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Azua de Compostela Local time and temperature!

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Azua de Compostela, the full name of the city, is the capital of the province Azua. The surface of the province is 2.531,77 km². The city has about 87,024 inhabitants (56,453 urban and 30,571 rural). The province counts 208,857 persons: 108,145 men and 100,712 women (2002), population density: 82 inhabitants to the km², percentage of the urban population: 54.6% Azua is a province of the Dominican Republic in the south of the country. In the north she is bordered by the provinces San Juan and La Vega, in the south by the Caribbean sea, in the east by the provinces La Vega, San José de Ocoa and Peravia, and in the west by the provinces San Juan, Bahoruco and Barahona. She is divided in 10 sectors. The province is formed by a littoral low-lying plain, which end in a horseshoe-shaped bay, the bay of Ocoa, surrounded by mountain reliefs belonging to the Central mountain range, where you can find the mountains El Muñeco, 1711 m., Monte Culo de Maco, 2189 m., Loma Alto de Santa Rosa, 1734 m., Loma Atanasio, 1591 m., Firme de Pajón Blanco, 2240 m., Loma Sabana Abajo, 1509 m., and Loma Piquito, 1770 m. high. The mountain range Martín García is the natural border between Azua and Barahona, and begins at La Punta Martín García. Here you can find the mountains El Busú, 980 m., Loma del Curro, 1343 m. and Loma Fría, 1285 m. high. There are two national parks, José del Carmen Ramírez and Sierra Martín García. Another protected area is Valle Nuevo. The province, with forest in the north and thanks to irrigation agriculture in the south, has a port to the Caribbean sea. Her economy is based on the coffee plantation, sugar-cane and tabacco, and other cultivations of grain, nurseries, rice, maize, bananas, carrots and vegetables. Fishing is an important business too. Azua de Compostela is a little urban and commercial centre. The climate is hot and dry (26°C and 630 mm). It's a communication-centre. It's located 97 km southeast of the Dominican capital. It's bordered by the hill Resolí in the north, the Cañada de la Vaca in the south, the Lot 664-B in the east and the river Las Yayitas in the west. Production: 27,3% of the total surface of the municipality Azua is exploited agriculturally. The majority of the farmers has (too) small farmland. They use primitive tools like the handplough, oxes, the aks and the machete. This group of the population lives in an economy of surviving. Although the bigger part of the municipal ground is divided in medium size land. Here they use a combination of hand, but mostly mechanised tools. The large lots of more than 800 tareas (one tarea = 620,83 m²), are owned by a few big producers. The municipality of Azua is one of the most fortunate because of the installation of agraric industrial factories, protected by the Law 409, which stimulated the development of the public and private financial sector. Azua has a population of 23.242 people that can be economically active. The working class however consists of 16.167 people (that's 69%). Within this working class there are 3.232 civil servants (20%). The city was founded in 1504 by the Spaniards. The 19th of march 1844 is a historical date in Azua, that's why they give this name to buildings and parks. At that day the independence, under the national guidance of Duarte, reached Azua too, thanks to a victory in some battles with artillery and two cannons. When you want to know a little bit more about the history of Azua, click here. Click here for more maps of Azua and the environment.

The municipal gouvernement. (2008)

The city hall. (2008)

The post office. (1997)

The parish "Nuestra Señora de los Remedios" at the Park Duarte. (1997) In 1511 the first bishop of Santo Domingo, Friar García de Padilla, took the initiative for the construction of the first church in Azua (nowadays Pueblo Viejo). She was inaugurated in 1514. Nobody knows how long she existed nor why she disappeared. It's unknown when the second church was built, but they know she was plundered by pirates, and what they didn't destroy was ruined by an earthquake. In 1666 the third church was built. They wanted to build a church of stone, but the poverty of the region, caused by assults and robbery, was the reason to build a wooden one. Eleven years later, in 1677, she burned with the whole village. Three years later another wooden church appeared, but the earthquake of 1751 destroyed her. This was the latest church in the old Azua. Pueblo Viejo carries her memory. On the new location of the city, the present Azua, another one appeared built of precious wood, so it could stand the ravages of time. But, unfortunately, the soldiers of Haiti burned it with the whole village in 1844. The following facts of the present church (picture) are known, at least when the register according to the inscription on the marble of the holy altar is trustworthy. The text says: "The construction of this church began in 1882 and ended in 1889. In this time the priest and vicar from elsewhere was Sir Canon and honorable Presbyter Don Pedro Ramón Suazo. The church is consecrated by the Illuminated Archbishop from the Mother Country Don Fernando A. de Meriño."

Club 19 de Marzo (march). (1997) The club is founded 19 october 1919 by distinctive men from Azua. She ows her name to the important battle of the independence of the 19th of march in 1844. In this club two elegant dances are realized referring to two historical days: the 19th of march (the battle) and the 8th of september, day of the patroness of the city Nuestra Señora de los Remedios ("Our patroness who cure the patients"). This day they organize religious activities and many games to honor the patroness, like "the blind chicken", a blind folded person has to capture another, who on his turn will be the blind chicken; "the caravan of the donkeys", men in special clothes riding donkeys, who make the people laugh, like a carnival procession, but nowadays you don't see it quite often because of a lack of donkeys; "the greasy pole", you have to climb it but of course it's very difficult; "el baile de la cinta", the dance of the hips; "the masked devils", masked kids and young people try to punch everyone in the street, running away is the only solution! In this club they organize party's too, like feasts of commemoration, beauty contests, graduation party's, etc.

Hotel Lidia. Closed since 2006. in my opinion it was the "best" hotel in Azua, but very hot, bad water supply, and when you had a room with airconditioning, it made a lot of noise so you could hardly sleep. But you had to take it because in the other rooms you couldn't sleep because of it's noise and you didn't have the coolness!

The market en Azua, you can buy everything here, vegetables, fruit, meat, clothes, shoes, household ware, etc.

The monument in the Park 19 de Marzo and some pictures more.

The Park Duarte.

The fire-brigade.

On this page you can see a little videoclip about Azua. (2001)

La muda (the dumb), she is one of the most popular persones in Azua. (2006)

The barrack "19 de Marzo". Everything for the fatherland (Todo por la Patria). (2005)

The new police car. (2005)

Marathon in Azua. (images of Robert Almonte 2005)

Carnival in Azua. (images of Robert Almonte 2005)

In 2006 they put refuse containers in the entire centre. (2006)

This refuse collector just emptied the container. (2006)

This car cleans the container, full automatic! (2006)

Azua

Azua

Azua 2

The Fifth Centenary

Human Rights

History

Hotel Lidia

The market

Park the 19th of March

Park Duarte

The fire-brigade

The radio

The stadium

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