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The flag of the Dominican Republic adopted in 1844 and was designed by the country’s founding father, Juan Pablo Duarte. There is a white cross that divides the flag into four rectangles. Blue on the flag stands for liberty, red stands for the blood of past heros, and white stands for salvation. In the center of the flag there is a small coat of arms, which features a shield. The coat of arms consists of six spears, the Bible, a golden cross, a red ribbon below saying “Republica Dominicana”, and a blue ribbon above that says “Dios, Patria, Libertad”, which means God, Fatherland, Liberty. There is also a laurel branch on the left and a palm branch on the right.

Below is a picture of the Dominican Flag, the arms cross is in the center of it.

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Water supply, deforestation, and soil erosion are posing a great threat to the Dominican Republic. Every year nearly 20,000 hectares of land are being destroyed due to commercial building. Also, farmers are cutting down trees inorder to make the land arable(suitable for growing crops). Soil erosion is going into the Caribbean Sea and causing damage to the coral reefs. Destroying the coral reefs means harming the species that live there. Some of those species are the types of fish that people along the coast eat.

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Roman Catholic Christianity is the official religion of the Dominican Republic, which around 75-85% of the population follow. A few other religions that are popular are Protestant Christianity, Atheism, Islam, and Judaism.

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People in the Dominican dress very similar to Americans. Most wear summer clothes like shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, and light jackets. The hot climate limits their ability

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Brave men of Quisqueya,

Let us sing with strong feeling

And let us show to the world

Our invincible, glorious banner.

Hail, O people who, strong and intrepid,

Launched into war and went to death!

Under a warlike menace of death,

You broke your chains of slavery.

No country deserves to be free

If it is an indolent and servile slave,

If the call does not grow loud within it,

Tempered by a virile heroism.

But the brave and indomitable Quisqueya

Will always hold its head high,

For if it were a thousand times enslaved,

It would a thousand times regain freedom.

Link to hear the national anthem.

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Dominican National Anthem - "Quisqueyanos Valientes" (ES/EN)

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Most of the cultural based music in the Dominican is derived from African and European elements and traditions. Music consists of many different types of percussion and wind instruments. Some examples of these would be the drums, the tambal, the boom pipe, and the bamboo flute. In addition to instruments, there are also a variety of genres like reggae, calypso, jazz, soca, and jing ping.

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Dominican food contains a wide mix of cultures. A few include combinations of Spanish, Taíno, and African cuisine. These cultural dishes often contain some type of rice, beans, and meat. There are many popular drinks and dishes in the Dominican Republic. Some common foods are white rice, plantain mash, braised chicken, and green salads. There are also some popular beverages and desserts like pina coladas and dulce de leche.

Here is an image of a pina colada.

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The Dominican Republic, often referred to only as the Dominican, is a small country located amidst the area of the Caribbean. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Although close to many other nations, the Dominican Republic shares its one and only border on land with the small country of Haiti. The country’s primary language is that of Spanish, although many citizens have also learned English as the nation gets much of its income from tourism. The current president of the Dominican is Danilo Medina, and has been leading the nation for 6 years, serving one term and being re-elected in 2016.

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The Army of the Dominican Republic or Ejército de República Dominicana, is one of the three branches of the armed forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Navy and the Air Force. The army is twice as large as the other services, consisting of approximately 40,000 active duty personnel. It includes six infantry brigades, a combat support brigade, a combat service support brigade and the air cavalry squadron. The role of this army is to defend the Dominican Republic and serve its citizens as well as support other branches and civil authorities in time of emergencies.

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Type of Currency- The currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso, which was introduced in 1844. One US dollar is equivalent to around $50 in Dominican Pesos.

An Image of the Dominican Peso

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The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy with three arms of power; the executive, legislature, and judiciary. It is also a multi-party state with municipal elections held every two years, alternating with the presidential election. The elections in the Dominican Republic have generally been free and fair since 1996 according to the International Observers.

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