The Dominican Republic, our land of eternal sunshine and fabulous beaches, was explored by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. In fact, Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher, founded our capital Santo Domingo, the oldest European settlement in the New World.

The area was dominated first by Spain and then by France until well into the 19th century. But the Dominican Republic eventually became a representative democracy with a bicameral congress, president and vice president.

Spanish is our official language but English, French, German, Haitian Creole and Italian are also spoken. Many of our words are taken from Taino, the language of the early Indians who lived here when Columbus arrived.

Baseball is our national past-time

Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic. Many of the finest players in the Major Leagues in the United States have come from our country, including Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols, Pedro Martínez, Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz, Jose Reyes, Manny Ramirez, and Luis Castillo. Alex Rodriguez was born in New York to parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic also has its own baseball league which runs from October to January, including six teams.

Dance to the warm and wonderful merengue

The Dominican Republic is best known across the world for its merengue music, lively joyful compositions with a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute. Its syncopated beats use Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass and piano or keyboard.

Sample our flavorful cuisine

Our food is delicious and not overpriced. We love fried foods like plantains and pastelitos, turnovers stuffed with beef, chicken or cheese.

The most popular main dish in the Dominican Republic is la bandera, “the flag,” including white rice, beans, meat, vegetables and green plantain fritters. Another basic, comida criolla, includes rice, beans and chicken. Soups are popular everywhere and constitute a unique feature of Dominican cooking. Typical is asopao, rice soup accompanied by chicken, fish or vegetables. The Dominican sancocho is derived from the Spanish cocido (stew), and each region of the country has its special version.  Don't leave without tasting a sancocho prieto, made of seven different local meats.

In our fine restaurants, you'll find dishes that draw on the best traditions of our country along with the flavors of the rest of the world. We also offer the best in seafood: shrimp, crab and rock lobster as well as mahi-mahi, tuna, and marlin.

Take home memories of our beautiful island

While visiting the art galleries, you can appreciate and discover artwork that reflects the Dominican Republic.  In both rural and urban areas, you will find native crafts for sale. We have many unique galleries, antique shops, and artist's colonies.