Puerto Plata, officially known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata; () is a major coastal city in the Dominican Republic, and capital of the Puerto Plata Province. The city is a major trading port as well as a tourism hub; Puerto Plata has resorts such as Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, which are located east of the city proper. There are 100,000 hotel beds in the city. The first aerial tramway of the Caribbean is located in Puerto Plata, in which visitors can ride up to the Pico Isabel de Torres, a 793-meter (2600-foot) high mountain within the city.
The city's history dates back to the early 16th century, when Spanish colonists founded a small colonial settlement in the region. During the first decades of the existence of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, the settlement was considered the main commercial and maritime port of the island. In 1605, it was depopulated and destroyed during the Devastations of Osorio to counter raids by privateers and pirates. A hundred years later, the city was repopulated with farmers from the Canary Islands. From 1822 to 1844 the city was under Haitian control. From 1844 on began the period of the republic, in which the city began to recover its maritime and commercial boom. Beginning in 1865, the current Puerto Plata began to be built with much of its current architecture and a popular tourist destination. By the end of the 19th century, Puerto Plata had become important for its cultural, social, maritime, and economic development.
Geography
The city sits on land that rises abruptly from the sea making it almost completely visible from the port. It is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south and southwest by the hill Isabel de Torres.
The small bay around which the city was built provides a natural harbor. Puerto Plata is the largest city on the northern seaboard. Its subdivisions include: El Cupey, Maimón, Los Mameyes, Sabana Grande, El Toro, Tubagua and Yásica. The mountain Isabel de Torres is situated some 5 km to the southwest of the city of San Felipe. Geographically it forms part of the Cordillera Septentrional, reaching a maximum height of 800 m above sea level. It is possible to drive to the top of the mountain by following the highway Don José Ginebra. The highway, upon leaving the city, continues west, passing the populated areas of San Marcos, Piedra Candela and El Cruce, arriving at a paved section that continues southeast and then leads directly to the top. The area surrounding Loma Isabel de Torres has been declared a National Monument with an area that covers approximately 20 km2. At the summit there is a tropical botanical garden covering about , featuring 600 varieties of tropical plants.
Hydrography The most significant rivers are Camú del Norte, San Marcos, Corozo, Muñoz, Maimón, El Violón, San Piñez, Río Seco, as well as the streams Fú, Blanco, Caballo, Culebra and San Cristóbal.
Climate Puerto Plata has a tropical climate, more specifically a tropical monsoon climate, with hot, somewhat wet summers and warm, very wet winters (Köppen climate classification Am), due to its tropical location and the cold fronts that reach the region during the "winter" which typically brings the area humid, wetter weather.
Seal In 1508, Serrano and Diego Nicuëza were sent to the Spanish court to beg the king to treat their cities as the cities in their home country. On December 6, 1508, the Spanish king granted the cities of Hispaniola their seal and their rights. For "Puerto de Plata", as it was called in those years, it was described as follows:
A silver shield with a green mountain, on it was also a golden F and Y crowned and on the top of this, silver and blue. The initials are for the King and Queen of the Spanish Empire, the Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Ysabel (now usually "Isabel").
History
Since the founding of La Isabela, the first village in the New World, on January 2, 1494, Puerto Plata has been a town of firsts in the Americas. Historians are not clear on the exact year of Puerto Plata's founding. Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Américo Lugo, Jose Bordonada, and Samuel Hazard give the year 1502 as recorded by Nicolás of Ovando. Dr. Llenas affirmed that it was 1503. Dr. Joaquín Marino Incháustegui, in his Dominican history records, cites 1504. Dr. Manuel Arturo Roca Batlle indicates that the city was founded in 1505. The historians Alonso Rodriguez Demorizi (brother of Emilio) and Jacinto Gimbernard assert that it was in the year 1496, and Padre Español said it was in 1506.
Christopher Columbus, in his first trip, called the mountain Monte de Plata, observing that since the top is frequently foggy it had a silver-like appearance, hence the name of the port. The city was designed by the brothers Christopher and Bartolomé Columbus, in 1496. The aforementioned Nicolás de Ovando recorded a port existing in the northern coast of the island about 1502. In its first phase as a Spanish colony the town was considered the main commercial and maritime port of the island. Around 1555, Puerto Plata's importance as a port town was lost and it became one of the places of the Antilles frequented by pirates. In 1605 it was depopulated and destroyed by order of Philip III of Spain to counter raids by English privateers and pirates.
A hundred years later, the town was repopulated with farmers originating from the Canary Islands. During the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor, the United States Marine Corps landed on the island and attacked a French ship and Fortaleza San Felipe. After capturing the French privateer Sandwich and spiking the guns at the fort, the Americans retired victorious. This was during the Quasi-War, an undeclared conflict between France and the United States from 1798 to 1800. From 1822 to 1844 the city was under Haitian control. From 1844 on began the period of the republic, in which the city began to recover its maritime and commercial boom.
The city grew under the influence of European immigrants, who left a cultural and social footprint that remains unique among other cities on the island. In 1863, during the Dominican Restoration War, the city was razed completely. Beginning in 1865, the current Puerto Plata began to be built, explaining the Victorian style of much of its current architecture. By the end of the 19th century, Puerto Plata had become important for its cultural, social, maritime, and economic development. In 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 crashed near Puerto Plata, killing all 189 people on board.
Economy
The Municipality of San Felipe de Puerto Plata is prominent in agribusiness and tourism, making it a major contributor to the economic growth of the entire country. Other forms of income and economic development that serve to support some segments of the population include port management, sea vessel production, fishing, and textiles. The port has a significant impact in the national and provincial economy.
The port receives cruise ships as well as general bulk freighters which export a variety of merchandise, including farm products and manufactured products in the duty-free zones of the region. Taino Bay, a cruise terminal closer to the city than Carnival's Amber Cove is, opened in December 2021.
Culture
The reports on the celebration of the carnival in the Puerto Plata date from the end of the 19th century. The central personage is the devil cojuelo, that in Puerto Plata becomes Taimáscaro, that produces deities Taínas in its masks, and a suit where elements of Spanish and culture are symbolized and the African essences, in multicolored tapes in its arms, and all that is complemented with the conches of the Atlantic Ocean, as natural elements of identity of the town Puertoplateño.
These festivities are celebrated during the months of February and March, in the avenue of the Jetty and the streets of the city. The people are entertained by the parades of disguises, the music, the popular dances, and the different demonstrations of the arts reflecting cultural identity. Each year the organizers of the carnival choose the King Momo, representing the city that has fought to maintain its traditions.
Architecture The city of Puerto Plata is characterized by its dominant Victorian style architecture, combined with various other architectural styles, giving a varied character to the process of urban development. Inside this variety is the old style related to the colonial epoch, of which remains as an example the Fortress San Felipe.
Another it is the traditional style, originated when the city was founded by migrant canarios, and of the one that the balconies are inherited, and as an example is the bridge of the Guinea, of the year 1879. Then developed the Victorian model, because of the French, Italian, German, and English immigration, and from other European countries, which began after the Dominican Restoration War and had its height at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th. This style was utilized in dwellings and in buildings destined for social activities. This type of construction gives its own image to the province.
Finally, Puerto Plata developed a modern architecture because of the American occupation (1916 and 1924), and continuing under Trujillo, based on cement block construction.
Downtown Puerto Plata
Education
Some of the educators who left a mark in the Puerto Plata education system include Antera Mota, Emilio Prud'Homme, Ana Isabel Jiménez, Mercedes Mota, José Dubeau, Doña Isabel Díaz-Alejo y Reyes, Doña Elvia Campillo, Isabel Meyreles, María Concepción Gómez Matos, among others. Currently, the municipality of San Felipe of Puerto Plata has 182 educational centers, of which the 67% correspond to the public sector and 39% to the private sector.
This municipality has a total of 29,279 students, of whom 1,567 are at the initial level, 19,395 at the basic level, 6,642 at the medium level, 1,505 students to the subsystem of adults, 84 students of special education and 86 of the labor school.
Besides the universities, four operations offer different careers of technical and upper degree. These universities are: Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) Universidad Organización y Método Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA) Centro Universitario Regional del Atlántico de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (CURA-UASD)
Sports Since the 1950s, the main sports institution of the municipality of San Felipe has been the League of the Atlantic one, which was founded on August 16, 1958, prompted by Fabio Rafael González. This institution celebrates activities during all the year, mainly baseball, and years later added basketball, with the time various clubs were incorporated; the Gustavo Behall, the Hugo Kunhard, and Juan Luis Plá, among others. Since the 1970, the main activities have been the school events that are celebrated during all the year, in its respective dates in which competes in the different disciplines. At present, in Golden Beach, Brugal & Company celebrates periodically the Club Golf Puerto Plata tournament, with the participation of the most noticeable athletes of this discipline, so much at the local level, as national and international.
Tourism
The city's tourist centers include Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, located to the east of San Felipe of Puerto Plata. There are a total of 100,000 hotel beds in the city; there are a number of "all-inclusive" resort hotels.
Puerto Plata is served by Gregorio Luperón International Airport, situated around to the east of the city, near the town La Union.
In 2015, Carnival Cruise Line opened an $85 million cruise port called Amber Cove.
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