Santa Cruz de Mao

**Santa Cruz de Mao**, or simply **Mao**, is a city the northwest Dominican Republic, capital of the Valverde Province.

## Santa Cruz de Mao

### Region

 Valverde
Cibao NW

### Distance to:

Santiago: 51 km (*32 mi.*)
Santo Domingo:
209 km (*130 mi.*)

## Etymology

The word Mao is of Taino origin and means Land between rivers , since the municipality is between the river of the same name to the southwest, the Yaque del Norte to the north and the Gurabo river to the west

## History

The municipality was initially inhabited by farmers who came from Monte Cristi and other nearby places, who arrived on the one hand, attracted by the feracity of the lands contained in immense plains surrounded by a mighty river that bathed their lands and on the other by virtue of a order of the Crown of Spain (Devastations of Osorio), in which they were destroyed among others, the Villas of Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata in the year 1606. Inhabitants of those destroyed Villas founded herds and haciendas inside the island, fleeing from the rigor of the law and moving away from the destroyed villages. Among those herds was that of Maho, which was established on the banks of the river of his name, in the region where later a village was to be born that was to be the seat of the town of Mao.

• In **1844**, in the war of Independence, the inhabitants of the municipality constituted a battalion with the name of "Between the Rivers", that gave evidence, in the different battles that were fought, of its bravery and love to the country.

• In **1863**, during the Restoration War, the Maeños also provided important services.

• The city of Mao was officially erected to the municipality on **July 10** of the year **1882** by decree number 2038 by the then president Fernando Arturo Meriño, the first city hall being installed the same year.

• In **1904**, a decree of President Carlos Morales Languasco, changed the name of Mao to Valverde, to perpetuate the memory of Prince General José Desiderio Valverde, one of the main champions of DR's Independence.

## Geography

Santa Cruz de Mao is located at 19.5564° N, -71.07798° E. According to the ONE, the municipality has a total land area of 423.60 square kilometers (163.55 square miles). It is bordered by the towns of Laguna Salada, Esparanza, and Bisono on the north, La Canela and San Jose de las Matas of the Santiago Province on the east and southeast, Monción and Sabaneta of the Santiago Rodriguez Province on the southwest and west, and the the town of Guayubín, Monte Cristi Province on the west.

## Economy

The municipality witnessed the first crops of rice on Dominican soil thanks to the Belgian Bogaert and his son Alberto, who sowed 10 land tasks in 1919, starting an activity that today is very important for the development of the Valverde province and fundamental for the development of the municipality of Mao.

### Agriculture

Valverde Province has an economy based primarily on agriculture, with more than 300,000 cultivable acres, as its territory is nestled in the West Cibao Valley. The main crop in the province is rice and banana, which is exported through the port of Manzanillo. In addition to the aforementioned items, onions, plantains, beans and corn are grown in Valverde province.

## Civic heritage

The municipality evolved from its origin to its current form as follows: as the inhabitants of Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata, after the devastation of Governor Osorio, they could not approach these villages, nor did they want to leave their belongings to move to this, they chose to live hiding from the Spaniards and for that they took the internal areas of the island, where there were better natural conditions their agriculture and their cattle.

As vestiges of the hatero origin of this town, here there are still places that bear the name of hato: a) Hatico b) Hato del Yaque c) Hato Nuevo d) Hato Viejo e) Hato del Medio. In **1869**, the first church, built in **Madera**, was inaugurated in the then **Santa Cruz** Section in Mao.

The first recreational park, Amado Franco Bidó , was inaugurated in **1908** under the name of **Dolores**. The arrival in the Municipality of Eng. Luis L. Bogaert and his family marked a decisive point in the development of his agriculture and livestock.

He built the first irrigation canal in the entire area, which quickly increased agricultural products and livestock, as water was taken to previously unproductive land due to lack of this liquid. This was inaugurated in **1918** during the influenza (epidemic).

On **September 24, 1933**, the first suspension bridge over the Rio Yaque del Norte was inaugurated, in the Guayacanes Pass. This was the first suspension bridge that was built in the country, and the tallest in the West Indies.

In this municipality are the regional offices of Public Health, Education, Public Works, Community Development, Agriculture and Dominican Agrarian Institute, among others; also, there are those of the Bishopric or Diocese, the Institute for the Development of the Northwest (INDENOR), Project for the Development of the Northwest (PROLINO), Northwest Regional University Center of the UASD, National Savings and Loan Association, etc. The National Army also has its main seat in the municipality, represented in the 4th Infantry Brigade, which in turn is constituted by the 9th. Battalion "Macheteros Gral. Santiago Rodríguez" based in the "Fortaleza Gral. Benito Monción", and the 10th. Battalion of Dajabón "Gral. Fernando A. Sánchez" with seat in the Fortress of the border city.