Dominican Republic By: Matt Masella, Jenny Ewing, Peter Mingrone, Bridget Danks, Eddie Moriarty, Erica Schmidheiser, and Brett Loughead

Dominican Republic Stats Population- 9,507,133 people Capital- Santo Domingo Government- Democracy(President ruler 4-year terms) Dominican Peso- next slide currency change Language/Dialects- Spanish (First) and English (Becoming more popular and being brought in from the U.S.)

Dominican Peso Currency Change = 0.02331 United States Dollar 1.00 United States Dollar = 42.9 Dominican Pesos

Geography and Major Regions Three Geographic Regions: Cibao Occidental Sur Occupies eastern 2/3 of Hispaniola 2nd largest country in Caribbean The geography is greatly diverse

Manatí Park Manatí Park is a wildlife park that stretches for 81 square miles of animals, plants. This park gives tourists a taste of the culture on this island with shows of how the natives live.

Altar de la Patria Otherwise know as the Altar of the Nation, it commemorates the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic or Los Trinitaros. In this white mausoleum, and eternal flame is lit to remember the patriots of the Dominican Republic.

Colonial City The Colonial City was one of the first cities in the Americas and it was built in the early 16th century by the son of Christopher Columbus. It was built for health, religious, and government purposes when the Spanish arrived.

Celebrations Here’s a list of celebrations/holidays native to the Dominican Republic: Epiphany, Our Lady of Altagracia, Duarte’s Day, Corpus Christi, and Our Lady of Las Mercedes.

Our Lady of Altagracia, Jan 21 This day commemorates “Our Lady of Altagracia”, which is a painting of Mary (Jesus’s mother). She represents the patron and protector of the people of the Dominican Republic. On this day, everybody feasts.

Corpus Christi The date for this holiday changes yearly. Feasting happens on this day Corpus Christi is Latin for Body of Christ It celebrates the body and blood of Jesus Christ Schools close on this holiday The Dominican republic has approximately 8 million Catholics.

Sports Baseball is the main sport in the Dominican Republic. Soccer is also popular, but not as popular. The Dominican Republic has produced some famous boxers, but boxing is not really an often-played sport there.

Mangú Mangú with sautéed onions and an omelet Breakfast Cooked, mashed plantains are often topped with sautéed onions, and anything else you want.

Casabe de Yuca Breakfast Folded casabe in a basket A crispy flat bread that doesn’t go stale or moldy.

Empanadas Empanadas with a type of salsa Lunch Folded over dough stuffed with meat, potatoes, onions, and seasonings

La Bandera Dinner Beans, Rice, Meat, Salad beans (red kidney beans) are cooked in a pungent herby tomato sauce chicken or pork basic salad which consist of lettuce and tomatoes

Architecture Fortaleza Ozama Catedral Santa Maria La Menor No buildings from early times; made of wood and did not last. Few skyscrapers or modern-day building Most buildings are late-gothic or baroque Fairly uniform style Most of their impressive architecture is in the Zona Colonial Fortaleza Ozama Catedral Santa Maria La Menor

Art Terra Cotta figures sold in markets Stylized, colorful, inexpensive oil paintings Basket making, palm weaving, and jewelry made from native coral and seashells. Performing arts- dancing and music

People of Interest Julia Alvarez (escritora) – Nationally known novelist and poet, most famous for her book, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.

People of Interest Pedro Martinez (beisbolista) – Nationally known Major League Baseball Pitcher.

People of Interest Juan Luis Guerra (cantante) – Very famous singer, songwriter, and producer. He likes to fuse genres and is famous for his modern music.

People of Interest Oscar de la Renta (disenador) – 82 year old fashion designer. Particularly famous for his red carpet gowns and evening wear. hi

Thank you for visiting the Dominican Republic!