector, the real estate sector and the expansion of urban territory.
Heritage[]
The Convent of the Order of Mercy, the ruins of the Monastery of San Francisco and the Fort of La Concepción, the remains of the old city of La Vega and the Holy Hill, kind of a fortress church, form part of the cultural heritage of La Vega built on top of a hill with stones that were taken from the city struck by the earthquake.
More recent buildings such as the Hospital de la Caridad, the Concordia Lodge, the Don Zoilo Palace, the Progressive Theater, the Humanitarian Hospital, the Royal Palace and the Central Casino are also part of its heritage.
Points of Interest[]
Holy Hill[]
The city of La Vega was part, in antiquity, of the Maguá cacicazgo, which was very rich in gold.
It is said that in this place there was one of the greatest battles between Taínos and Spaniards.
According to tradition, in 1495 during a battle on this hill between Taínos and Spaniards for gold, the Virgin of the Mercedes appeared on a large wooden cross that Christopher Columbus had placed under a loquat.
Columbus before his death told his son Diego to erect a church in honor of that Virgin on this hill, but he did not build it.
In 1527 the first convent of the Order of Mercy is established on the hill.
The sanctuary that exists today was built in 1880 by Onofre de Lora, which is cared for by the Mercedarian Sisters of Charity .
In this place the Virgin of the Mercedes is venerated, whose feast is celebrated on September 24. Thousands of parishioners visit this sacred place annually.
The Santo Cerro, in addition to the sanctuary, has a museum and a viewpoint with a majestic view of the valley of La Vega Real.
During your visit to La Vega you must include a visit to this hill that is 8 kilometers from the city center.
Inside the Holy Hill is the monument to La Luz del Mundo, a cross-shaped sculptural piece of art about 13 meters high.
Ruins of the old Vega[]
The town of La Vega Vieja was founded between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on the Spanish Island and it established the Fort of Conception, which defended the site of any land attack. This is a great historical place, for being here where one of the first two dioceses of America was erected.
After the violent and unpleasant experiences lived by the men of Christopher Columbus in La Navidad and La Isabela , territories that like the whole island were the home of the Taínos, those that remained of them took refuge inland, with the intention also to exploit the gold recently discovered in those parts.
La Vega Vieja was the place chosen by Christopher Columbus to build one of the first settlements to strengthen the presence of the Spaniards of the Spanish Island.
The Admiral was interested in the place after verifying that in these properties, in the Green River, they found gold. In addition, precious wood abounded and there were many young Indians.
On December 2, 1562 a strong earthquake almost completely destroyed the city, so the colonists decided to build another town in the place where the city of La Vega is today, seven kilometers from here.
After it, the only thing left standing was a part of the fortress, which can still be observed today. From the cathedral there was barely a column and part of the foundations. In fact, the Spaniards used part of the bricks of the old church and the fort to build the new city of La Vega. In the last 20 years of the 16th century the city was already completely depopulated.
Immaculate Conception Cathedral[]
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral is a monument where Byzantine art and modern architecture are combined.
The design of the Cathedral, located in front of the Central Park of this city, corresponded to the Dominican architect Pedro Mena Lajara and inaugurated it on February 23, 1992, the late President Joaquín Balaguer, who handed the keys to Bishop Juan Antonio Flores. From its beginnings, this religious monument became a place of preference for both parishioners and devotees of the Virgin Mary, as well as national and foreign tourists.
The first stone of the new cathedral was laid on May 15, 1987.
La Vega Cathedral is one of the most visited places by Catholics and tourists. [ appointment required ]
Sacred Museum[]
It contains valuable pieces from the beginning of evangelization on the island from the fifteenth century to pieces of the twentieth century.
Guaigui[]
It is one of the biggest tourist attractions of the city, nestled in the hills of the Central Cordillera. From its road that offers views towards the city of La Vega, washed by the river Camú.
Holidays[]
• The festivities of the municipality are celebrated in honor of La Virgen de la Antigua and end on August 16. • The celebrations of the Virgin of Las Mercedes are also celebrated, whose national sanctuary is located on the Santo Cerro, every September 24 of each year. • The vegan carnival is one of the most famous in the country, for its artistic richness and is celebrated in February of each year.
Vegan Carnival[]
For some researchers, the first Carnival manifestations of the island that we share today with Haiti , and of America , were held in what is today the Ruins of La Vega Vieja, in February 1520, on the occasion of a visit by Fray Bartolomé de The houses
It was known that the inhabitants of La Vega Vieja disguised themselves as Moors and Christians and held celebrations that evolved in the current celebrations.
For years, the Vegan Carnival maintained a predominantly Spanishized expression, symbolized in an expressive theatrical performance, the dance of the ribbons and their Cojuelos Devils, with simple red, yellow, green costumes and with their representative masks of the medieval devil, andromorphic, mephystophalic, with its two classic front breasts, large ears, open mouth and teeth in the air, which was subsequently criollized with goat leather beards.
Every Sunday of the month of February in the afternoon, the Devils Cojuelos take to the streets armed with their bull bladders, hitting everyone who dares to go down the street, but respecting those who remain on the sidewalk or driveway.
The center of the activity is Father Adolfo Nouel Street, passing through the Parque de las Flores, where the devils whip the passers-by that cause them or leave the road and where it culminates with a parade of more than 80 groups of troupes.
This picturesque dimension, a colonial heritage, will be transformed with the Afro presence, where important Cuban migrations and the inhabitants of the popular neighborhoods of La Vega played an important role.
Currently, the Vegan Carnival is the most important cultural event in this city that bears the name of the fertile valley that sustains it and the whole country, has been declared a National Folk Heritage by the Chamber of Deputies.