Yamasá

**Yamasá** is a town in the eastern Dominican Republic. It is one of five municipalities of the Monte Plata Province. Yamasá is generally a rural community whose economy is based on agriculture. It stands out for its crops of sugar cane, cocoa, bananas and mangoes.

## Yamasá

### Region

Higüamo
Monte Plata Province

### Distance to:

Monte Plata: 31 km (*19 mi.*)Santo Domingo: 45 km (*28 mi.*)

## About

"Yamasá" is an indigenous word that means *"wet land"*. It is not a surprise since it is a region of abundant rainfall all year round and has many rivers, streams and springs.

It was founded in 1859 by the religious María Matilde Estevéz de Villa Mella who went to live in this area with her husband Damián Manzueta, the brother of General Eusebio Manzueta.

In **1874** it was declared a cantonal military post of the Santo Domingo province, and then it was granted municipal status in **1888.**

It was declared a municipality of Monte Plata in 1982 after the creation of the new province.

Its patron saint festivities are celebrated from September 15 to 24 in honor of the Virgen de las Mercedes.

## Geography

Yamasá is located in the western part of Monte Plata Province at 18.7727° N, 70.0250° W. According to the ONE, this municipality has a total land area of 441.61 square kilometers (170.51 square miles). It is bordered by the Sánchez Ramírez city of Cotuí on the north, the town of Peralvilloon the northeast, the city of Monte Plata on the east, the town of Bayaguana on the southeast, the city of Monte Plata on the south, and the Sánchez Ramírez Province town of Cevicos on the west. Sabana Grande de Boyá consists of three municipal districts, **Yamasá,** **Los Botados,** and **Mama Tingo.**

The municipality is made up of fertile and rugged terrain with plains, mountains and numerous rivers, streams and springs.

This territorial demarcation has the most important mountain range in the country that bears the name of “Sierra de Yamasá”. Seven adjacent peaks are born in this mountain range, which due to their characteristics are called "Siete Picos". From where the main rivers of the municipality are born, such as: Río Ozama, Río Verde, Río Yamasá, Río Guanuma, Río Máyiga, La Isabela , Río Haina and Básima, these last three discharge their waters to other municipalities and nearby provinces.

Siete Picos, is approximately 853 meters high.

### Climate

The climate that predominates in this municipality is a varied tropical climate, accentuating a humid tropical forest climate, especially in mountainous regions, approximately 2000 to 2500 mm (*75 to 100 inches*) of rain occur annually.

### Demographics

The municipality has approximately 52,000 inhabitants and a voting population of 28,935 citizens and a population under 18 years of approximately 23,065.

The highest population density is concentrated in urban areas: the main population, Los Botados, Hato Viejo, Sabana Grande and San Antonio.

## Economy

A large part of the municipal economy is found in agricultural operations and raising pigs, cattle and, to a lesser extent, goats and poultry.

The economy of the municipality of Yamasá, in addition to being nourished by agricultural activities, there are different diversified businesses, among these are supermarkets, warehouses, clothing stores, restaurants, auto parts, hardware stores, pharmacies, commercial banking, laboratories, and shoe stores, among others. There is a very large public service employment, especially in the teaching sector.

### Agriculture

Yamasá is one of the main cocoa producing municipalities. In 1981, the German Technical Agency (GTC) provided help to producers in the area by improving the quality of cocoa, adding its commercialization and organization in production and sales. The Cocoa Block, created in 1981, is made up of 22 organizations with 408 producers that brought together around 63,000 cocoa tasks. Currently, the Cocoa Block groups most of the cocoa production of the producer associations, who manage and administer it. The production is exported to the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Between Yamasá and Peralvillo, 160,000 tasks are planted and in production, producing approximately 96,000 quintals per year and 5,280 metric tons per year; the cocoa generates around 7.2 to 8.4 million dollars.

**Cocoa:** Approximately 32,000 people depend on cocoa and about 4,500 are producers or cocoa farmers and it generates approximately 7,500 direct jobs. The municipality's cocoa is one of the main sources of foreign exchange in the country; it also protects the environment by favoring flora and fauna.

**Coffee:** this crop is grown in the lowlands and is one of the economic sources, although in a lower proportion than cocoa for the municipality.

There are other items such as cassava, corn, rice, yautías, squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, bananas, etc. that are produced in areas of ravines and that are distributed between the local maintenance and the Santo Domingo market. In the community of Hato Viejo, citrus fruits in great abundance from the national market, among other crops, are oranges, mandarins, lemons and grapefruits.

**Pepper production:** In Hato Viejo the production of peppers was introduced with many successes, there are many farmers dedicated to this field with a secure market.

**Livestock:** The area of ​​Hato Viejo, Los Botados and the eastern part of the municipality is dedicated to cattle and pig farming, to a lesser extent, goats and poultry, which generates employment for Yamasá of labor and foreign exchange to the country.

## Culture and Heritage

Yamasá, is a municipality rich in cultural values, due to the different mixtures of foreigners and other demarcations of the same country who arrived and stayed to live. These people brought their own spiritual footprints, which manifested and took root as a culture.

With the creation of the Río Haina Sugar Mill, the cultivation of sugar cane was expanded in the eastern part of the municipality and Haitian foreigners are brought to work in the cane fields, who stayed in the different bateys of the territorial region making family and cultural life. It is in such a vein that the gagá is introduced as a cultural manifestation.

Since its foundation, Yamasá has been a latent expression of cultural abundances that are transmitted from generation to generation. Within the cultural and religious expressions there is the veneration of the Virgen de la Mercedes, a religious manifestation that begins with the arrival of María Matilde Estévez, who year later brings an image of the Virgen de las Mercedes, from the Luisa de Monte Plata community, which supported the foundation of the Hermitage (Catholic worship center).

The **vigils** were accompanied by dances, salves, tambourines, sticks, güiras, maracas. These last 9 days and 10 with the candles. there are branches for the atabales (sticks) where the dance called "stick up and stick down", "calumga and gera stick" is manifested; although in some vigils they are not done due to the form of the dance.

The **balsié** is believed to come from Hato Viejo and are made in a brotherhood. The pri-pri native of Villa Mella was adopted by the Hato Viejo community made up of people from Villa Mella and La Victoria.

The **Vaporú,** accompanied by tambourines in the form of songs (salves) is a Taíno expression that was performed year after year in its religious rite.

The **Baquiní.** Afro-Antillean expression that consisted of doing a rite to the deceased infant, which placed a crown on his head as a symbol of a little angel and they sang all night around a little angel and sang all night around the corpse with groups of children, accompanied by tambourines and flowers around.

### Festivities

In 1978, the patron saint festivities were introduced as religious and cultural elements dedicated to the Virgen de las Mercedes, patron saint of Yamasá, at that time they were celebrated from September 15 to 24 of each year.

The patron saint festivities with the arrival of Father Jesus change from Las Mercedes to San José, as Saint Joseph is the patron saint of Yamasá and that they allowed the coincidence in Lent.

Feast to Saint Anthony of Padua

This cultural and religious festival had Juan Antonio Guillén as its founder. He created a hermitage for such purposes and in June of each year it is held in honor and manifested year after year as traditions by his parents. Thousands of personalities from cultural, economic, social and religious life come together to participate and witness this celebration.

### Dates

Altagracia Day . January 21.

Mercedes day celebration . September 24.

Celebration of Patron Saint's Day, from March 10 to 19 of each year

Celebration of management holidays.

Celebration of Saint Anthony of Padua day, every June 13.

Thursday Corpus Christi. Month of June.

In these festivals, Taino pieces are exhibited, which is one of the cultural elements that have remained as a legacy of the aborigines, being the Guillén Brothers who have revived this art through their pottery industry.

### Recreation

In the municipality of Yamasá there are many places for domestic tourism, both mountain and river. Most are places open to the public where there are no restrictions on their use, since they do not belong to the private sector. In some places there are amusement landscapes that belong to the private sector and have been prepared for the enjoyment of people who wish to visit it; such as Spa Riveras del Guanuma, which is approximately 10 kilometers (*6 miles*) from the town.

### Recreational places open to the public

Balneario del Guanuma km 35

Guanuma River (direction: Sabana Grande Hato Viejo)

Villa Olímpica Multipurpose Sports Center

The Ozama River (at: Los Arroyos de Peralvillo)

Mountain excursions 7 peaks

El Salto (direction el jagüey San Antonio highway).

Rivera del Guanuma km.35

Río Verde Spa

## Sport

Sport is one of the elements that arouses the most interest in our town, especially baseball, basketball and volleyball.

In the last century in the last 4 decades the most practiced sport was baseball, almost all communities were organized on Thursdays and competitions were held between nearby communities and sports groups from other towns.

### Baseball

Between the decades of the 80s and 90s, groups of young people showed highly skills in this discipline, the following young people stood out as ball and bat players: Gilberto Junior de León, Geraldo Álvarez, Tomás Álvarez (the guide), Esmil Caba, Gregorio de la Cruz (Dilone), Adriano de León (Chiquito), Roberto de los Santos, Nelson de León, El Chino de Villavizar, Eneterio de León, Ramón Ramírez (Pochon), Ramón Martes (Moncho), Apolinar Hernández, Carlos Manuel Hernández, Alfredo Rafael Díaz (Pingo), Alfredo Payán, Jhovany Contreras (Mundito), Jhovany Bautista, Edward Bautista (kililage) with two very promising children in the same field, Jesús de la Cruz, whose son Víctor Manuel with many probabilities of success, Martín Publio Gautreaux (Manager of the Sister Ana Nolan League) and others.

From this group of young local league players, the athletes Henry David de la Cruz Tineo were signed by international leagues for the Atlanta Braves who later was retired, Junior Félix for the Toronto Blue Jays, from Monte Cristi, but trained in Yamasá.

Today we have Fausto Carmona as a star pitcher playing with the Cleveland Indians, with the Caribbean Eagles we have Dionis César playing second base on the team.

Moving to the decades of the 60s, we have outstanding baseball players such as: Bartola Caba, Luis Conrado, Sergio Contreras, Papucho del Rosario, Federico Manzueta, Manuel Manzueta and Francisco de León.

In the 70s and 80s we have: Arturo de León, Hnos. Carmona, Arcibiades Cabrera, Ambrosio Agramonte, Simón Manzueta, Apolinar Beltrán, Bernardo Fajardo, Manuel Helena de León, Rafael de la Cruz, Francisco de León, Miguel Muñoz, Ramón de la Cruz, Antonio Abreu, Genaro Laurencio, Socrates Reyes, Hnos. Albarito, Bienvenido Reynoso and Diógenes Reyes.

### Volleyball

This began in our municipality with the arrival of the sisters Sor Susana Daly in 1954 of Canadian origin; It was practiced in the courtyard of an arbor that worked where the Sor Susana Daly Polytechnic is located.

At the sports level over the years, Yamasá has played a leading role both at the school level and at the extra-school level.

Every year school tournaments are organized in which young students from different schools participate in a massive way.

In the summers every year the most ardent basketball tournament in the region is held, where the best players in the area come together.

Yamasá has sports facilities of the highest level, this thanks to the buildings built for the past National Games where we hosted several sports.

## Community Development Board

Yamasá has been a municipality of religious traditions. Priests and nuns have helped communities organize for the benefit of their personal and social development.

In the last century, the majority of the communities were grouped in the Federation of Peasant Agricultural Leagues (FEDELAC) due to their assignments and places with agricultural characteristics. FEDELAC is an organization with a legal nature and that supports peasants in their community development and grace.

Yamasá currently has several organizations or community boards (NGOs), these are:

PADEYA : Yamasá Education Board that acts in favor of the development of education in the Yamasá municipality. This works as a patronage and arose from the celebration of 40 years of work in the service of education of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, religious groups of nuns who gave themselves in. In the area of ​​health, sports and education.

CEZOPAS : (Centro Zonal Pastoral Social) is an organization that works with the Catholic Church, which contributes to helping different organized groups in the communities.

In Yamasá, the action line has been quite successful in the educational area with the construction of several concrete educational centers and in isolated communities with difficult access.

## References

Yamasá [1]

Yamasá [2]