Guananico

Guananico is a town in the Dominican Republic in the province of Puerto Plata.  It is the youngest, smallest and least populated of the eight municipalities within the province of Puerto Plata. It has a surface of 58.02 km² and a population of 7.361 inhabitants of whom 2.575 live in urban areas and 4.786 live in rural areas.

The city was founded between the years 1865-1870, very close to the annexation to Spain made by Pedro Santana in 1861.

The name of Guananico is of indigenous origin. According to reports collected from different sources and bibliographic data associated with Guacanagarix, chieftain were on the Spanish Island in the fifteenth century.

Its economic base is agriculture, coffee and cocoa cultivation, sowing corn and beans.  It has many fruit trees such as avocados, mangoes, oranges and sweet and sour tamarind.
There are about 53,000 jobs suitable for farming, the main products being: cocoa; coffee; banana; cassava; banana and some citrus fruits. With respect to livestock there are around 15,000 units of cattle and pigs and a large proportion of people engaged in trade in oranges and micro enterprise concho motorcycle services as well as public transport and tourism.

The economically active population of the municipality consists of more than 2,650 people and the unemployment rate equals 28.3% of the population.  In agriculture work great coffee and cocoa plantations have a significant economic boost to local trade.  Recently there have been more jobs for much of the local people which has been of benefit economically.   The population of the municipality has a supported economy because some traditional products are declining.

The favorite sports in the urban area are basketball, softball and baseball. In rural areas most frequently practiced is Baseball and Softball.  They are important in the district of the patron saint’s festival and carnival.  The patron saint of Guananico is “Our Lady of Altagracia.”  Each community celebrate their own festival and it is customary to celebrate the reigns, popular games, festivals, sporting competitions, religion and cultural exchanges.

In 1901, on instructions from the Inspector General Ramon Aristy, they created Guananico’s first public school, but there are no statistics that affirm this fact.  Then in 1936 they gave a public teaching with Professor Laureana Espinal, considered the first teacher who taught at Guananico, but in 1932 there followed a teacher Mrs. Julia Hiraldo. In the years 1950-1960 other teachers were Enrique Disla, Gloria Disler, Julia Arias and Isabel Urena.