San Ignacio de Sabaneta

**San Ignacio de Sabaneta**, also referred to as simply **Sabaneta**, is a city in the western  Dominican Republic, capital of the Santiago Rodriguez Province.

## San Ignacio de Sabaneta

### Region

 Santiago Rodriguez
Cibao NW

### Zip code

11808

121 km (*75 mi.*)
Sto. Domingo:
247 km (*153 mi.*)

## Etymology

Its name of Sabaneta comes from its location, since the town is located in a small savanna.

## History

The town was founded in 1844 by Santiago Rodríguez and the brothers Alejandro and José Bueno. The city was placed in the center of a small savannah, hence its name of Sabaneta.

In 1854 the town was elevated to the category of military post and in 1858 it rose to that of the municipality of the province of Santiago . In addition, San Ignacio de Sabaneta is the Cradle of the Restoration.

Sabaneta was the center of the fight against Spanish soldiers during the Restoration War (1863-1865).

When in 1879 Monte Cristi became a province, San Ignacio de Sabaneta became a municipality in that new province. When the new province of Santiago Rodríguez was created in 1948, San Ignacio de Sabaneta became the head municipality of the province.

## Geography

San Ignacio de Sabaneta is located at 19.4791° N, 71.3398° W. According to the ONE, the municipality has a total land area of 1,876.21 square kilometers (724.41 square miles). It is bordered by the towns of El Pino and Partido of the Dajabón Province on the northwest, the town of Guayubín of Monte Cristi Province on the north, Mao (Valverde Province) and Monción on the east, San José de las Matas (Santiago Province) on the southeast, the city of San Juan de la Maguana (San Juan Province) on the south, Pedro Santana (Elías Piña Province) on the southwest, and Villa de los Almácigos  on the west.

The soil of the province dates from geological eras such as Cretaceous, Miocene and Polynene. Its relief is rugged because it is located in the vicinity of the foothills of the Central and Northern mountain ranges; It has a Subtropical climate, with an average annual temperature of 26.5 degrees C, with variations according to altitude.

The Municipality of San Ignacio de Sabaneta is bathed by the rivers of Guayubín, Yaguaja, Mao, Cana, among others.

The most important geographical areas are: The Northern Strip of the Western part of the Central Mountain Range, where the birth of Hydrographic Basins is found, including the Mao River Basin on which the Monción Dam is built, is located in the geographical demarcation in the Municipality of Monción.

The Guayubin Basin, Inage, Yaguajay Basin, in which is the aqueduct that supplies the Municipality of Sabaneta.

## Economy

The main economic activities of the municipality are tobacco, leather and milk.

The municipality specializes in agriculture (tobacco, rice, bananas, corn, sweet potatoes and cassava), livestock raising for the dairy industry, and the production of casabe.

### Tourism

For those who dare to know this place, you will find some interesting attractions such as the spas of the Yaguajay, Guayubín and Mao rivers, and the Clavijo caves.

### Recreation

• Monción Dam
• Monument in Honor of Santiago Rodríguez
• Clavijo Cave
• Las Canquiñas Park
• Bust of Francisco Bueno Zapata in the Market
• The Northwest Tree that is located in the Patria Park
• Las Siete Aguas Spa
• Guayubin Beach in Arroyo Blanco
• El Salto del Río Yaguajay
• El Charco Los Chivos Yaguajay
• Cerro Pan de Azúcar
• La Tinaja Sabana Larga Spa

## Heritage

The patron saint festivities of San Ignacio de Sabaneta are celebrated on July 31 in honor of San Ignacio de Loyola.

The first settlers of the island devoted much of their time to work, but also dedicated a part of each day to cultural activities.

The cultural task of the province is Taino, European and African heritage. In the 150 years that the province has been founded many have been the cultural expressions that its people have developed. Among the most important are the Clubs. These had a moment of splendor in the 60's when youth played a role in the activities that these organizations developed, as they saw an opportunity to express their concerns and desires for freedom and to denounce the state of repression to They were subdued. Because each rural and urban community in the province founded one or more clubs motivated the formation of the General Club Association Santiago Rodríguez.

From 1978 the clubs disappeared, their main leaders occupied positions in state institutions and abandoned their role as leaders.

On October 28, 1982, the House of Culture was founded, an organization that resumed the activities carried out by the clubs including theater, poetry, tenths, folk dances, held reforestation days, radio program, educational bulletin, etc.

In the folklore line it is worth mentioning the celebration of the Sabanetero Carnival.

The fair is one of the oldest traditions, it consists of a commercial activity of exchange and sale of products, agricultural, handicrafts and livestock. This activity constitutes a meeting between the inhabitants of the rural and urban area.

For several decades, farmers have moved by horses, donkeys, vehicles, engines and feet, on Saturdays to Sabaneta and on Wednesdays to Los Almácigos. In both fairs a great variety of products are exhibited.

The municipality of Sabaneta celebrates the cult of the Virgin of Las Mercedes although paradoxically it is San Ignacio de Loyola in Patron of the Church, which has evolved through the ages.

In the municipality of Sabaneta there are three radio stations, two (2) FM (Jumbo 92.3 and Laser 88.7) and one AM (Zamba), a local television channel and a monthly magazine (North American Radar).

The municipality of Sabaneta has a Multiple Services Cooperative "Sabaneta Novillo, Inc, COOPSANO", which has branches in the provinces of Montecristi, Mao and Santiago. He is currently running a literacy program throughout the municipality.

There are branches of the Agricultural Bank, the North American Savings and Loan Association and the Reserve Bank, of the latter there is one in Los Almácigos.

It has associations and federations of Farmers and Farmers, Farmers Federation, Associations of Drivers: Santiago Rodríguez Dajabón, Santiago Rodríguez - Santiago.

Las Mercedes September 24
Sabaneta Uprising February 22
Natalicio Francisco Bueno Zapata December 13
San Ignacio de Loyola The Queen of Los Angeles August 2
The Los Almácigos Convention March 6.

## References

San Ignacio de Sabaneta [1], [2], [3]

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