Laguna Salada

**Laguna Salada** is a town in the Valverde Province of the northwestern Dominican Republic.

## Laguna Salada

### Region

 Valverde Province
Cibao NW

### Distance to:

Mao: 15 km (*9 mi.*)
Santo Domingo:
209 km (*130 mi.*)

## History

Laguna Salada , like the other peoples of the Northwest Line, has had historical participation in the various struggles undertaken to restore national sovereignty.

The municipality was the scene of the restorative war, when the Spanish brigadier Manuel Buceta , was momentarily intercepted by generals Benito Monción and Pedro Pimentel , after brief combat in which Monción was injured.

Buceta managed to surpass the site and continue its march, but on August 22, 1863, in the place of La Barranquita, Generals Gaspar Polanco and Pedro Pimentel interposed themselves again at the passage of the Spanish colony, freeing many of their compatriots.

The Barranquita, which is located in the district of Cruce de Guayacanes , served as a stage in the fight against the North Americans, when on July 3, 1916, a total of 80 men from the neighboring communities of Mao, Hato Nuevo, Pretiles, Guayacanes, Maizal and Laguna Salada, under the orders of General Carlos Daniel, go to Cerro de la Barranquita to face the invading American Marines in an unequal combat with weapons and men.

The powerful artillery of these was not initially able to bend them and there is a monument on the Cerro de la Barranquita that recalls this feat and that today looks abandoned.

Another historical place, scene of internal struggles, is the so-called Sabana de los Chávez, where Bolos y Coludos face.

General Máximo Gómez lived there in the house of Jesús Domínguez, who gave him land to grow tobacco, but the goal of his presence there was not such a crop, but to meet with Dominican patriots with a view to liberating Cuba.

In that same house and under a lush tamarind tree, he met with the Cuban patriots José Martí and Antonio Maceo, and from there they moved to Monte Cristi to write the Manifesto of Cuba.

Laguna Salada belonged to the municipality of Guayubín in the province of Monte Cristi , until through the application of Law No. 4882, of March 27, 1958, the place was elevated to the municipal district, as part of the municipality of Esperanza , in the province Valverde

On August 12, 1978 the district is elevated to municipality.

## Economy

The fundamental economy of the municipality is that of agriculture, its lands being suitable for the cultivation of various foods, among which are: rice, banana, cassava, chili, onion, sorghum and grass for cattle.

For many years the municipality has been a large rice producing area in the Northwest Line, but with the rise of Organic Banana export companies, the municipality has gone from being a rice-only producer to also being a producer of export bananas international, having prestigious companies that are engaged in this activity by grouping organic banana producers in their companies.

The land for agriculture is unevenly distributed among some landowners, medium producers and hundreds of landowners benefiting from small lots of land with 20 to 50 tasks distributed by the Dominican Agrarian Institute (IAD).

Other economic lines under development are livestock, industry and commerce, the three timidly born, but with good prospects.

## Religion

There is currently the parish of San Antonio de Padua, founded in 1917 and a Curial House, together with the Church of San Roque in the municipal districts of Jaibón and Cruce de Guayacanes .

In addition to the Catholic Church, the following are established: the Adventist Church of the 7th. Day, the Free Methodist Evangelical, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mita in Aaron.

## Sports

Baseball and softball are among the most popular games in the municipality of Laguna Salada, which has several teams and grounds for sports competitions. Basketball is also very popular, and a tournament is held every year, from November to December, with the participation of five teams from different parts of the municipality: Los Sagas, Club Intocables, Los Nexios, Los Pumas and El Centro.