La Romana, Dominican Republic
La Romana | ||
---|---|---|
Municipal Districts 1 | ||
Climate | Aw |
La Romana is a municipality and capital of the southeastern
The modern
History
The city of La Romana was officially founded in 1897 as an oil town. After 1917 with the construction of a large sugar-mill the economy quickly shifted to sugar production. The commissioning of the sugar mill coincided with the rise in sugar prices worldwide, prompting the sugar industry to welcome workers from different parts of the country as well as other parts of the Caribbean, many families moved to La Romana for economic opportunities.
In early 1960,
Economy
La Romana has historically been a company town, with the Central Romana Corporation owning the majority of the town. It is a town with nearly 100% employment, mostly in the tourism industry or with The Central Romana Corporation, the Duty Free Zone (Zona Franca Romana), or one of the service businesses there.
La Romana has been a one-company town since the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company built the mammoth Central Romana mill in 1917. It was the only sugar operation not taken over by
Gulf+Western acquired Consolidated Cigar in 1968 and shifted the Canary Island cigar-making operation to its Tabacalera de Garcia tobacco plant in La Romana. The Tabacalera de Garcia factory is currently one of the largest cigar factories in the world, and has been owned by the biggest cigar marketing company in the world, Altadis, since 1999. Three world-famous brands are produced in La Romana: Montecristo, H. Upmann, and Romeo y Julieta.
City of La Romana
Tourism
Altos de Chavón is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Mediterranean village located just minutes from La Romana.
Casa de Campo International Tourist Port (Muelle Turístico Internacional Casa de Campo), located on the West Bank of La Romana River or Rio Dulce, has been utilized primarily for the docking of commercial ships, primarily for the transport of sugar and molasses. Upon exceeding the capacity of its port, the Central Romana Corporation built its new tourism focused port on the east side of the river. The platform on the western bank was renovated and the river channel was dredged to a depth of 10.50 metres (34.4 ft).
Inaugurated with the arrival of the vessel
La Romana International Airport (IATA: LRM, ICAO: MDLR) is a private commercial airport in the east of the Dominican Republic, serving the resort town of La Romana and the resort of Casa de Campo. It was built in a traditional Dominican style, with open-air terminals.
There is a significant number of charter lines and flights to La Romana; this airport registered a large influx of visitors in 2002, making it one of the most visited airports in the Dominican Republic.
It currently ranks fifth in air traffic, behind Punta Cana, Las Américas, Puerto Plata and Santiago. The airport receives many international airlines. The airport has 7 positions in the international terminal and a spacious private aviation terminal where up to 12 private jets can be parked.
Climate
La Romana has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) only slightly above a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) due to its shielded location from the northeasterly trade winds.
Climate data for La Romana, Dominican Republic (1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 34.8 (94.6) |
33.0 (91.4) |
34.0 (93.2) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.0 (95.0) |
36.6 (97.9) |
36.8 (98.2) |
37.0 (98.6) |
37.6 (99.7) |
37.7 (99.9) |
34.2 (93.6) |
33.8 (92.8) |
37.7 (99.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.2 (90.0) |
31.8 (89.2) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.9 (85.8) |
31.2 (88.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.5 (67.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.6 (72.7) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.2 (68.4) |
21.5 (70.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.5 (59.9) |
15.0 (59.0) |
16.9 (62.4) |
20.0 (68.0) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
17.4 (63.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
14.0 (57.2) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 32.7 (1.29) |
27.8 (1.09) |
27.5 (1.08) |
45.2 (1.78) |
91.0 (3.58) |
57.0 (2.24) |
60.9 (2.40) |
105.2 (4.14) |
116.8 (4.60) |
164.6 (6.48) |
96.2 (3.79) |
47.6 (1.87) |
872.5 (34.35) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 9.7 | 8.3 | 5.7 | 78.5 |
Source: NOAA[4]
|
Sports
In 1983, the government of Salvador Jorge Blanco, through the fund for development of this region, built the Polideportivo de La Romana (La Romana Sports Center), which was named after Eleoncio Mercedes in honor of the flyweight boxer who became world champion. The Cañeros de La Romana, a Dominican basketball team, play their home games here.
Population
- 1981 : 91,571
- 1993 : 140,200
- 2004 : 171,500
- 2012 : 227,856
Notable people
- Fernando Abad Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
- Antonio Alfonseca pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies
- Juana Arrendel high jumper
- Miguel Castro - baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles
- Andújar Cedeño former MLB shortstop
- Domingo Cedeño former MLB infielder
- Rafael Dolis relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Cleveland Indians.
- Pedro Florimón shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Freddy García former MLB infielder
- Tito Horford retired professional basketball player
- Luis Ernesto José lightweight boxer
- Eleoncio Mercedes former world champion boxer in the Flyweight division
- Yermín Mercedes, catcher/designated hitter for the San Francisco Giants
- Ramon Rijo A.K.A. "MONCHY," singer, Musician, songwriter and Musical Producer, Monchy y Alexandra
- John Nolasco featherweight boxer
- Pedro Julio Nolasco professional boxer & Winner of Dominican Republics first ever Olympic medal (bronze), during the 1984 Summer Olympics. Silver medalist at the 83 Pan American Games. Shot and killed in 95.
- Arismendy Peguero sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres.
- Félix Pie center fielder for the Hanwha Eagles
- Danny Richar second baseman for the Chicago White Sox
- Luis Santana retired professional boxer
- Rafael Santana former MLB shortstop
- Julian Yan retired professional baseball player
- Edison Azcona professional footballer who plays for Inter Miami
References
- ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica Archived 2009-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ De la Fuente, Santiago (1976). Geografía Dominicana (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana.
- ^ Censo 2012 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
- ^ "La Romana Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 15, 2016.