San Francisco de Macorís

San Francisco de Macorís
San Francisco de Macorís
Coordinates:
Country  Dominican Republic
Province Duarte
Founded 1778
Municipality since 1844
Area[1]
 • Total 763.77 km2 (294.9 sq mi)
Elevation[2] 110 m (361 ft)
Population (2002)[3]
 • Total 185,618
 • Estimate (2008) 174,879
 • Density 243/km2 (629.4/sq mi)
 • Urban 123,762
 • Demonym Francomacorisano(a)
Municipal Districts 4

San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic. It is also the capital of the Duarte Province. It has had a very active role in the shaping of Dominican history, as it is known as one of, if not the most, politically active cities in the country. It is located in the northeast portion of the island, in the Cibao region. It is the home town of the author Hilma Contreras and home town of the world renowned playboy Porfirio Rubirosa.

The name San Francisco de Macorís comes from a fusion of the name of Saint Francis, patron saint of the Franciscan Order (a religious organization from Italy that had come to this territory during colonization) and the territory's old name, which is Macorix.

Contents

Geography

San Francisco de Macoris is located in between the Septentrional Mountain Range at the North and the northern valley or "Cibao." on the southern part. Temperatures vary between 62 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with cooler temperatures affected by rainfall. Pretty much it is an Isolated paradise since much of the territory is unaffected by hurricanes or extremely hot weather. Occasional floods can occur due to rainy season which manifests itself mostly during the month of May. San Francisco de Macoris has hills to the north which provide a great view of the city during evening hours. The Jaya River is a prominent mark on the land since it lies on the western part of the town.

Relief

The relief of Duarte Province ranges from 17 meters to 942 meters above sea level, reaching its highest elevation at "Loma Quita Espuela." This name allegedly comes from the time when the Spaniards were exploring the island, Since the hill was too steep to ride their horses up, they had to dismount and remove their spurs and undertake the ascent on foot. There are two main geologic regions: the north slope of the Cordillera Septentrional and the rough topography of the Delta del Yuna.

Professional and Amateur Sports

San Francisco de Macoris enjoys of a great pools of young athletes whose dedication and love for sports and physical activities makes them pursue their dreams in different disciplines. The most important sports played in the city include but are not limited to: Basketball (with teams represented by Club Duarte, Club Maximo Gomez, Club San Vicente de Paul, Club San Martin and much more.) Baseball "Los Gigantes del Cibao" which is a club that plays at the National Level. Voleiball is also a sport which has great influence in the youngsters of this great Dominican community. Taekuondo, Boxing, Karate, etc. are also some sports which are played at the amateur leve. Furthermore, Motorcrossing is a sport which have captivated the populace of San Francisco de Macoris since the 70's, Consequently, eight dirt bike tracks have been built on the outskirts of the city, and have produced great figures and national champions who compete at international level in Latin America.

Sites of interest

Principle avenue and street

Nightlife

Dozens of restaurants, bars, clubs, and parks of the city provide recreation and fun attracting crowds of the city's inhabitants and tourists as well, making it an active nightlife area.

Clubs and parks

The municipal building

The City Hall of San Francisco de Macoris, is the headquarters of the city counsel and city mayor. In this old building, politicians in charge of the Duarte Province meet to govern the Province. The world's most beautiful city is in the Dominican Republic, San Francisco de Macoris, as well as all the cities in this beautiful country, too.

Santa Ana Cathedral

This beautiful structure is a splendid mixture of Gothic and modern architecture. It covers a complete city block, bound in the north by Santa Ana Street, in the south by Colon Street, on the west by Papi Olivier Street and on the east by Restauracion Street. The Santa Ana Cathedral is the headquarters of Obispo de la Diócesis de San Francisco and home to the renowned humanist, Monseñor Jesús María de Jesús Moya.

The Montecito de Oración

The Montecito de Oracion is a meditative center popular with both local Macorisanos and with tourists from throughout the world. This center of spirituality was donated by the Francomacorisanos and this located in 1-½ km along the highway San Francisco Villa Tapia. It is administered by the religious order of the Instituto de los Sacerdotes Diocesanos de Schoentatt.

== Medios de Comunicacion==

San Francisco de Macoris, has several radio stations and publications. Its longest running newspaper is EL JAYA which was founded November 20, 1985. Its director and founder is the journalist Adriano Cruz Marte.

San Francisco de Macoris tiene varias estaciones de radio, televisión, medios impresos y digitales. Cada uno de ellos de cierto modo cobran importancia al momento de un suceso importante de interés local. Entre los medios impresos cabe mencionar el periódico quincenal El Jaya, fundado el 20 de noviembre de 1985; su director y fundador es el periodista Adriano Cruz Marte.

Emisoras de radio

El circuito HIBI es la principal empresa radio-difusora de San Francisco de Macoris, cuenta con las Emisoras: H102, Festival fm e Hibi Radio 1070 am, conocido como Canal de Oro Dominicano. También otra empresa radio-difusora de gran rating es Radio Taina 104.5 FM y radio taina 1620 am las cuales son propiedad del Circuito Tele-Sonido. Existen mas estaciones como Laser 106 de Radio Cadena Hispanoamericana, Digital 94 y Radio Merengue 1130 AM del Circuito Merengue, Sitial Fm y La llave, esta ultima propiedad del grupo Telemicro.

Cadenas de televisión

Existen varias cadenas de televisión, Una de ellas es Arcoiris Televisión canal 49, que opera en señal abierta. Hibi TV del Circuito HIBI y opera en el canal 3 de Telecable de Tricom y el Grupo Telenord que es el principal Sistema de Telecable, que cubre mas del 80% de la cuota de pantalla de la cuidad, mas de un 60% en toda la región del nordeste y principal cadena de Television, con sus canales: TVN canal 8, Telenord canal 10, Telenord2 Canal 12 y Telenord Canal 14. Recientemente esta empresa se mudo a un nuevo y modernismo local ubicado en la Avenida Frank Grullon no. 3, donde existía la Ferretería Kenia.

Portales de Internet

Existen mas de 12 portales en internet que cubren eventos deportivos, sociales y culturales. Los mas importantes son:

Francomacorisanos.com Radiotaina.com Figureo56.com Serie56.com Cafe56.net Calle56.com DV Noticias & mas! del proyecto DV Media Group Fiebredeportiva.com del destacado cronista Junior Matrille, que tiene un espacio con el mismo nombre en el canal 10 de Telenord CirculoDeportivo.net El sitio web del Grupo Telenord, entre otras

Famous residents

The Last Playboy

Porfirio Rubirosa, born January 22, 1909 in San Francisco de Macorís, was a Dominican diplomat, polo player and Formula One race car driver, but was best known as an international playboy for his jet setting lifestyle and legendary prowess with women. Rubirosa married Flor de Oro Trujillo, daughter of Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina.

Other notable residents

References

  1. ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
  2. ^ De la Fuente, Santiago (1976) (in Spanish). Geografía Dominicana. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana. 
  3. ^ Censo 2002 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica