Nizao
Encyclopedia
General information
Nizao is a city in the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and capital of the Nizao Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
. It is the second large municipality of the Peravia
Peravia
Peravia is a province of the Dominican Republic. Before January 1, 2002 it was included in what is the new San José de Ocoa province, and published statistics and maps generally relate it to the old, larger, Peravia. It is named after the Peravia Valley. Along the Azua Province, Peravia is...
Province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
and is located in southeastern corner of this province, in the angle formed by the estuary of the Nizao River and the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
coast.
The Municipality
Nizao was founded in the 16th century when Diego, Christopher Colombus' firstborn son, built a sugar mill and plantation along Nizao RiverNizao River
Nizao is one of the most important rivers in the Dominican Republic. Three hydroelectric power/electrical plants have been built along its path....
. The Nizao Municipality is divided into two municipal districts, Santana and Pizarrete
Pizarrete
Pizarrete is a town in the Peravia province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
, and one municipal section, Don Gregorio
Don Gregorio (town)
Don Gregorio is a town in Nizao County, Dominican Republic, located at . It is the second most populated town in the Nizao County of the Peravia Province and is located in southeastern corner of the County, in the estuary of the Nizao River...
. Nizao was elevated to the category of Municipal District
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
on January 1, 1945 and to Municipality in 1989. As a municipality, Nizao elected its authorities (Mayor and councilmen) for the first time in the 1990 general elections, in which were elected Salvador Clemente Pérez Pérez, a school teacher, as its first mayor and Juan Bautista Salvador (Guancho), Confesor Meléndez (Confe), Ramón Garcia Valdez (Ramón Garganta), Isidro Indalecio Valdez and Víctor Pérez as its first councilmen. It's believe that Nizao and the town of Don Gregorio will merge into one city in the future.
The City
The economy of Nizao County for decades was based on the agriculture, especially riceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, chilis
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, etc., which has been substituted, to a large extent due to the international emigration of the Nizao people, the demographic and urban growth that has reduced the arable lands, by the rented labor, the motoconcho (motorcycles transportation system in the Dominican Republic) and the export of players to American professional baseball.
Fishing has another major impact in Nizao economy.
Nizao also has a beautiful beach (playa Linda ) that extends for almost 3 km (1.9 mi) from Don Gregorio to Catalina, Baní
Baní
Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in a region producing bananas and coffee.- Overview :...
. Early in the 1980s. all farmers who owned land close to the beach sold their properties to Complejo Vacasional (COVACASA) Consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
. More than 50 houses, a club house, and an artificial lake, were built and sold to individual owners as vacation homes. Covacasa is an international community, where Dominicans, Dutch, Italians, Americans have their first- and second homes.
Last years there is a big increase in international investments in this beach village. Lots of internationals (in particular Dutch and Italian families) are purchasing building ground and houses. The new Highway to Santo Domingo is almost ready ( 2010 ) and it will connect Nizao with the capital in half an hour by highway.
Nizao Mayors
| Mayor | Term | Political Party |
|---|---|---|
| Salvador Clemente Pérez Pérez | 1990–1994 | Dominican Liberation Party Dominican Liberation Party The Dominican Liberation Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a centrist position.The party has been elected into office thrice now with Leonel Fernández as President of the Dominican Republic in the 1996, 2004 and 2008 elections, though losing in 2000... -PLD PLD PLD may refer to:Technology* Programmable Logic Device, a type of integrated circuit semiconductor* Pulsed Laser Deposition, a method of growing thin filmsBiology... |
| Rosario Valdez Paulino | 1994–1998 | Dominican Revolutionary Party Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white.... -PRD PRD -Political parties:*Partido Renovador Democrático, a political party in Angola*Parti de Renouveau Démocratique, a political party in Benin*Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, a political party in the Dominican Republic... |
| Lic. Demetrio Antonio Paulino Ramírez | 1998–2002 | Dominican Revolutionary Party Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white.... -PRD PRD -Political parties:*Partido Renovador Democrático, a political party in Angola*Parti de Renouveau Démocratique, a political party in Benin*Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, a political party in the Dominican Republic... |
| Lic. Salvador Gómez | 2002–2006 | Social Christian Reformist Party Social Christian Reformist Party The Social Christian Reformist Party is a conservative, christian democratic, economic liberal and a populist party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano... -PRSC |
| Lic. Salvador Gómez | 2006–2010 | Social Christian Reformist Party Social Christian Reformist Party The Social Christian Reformist Party is a conservative, christian democratic, economic liberal and a populist party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano... -PRSC |
| Lic. Glovis Reyes Aglon Glovis Reyes Aglon Lic. Glovis Reyes Aglon is the current Mayor of the city of Nizao, Dominican Republic, elected on the municipal elections celebrated on May 16, 2010.-Early life and education:... |
2010–2016 | Dominican Revolutionary Party Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white.... -PRD PRD -Political parties:*Partido Renovador Democrático, a political party in Angola*Parti de Renouveau Démocratique, a political party in Benin*Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, a political party in the Dominican Republic... |
New elections were celebrated on May 16, 2010. Mr. Gomez was seeking re-election against former deputy Lic. Glovis Reyes who was the victor. The new Dominican Constitution extended the municipal and congressional electoral period from four years to six years terms so these elections can be held at the same time of the presidential ones.
The People
According to the latest National CensusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of Population and Family (Censo Nacional de Poblacion y Familia) http://www.one.gob.do conducted in 2002, Nizao City population was 6,188 people while the total population for the entire municipality, including its two districts, was 22, 850 people.
Nizao people are of mixed race of Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and of african slaves descendants. Nizao people are recognized as hard working and friendly.
Nizao is subdivided into five peripheral sectors or wards:
El Zapotal
El Zapotal is plain located on top of a hill to the northeast and which used to be a municipal section. El Zapotal was a sugarcane mill and plantation during the colonial times then inhabited by the families Gonzalez and Lorenzo. It is rich in agriculture.Mono Mojao
Mono Mojao (wet monkey) is located to north around the baseball field. Pérez and Valdez families are the two major groups concentrated in this area.Media Blanca
Media Blanca (white stocking) is located to the west/northwest. It is the most folkloric and ethnic part of Nizao. African roots, beliefs, and culture are strong in this part of the city. Perdomo and Valdez families are the larger family groups in this sector.Ciudad Nueva
Ciudad Nueva (new city) is located to the southeast.The remaining area is just called Nizao. The city is also growing to the southwest part with the incorporation of the Ciudad del Niño area, a few houses constructed along Marcos A. Cabral canal (La Regola), on the Mercedes family estates.
Covacasa residential
The gated community of Covacasa Nizao is located at the beach. Villa's with beautiful seaview over the Caribbean sea. The beach is accessible for the residents of Covacasa.History
Nizao was an original settlement of Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
immigrant families to the northeast of Don Gregorio Gonsales sugar mill (the actual town of Don Gregorio
Don Gregorio (town)
Don Gregorio is a town in Nizao County, Dominican Republic, located at . It is the second most populated town in the Nizao County of the Peravia Province and is located in southeastern corner of the County, in the estuary of the Nizao River...
) and to the south of Zapote
Mamey sapote
The mamey sapote is a species of tree native to southern Mexico. Today, the tree is cultivated not only in Mexico, but also in Central America, the Caribbean, and South Florida for its fruit, which is commonly eaten in many Latin American countries...
Plantation sugar mill (El Zapotal as for today) an on the hill overseeing the Nizao river
Nizao River
Nizao is one of the most important rivers in the Dominican Republic. Three hydroelectric power/electrical plants have been built along its path....
and the Caribbean sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
.
Late in the 19th century, the top of Nizao hill become a battlefield due to the confrontation of the militants of the two bloody Dominican political parties, Los Bolos
Los Bolos
Los Bolos or , was an old Dominican political party from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Ulises Heureaux and Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra were the main leaders of this party, and were oppossed to Los Coludos or Red Party, led by Horacio VásquezThe name of the party came from the...
(tailless) and Coludos
Los Colús
Los Coludos or Partido Rojo , was an old Dominican political party from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Ramón Cáceres and Horacio Vásquez were the main leaders of this party...
(long tail). This battle took place around the El Tamarindo (tamarind tree) on Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte
Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez is one of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was a visionary and liberal thinker who along with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella is widely considered the architect of the Dominican Republic and its independence from Haitian rule in 1844...
square.
Education
The City of Nizao has two schools: one elementary school (escuela primaria) and one high school (liceo). Both schools were housed in the same facility called Aliro Paulino Elementary and Aliro Paulino High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Aliro Paulino was a personal teacher of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina , nicknamed El Jefe , ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He officially served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, otherwise ruling as an unelected military strongman...
's family. He was originally from Don Gregorio
Don Gregorio (town)
Don Gregorio is a town in Nizao County, Dominican Republic, located at . It is the second most populated town in the Nizao County of the Peravia Province and is located in southeastern corner of the County, in the estuary of the Nizao River...
.
Aliro Paulino High School, today Lucila Mojica high School, was an evening school that operated in the Aliro Paulino Elementary school from 1978 to the year 2000 when its new facility opened its doors at the corner of Maximo Gomez and Gaston F Deligne (southbound) streets.
The nearest and best international schools in the Caribbean are in Santo Domingo, which is half an hour by the new highway. The Saint George school (international IB program), The Carol Morgan school and The new Horizon school are on top of the list.
Sports
Nizao lacks major sport facilities. The only basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
courts are those of rough concrete located at the public schools' estates. they were often open in the afternoon for the public, but those sports are no longer played in Nizao.
Like the whole Dominican Republic, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
is the king sport. Nizao has a baseball field that has been under construction since the last 20 years.
Nizao has produced a huge number of professional baseball players, among them, Efrain Valdez
Efrain Valdez
Efrain Antonio Valdez is a former professional baseball pitcher. Valdez played Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians in and and the Arizona Diamondbacks in...
, Julio Valdez
Julio Valdez
Julio Julián Castillo Valdez is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. He played mainly as a shortstop from through for the Boston Red Sox...
, Rafael Valdez
Rafael Valdez
Rafael Emilio Valdez Díaz is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the San Diego Padres in ....
, Felix Perdomo, Carlos Valdez
Carlos Valdez (baseball)
Carlos Luis Lorenzo Valdez is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in part of two seasons for the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox . He also played in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes . Listed at 5' 11", 191 lb., he batted and threw right-handed...
, Sandi Santiago, Wilson Valdez
Wilson Valdéz
Wilson Antonio Valdez is a Major League Baseball utility infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies.-Early career:Valdez was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Expos on February 4, 1997...
, Deivi Cruz
Deivi Cruz
Deivi Cruz Garcia , is a former baseball shortstop who last played for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.He was released by the St...
, Rafael Cruz
Rafael Cruz
Ojer Rafael Cruz is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Atlético Goianiense on loan from Atlético Mineiro...
, Vladimir Guerrero
Vladimir Guerrero
Vladimir Alvino Guerrero is a free agent Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter.In , he was voted the American League MVP...
, Wilton Guerrero
Wilton Guerrero
Wilton Alvaro Guerrero is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Montreal Expos , Cincinnati Reds , and Kansas City Royals ....
, Jesus Sanchez
Jesus Sanchez
Jesús Paulino Sánchez is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in the majors from until . Most recently, he appeared in three games for the Sacramento River Cats of the Oakland Athletics organization in .-External links:...
, and more prospects navigating through the Baseball Minor Leagues farm system
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
.
Religion
Like the majority of Dominicans, more than 90% of Nizaeros say they are CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, even though less than 5% actually go to church. There are also different groups of protestants in Nizao, of whom Pentecostals are the larger group. There are also Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) chapels and Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
churches in Nizao.
Churches
- Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Catholic Church, at the corners of Duarte, Sánchez, and Maria Trinidad Sánchez streets.
- Iglesia Evangelica Peniel, at Duarte street.
- Seventh-day Adventist Temple, at Ruben Perdomo street.
- Iglesia Evangelica Asamblea de Dios, Sanchez street.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) chapel, at Mella street.
Trivia
- The border between Nizao and Don Gregorio is called La Pava creek. It's a haunted place.
- The people of Nizao went to Nizao Municipal Building to overthrow their mayor in the 50s.
- All Nizao fishermen belong to a single family, Santana Gómez, and all live in Ciudad Nueva.
- For decades, discothèques El San Antonio and Johnny bar were rivals. The two have disappeared.
- Leonor Mercedes, Pasón, once converted his old house into a bar. The house was so narrow that he had to extend it to the back, then the house became so long that people called El Túnel (the tunnel).
Notable people from Nizao
- Deivi CruzDeivi CruzDeivi Cruz Garcia , is a former baseball shortstop who last played for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.He was released by the St...
, professional baseball player.http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cruzde01.shtml - Modesto DeLaPaz, Business, Financial and Infrastructure developer.
- Salvador Gomez, former mayor of Nizao.
- Vladimir GuerreroVladimir GuerreroVladimir Alvino Guerrero is a free agent Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter.In , he was voted the American League MVP...
, professional baseball player.http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/guerrvl01.shtml - Wilson ValdezWilson ValdézWilson Antonio Valdez is a Major League Baseball utility infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies.-Early career:Valdez was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Expos on February 4, 1997...
, professional baseball player.http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/valdewi01.shtml - Dr. Manuel Eduardo Valdez, one of the best oftalmologist of the Dominican Republic.http://www.sdo.org.do/index_archivos/historia.htm
- Efrain ValdezEfrain ValdezEfrain Antonio Valdez is a former professional baseball pitcher. Valdez played Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians in and and the Arizona Diamondbacks in...
, professional Baseball player.http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/valdeef01.shtml
See also
- Don Gregorio (town)Don Gregorio (town)Don Gregorio is a town in Nizao County, Dominican Republic, located at . It is the second most populated town in the Nizao County of the Peravia Province and is located in southeastern corner of the County, in the estuary of the Nizao River...