The document provides an overview of the Dominican Republic with information on its location in the Caribbean, geography including mountains and rivers, largest cities, tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons, predominantly Catholic religious population, and culture with influences from indigenous Taino people and Spanish, African, and French traditions. It also notes the country's ethnic diversity and that Spanish is the official language along with details on holidays, foods, music, government, economy focused on tourism and agriculture, and popular sports including baseball.

1. Dominican Republic
Español 2012-2013
Señorita Kent

2. Location
• island in the Caribbean Sea
• Shares the island of Hispañola with Haiti
• Caribbean Sea on the south coast
• Atlantic Ocean on the north coast

3. Geography
• mountains,
valleys,
deserts
• Cibao
region
• Pico
Duarte-­‐-­‐tallest
peak
east
of
the
Mississippi
River
• Rio
Yache

5. Ci@es
Capital: Santo Domingo
2nd largest city: Santiago de los Caballeros
Others: Bonao
Puerto Plata
Cabarete/Sosua

6. Climate
Tropical
weather
year
round
Northern
areas
rainfall–
October-­‐April
Southern
areas
rainfall–
May
–
November
winter
season—November
–
April
summer
season
–
May
–
October
Hurricane
season:
June
–
November

7. Religion
• 95%
Roman
Catholic
• 5%
Protestant/Other

8. Culture
• The
complex
heritage
of
Arawak,
Spanish,
African,
and
French
tradi@ons,
plus
an
early
independence,
set
the
Dominican
Republic
apart
from
other
Caribbean
islands.
Independence
was
won
before
slavery
was
abolished
in
the
Spanish
Caribbean
and
a
century
before
the
decoloniza@on
of
the
other
islands.
The
Dominicans
consider
themselves
more
La@n
American
than
Caribbean.
In
addi@on,
they
retain
close
@es
with
the
United
States,
which
occupied
the
island
in
the
early
twen@eth
century.
The
na@onal
community
is
struggling
to
build
a
democracy
against
a
corrupt
and
authoritarian
poli@cal
elite.
hWp://www.everyculture.com/Cr-­‐Ga/Dominican-­‐Republic.html#ixzz2A87LjfTA

9. Ethnicity
• Taino
• Spanish
• European
• Arab
• African
•
mulaWoes
–African/European
mix
indio
claro
–
lighter
skin
indio
oscuro
–
darker
skin
85%
Afro-­‐descendants
(55%
MulaWo
and
30%
Black),
15%
White
also
includes
some
Asians,
Arabs
and
others.

10. People

11. Language
• Spanish
is
the
official
language
and
is
universally
spoken.
Dominicans
pride
themselves
on
the
purity
of
their
Spanish
and
it
is
considered
by
some
to
be
the
most
classical
Cas@lian
spoken
in
La@n
America.
Nevertheless,
Dominican
Spanish
has
a
dis@nc@ve
accent
and
incorporates
numerous
African
and
Taino
(na@ve)
expressions.
For
example,
small
rural
houses
are
now
called
bohios,
afer
the
rectangular
houses
of
the
Tainos.
A
large
number
of
place-­‐names
as
well
as
social
and
cultural
terms
are
inherited
from
the
Tainos.
Some
English
is
spoken
in
Santo
Domingo,
par@cularly
within
the
tourist
industry.
Some
Creole
is
spoken
near
the
Hai@an
border
and
in
the
sugarcane
villages,
where
many
Hai@an
workers
live.
=
hWp://www.everyculture.com/Cr-­‐Ga/Dominican-­‐Republic.html#ixzz2A886XSlM

12. Holidays
27 de febrero día de independencia
febrero Carnival
6 de enero Día de los Reyes Magos
Catholic Holidays

13. Food
• The
main
meal
is
served
at
midday
and
can
last
up
to
two
hours.
•
La
bandera
(the
flag)
is
a
popular
na@onal
dish;
the
white
rice
and
red
beans
remind
people
of
the
flag
colors,
hence
the
name.
The
third
ingredient
is
meat
(poultry
or
beef),
and
it
is
usually
served
with
fried
plantain
and
a
salad.
• Another
favorite
dish
is
sancocho,
a
meat,
plantain,
and
vegetable
stew.
hWp://www.everyculture.com/Cr-­‐Ga/Dominican-­‐Republic.html#ixzz2A89A4cTI

15. Music
• Bachata
• Merengue

16. Government
• Government.
The
Dominican
Republic
is
divided
into
twenty-­‐nine
provinces,
each
run
by
a
governor
who
is
appointed
by
the
president.
The
president
and
vice
president
and
a
bicameral
Congress
of
thirty
senators
and
120
depu@es
are
elected
by
popular
vote
every
four
years.
The
vo@ng
age
is
eighteen.
A
nine-­‐member
Supreme
Court
is
formally
appointed
every
four
years
by
the
Senate,
but
is
greatly
influenced
by
the
president.
• Leadership
and
Poli4cal
Officials.
One
of
the
most
influen@al
poli@cal
par@es
is
the
Dominican
Revolu@onary
Party
and
it
has
a
liberal
philosophy.
A
spin-­‐off
is
the
Dominican
Libera@on
Party
and
it
is
considered
even
more
liberal.
A
conserva@ve
group
is
the
Revolu@onary
Social
Chris@an
Party
(PRSC).
Unfortunately,
many
people
aspire
to
be
elected
to
government
posi@ons
so
that
they
can
obtain
bribes.
Each
@me
government
salaries
are
cut,
the
corrup@on
in
government
grows.
Also,
government
contracts
are
awarded
to
business
in
return
for
money
paid
directly
to
the
official
who
makes
the
decision.
President:
Danilo
Medina
hWp://www.everyculture.com/Cr-­‐Ga/Dominican-­‐Republic.html#ixzz2A8A71oHY

17. Economy
• Currency:
peso
• Tourism
and
agriculture

18. Sports
• beísbol
• baloncesto
• voleíbol