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San Pedro de Macorís | |
|---|---|
City | |
      Front and rear view of St. Peter's Cathedral, Old building, American chamber of commerce, Tetelo Vargas stadium and Oriental sector | |
.svg) Seal | |
| Nicknames: Sultan del Este, Macoris del Mar | |
  San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic | |
| Coordinates:18°27′36″N69°18′36″W / 18.46000°N 69.31000°W /18.46000; -69.31000 | |
| Country |  Dominican Republic |
| Province | San Pedro de Macorís |
| Area | |
• Total | 152.33 km2 (58.81 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Population (2022 census)[3] | |
• Total | 217,523 |
| • Density | 1,428.0/km2 (3,698.4/sq mi) |
| • Demonym | Petromacorisano(a) |
| Distance to –Santo Domingo | 70 km |
| Municipal Districts | 0 |
San Pedro de Macorís is a city andmunicipality (municipio) in theDominican Republic. The capital ofits eponymous province in the east region of the country, it is among the ten largest cities of the Dominican Republic.[4] The city has approximately 217,000 inhabitants, when including the whole municipality.[5] As a provincial capital, it houses theUniversidad Central del Este. San Pedro de Macorís is also well known for producing professionalbaseball players at an exceptionally highper capita rate.
The name San Pedro came before that of Macorís. There are three versions regarding the origin of the name: the first attributes it to the fact that there is a San Pedro Beach in the city port; the second sees it as a tribute to GeneralPedro Santana, who was president at the time; and the third simply said it was in order to distinguish it fromSan Francisco de Macorís, a city in thenorth.
San Pedro de Macorís has been poetically referred to as "Macorís of the Sea" and "the Sultana of the East", and many call it the "Capital of the East".[6]
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The city was established in 1822 on the western margin of the Higuamo River as a result of the immigration of settlers from the eastern part ofSanto Domingo. In the year 1846, at the request of the inhabitants of the place called Macorix, the Conservative Council decided to declare the place as a military post. At that time, Macoris belonged to theprovince of Seybo, being made up of three communes:Seybo as the head municipality,Higüey andSamaná.
After 1840, the inhabitants moved from the western margin of the Higuamo to the eastern margin, where the city of San Pedro de Macorís was born, becoming one of the most productive cities of the Dominican Republic. The population was gradually increasing, dedicating itself to the production of provisions, and the quantities that reached the port of the capital in the boats of Macoris in the years 1868 to 1875, which were baptized there to the old fishermen's abode, were so great. the name of Macoris de los Plátanos.
In 1852 Macorix was elevated to a military port, this time depending on the common Hato Mayor, being Norman Maldonado his first commander in arms. In 1857 the constitutional mayorship was established and its first mayor was Juan María Pinto. On October 1, 1856, the firstCatholicchurch was founded by Father Pedro Carrasco Capeller, a native ofSan José de los Llanos, who came to officiate Mass from Hato Mayor. The name San Pedro de Macoris was born in 1858 at the suggestion of the presbytery Elías González, who suggested placing Macorís first, "San Pedro" and removing the x so that San Pedro de Macorís would sound, with its patron saint, Pedro Pedro. This is where the patron saint festivities are born, starting on June 22 and ending on the 29th of the same month.
San Pedro de Macoris experienced a significant wave of migration in the late 19th century fromCubans who were fleeing their country'sWar of Independence. They brought their extensive sugar cane farming knowledge and contributed to making the sugar industry the most important economic activity in the area. San Pedro de Macorís reached its peak during the first quarter of the 20th century, when its sugar production enjoyed high prices on the international market as a result of the First World War. ManyEuropeans also settled in the city, making it a very cosmopolitan urban center.Pan American flew its seaplanes in regularly (Eastern Macorís has the privilege of being the first Dominican city to receive seaplanes, in itsHiguamo River), at a time when this port enjoyed more commercial activity than the capital city ofSanto Domingo. The next economic boom resulted in the recruitment of a large number ofAfro-Caribbean workers from theLesser Antilles. These workers and their descendants would soon comprise the majority of the population in the city and are known as the "Cocolos of San Pedro de Macoris."
San Pedro de Macorís pioneered many areas such as the first firefighting corps, the first national baseball championship, the first town to have telephone and telegraph centers, the first racetrack and the first boxing coliseum, among others. The first sugar factory was founded by Juan Amechazurra, milling for the first time on January 9, 1879. By 1894 there were many factories in the province that reached a high level of progress. The rapid industrial development placed the young city among the main ones of the Republic. The intellectual culture surged at the same pace with schools and the press; among the first newspapers were "Las Novedades", "Boletín", "La Locomotora" and "El Cable."
Some of the distinguished poets from San Pedro de Macorís include René del Risco,Pedro Mir, who held the title of National Poet; Esterbina Matos, Ludín Lugo, Juan Brayan and Mateo Robinson, among others.
In regards to drinks, Macorís produces the "Guavaberry", a drink based on thearaijan fruit, which is consumed during Christmas and has a sweet taste, not unlike a wine. It is frequently consumed in rum as an infusion. Although the species grew in Hispaniola already its use was introduced and spread by immigrants from the Eastern Caribbean where colonists had discovered it as a substitute formyrtleberry-infused schnapps.
The people of San Pedro de Macorís also enjoy gathering in the Malecon, an avenue for drinking and enjoying music.
San Pedro de Macorís has atropical savanna climate (KöppenAw) with consistently hot temperatures and a dry season from January to March.
| Climate data for San Pedro de Macorís (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33.9 (93.0) | 33.4 (92.1) | 34.8 (94.6) | 33.9 (93.0) | 36.2 (97.2) | 35.8 (96.4) | 36.5 (97.7) | 36.2 (97.2) | 36.5 (97.7) | 36.6 (97.9) | 35.6 (96.1) | 33.9 (93.0) | 36.6 (97.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.6 (85.3) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.9 (87.6) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.9 (89.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.9 (89.4) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.7 (87.3) | 29.8 (85.6) | 30.8 (87.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.4 (75.9) | 24.6 (76.3) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.6 (78.1) | 26.3 (79.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.3 (81.1) | 26.9 (80.4) | 26.0 (78.8) | 24.9 (76.8) | 26.1 (79.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.5 (67.1) | 20.0 (68.0) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.4 (72.3) | 21.4 (70.5) | 20.1 (68.2) | 21.3 (70.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) | 14.0 (57.2) | 14.9 (58.8) | 15.2 (59.4) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.0 (64.4) | 14.8 (58.6) | 14.2 (57.6) | 13.6 (56.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 31.1 (1.22) | 29.9 (1.18) | 35.9 (1.41) | 50.0 (1.97) | 133.4 (5.25) | 99.7 (3.93) | 90.9 (3.58) | 128.4 (5.06) | 145.8 (5.74) | 145.9 (5.74) | 91.8 (3.61) | 56.7 (2.23) | 1,039.5 (40.93) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 8.1 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 10.5 | 8.0 | 5.5 | 80.8 |
| Source:NOAA[7] | |||||||||||||
The city is home to theEstrellas Orientales in theDominican Winter Baseball League, who play at theEstadio Tetelo Vargas.
San Pedro de Macorís is well known as the birthplace of a large number ofprofessional baseball players.[8] The city has been referred to as "the Cradle ofShortstops." The Dominican capital ofSanto Domingo has produced 106 MLB players compared to San Pedro's 99, but Santo Domingo's population is more than ten times that of San Pedro.
When immigrants were brought in as contract labor for sugar plantations from the Eastern Caribbean, they brought the sport ofcricket. They formed teams and played against each other. The ownership and management of many of the sugar estates were American. The cricket teams were offered money by their players plantation managers to switch sports and they did. Native Dominicans picked up the game watching teams composed of Eastern Caribbeans. Over time,Vic Power established an extremely good youth system in San Pedro de Macorís and was one of the largest influences on making this city into the largest source of baseball talent in the world.[9]
Notable Major League Baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís include:
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San Pedro de Macoris is served by one airline with commercial flights atCueva Las Maravillas Airport.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)18°27′N69°18′W / 18.450°N 69.300°W /18.450; -69.300
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