Dominican people are about to celebrate something very special. In just a couple of days, it will be one of their most remarkable public holidays: Juan Pablo Duarte Day. Or, as it is commonly known, “Día de Duarte.”

If you want to discover more about this national hero and how people commemorate his birthday in the Dominican Republic, keep reading in English or click here to switch to Spanish.

A beloved figure

Juan Pablo Duarte was one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic. He was born in Santo Domingo on January 26^th, 1813. Together with Matías Ramón Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, he supervised and financially supported the Dominican War of Independence.

Duarte was the son of a Spanish trader and a Dominican mother. From childhood, his intellectual skills and religious devotion stood out as significant attributes of his personality. In the struggle for independence, Duarte created several underground organizations that fought against the Haitian occupation.

La Dramática, La Filantrópica, and La Trinitaria were three such associations that carried out an important program to spread propaganda through theater. From both the cultural and military perspectives, Juan Pablo Duarte played a key role in the Dominican Republic’s fight for freedom.

How the holiday is celebrated

Two hundred years later, we continue to celebrate Duarte’s birth. Nowadays, January 26^th is a public holiday in the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans and tourists visit the monuments of the liberator and ask him for prosperity for the country and its people.

In the capital, many schools organize children's parades and students walk through the city until they reach Duarte’s Park. At the cathedral, several religious events are held to remember Duarte.

Floral offerings and public speeches are also part of this very special day for Dominicans. Their objective is to pay tribute not only to Juan Pablo Duarte, but also to the independence and sovereignty of the country, as well as to the Dominican culture overall.

Now that you know all about Juan Pablo Duarte Day, get ready! The celebration begins in just two days. Why not come to the Dominican Republic to learn more?

December is a period of the year full of celebrations and family events. In many countries around the world, festivities begin on the week around December 25^th. However, Latinos start with some ceremonies way earlier than that.

Most holiday traditions in Latin America have to do with great food and the company of loved ones. Yet, some countries have special habits that make this time of the year a wonderful moment to pay a visit.

In this post, we show you some of their holiday customs. Click here if you want to read it in Spanish.

Candles Day

December 7^th marks the beginning of the holiday season in Colombia. Families, friends, and neighbors light up many ornamental candles on the street.

They do it to honor the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated the day after.

Posadas or Lodgings

Children in Mexico and Guatemala, among other countries, dress up as Mary and Joseph. They then participate in small parades that go door to door around the neighborhood to find shelter.

Inside, hosts offer them hot beverages, cookies, and some traditional foods such as steamed tamales. To close this ceremony, they hit a big star-shaped piñata.

New Year’s Eve

In many countries around Latin America, people still preserve a very special tradition to bring the year to an end. On New Year’s Eve, they make life-size puppets with cardboard and fabric pieces.

At midnight on December 31^st, they burn the puppets to get rid of all negative things and make a good start to the new year.

Frequently, these figures represent popular characters from the political arena. Every year, this tradition becomes a satirical showcase of today’s society.

Christmas with Warini

Warini is the character who brings Christmas to Honduras. Covered with a mask, he dances at home on Christmas Eve accompanied by a band with drums.

These are just some of the most popular Latin American traditions for the holiday season. You may have spotted some differences with the Spanish holiday habits.

If you want to discover more about Latin customs, take advantage of your Winter Break and sign up to one of our Spanish programs. We are waiting for you!

10 (at least) Christmas Traditions in the Spanish Speaking World

A number of festive celebrations, some religious and some secular, take place throughout the month of December around the Spanish speaking world, where the holiday season often extends well beyond the 24^th and the 25^th.

Countries located in the southern hemisphere that have strong Christmas traditions greet the season in the middle of their summer time, where culinary and decorative holiday traditions are adapted to warmer temperatures, as they are in tropical neighboring countries near or on the equator.

In many Latin American countries it’s common for the Christmas period to extend from the middle of December until well into the new year and beyond King’s Day (January 6^th). On December 7th in Guatemala, they burn an effigy of the Devil, and on that same day in Colombia it’s el día de las velitas (Day of the Little Candles) when candles are placed everywhere to honor the Virgin Mary. In Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela, starting from December 16^th, the nine-day Posadas celebration begins. In many of these places, the Christmas season doesn’t draw to a close until the day of Candelaria on February 2^nd.    

The Dominican Republic is not just the country with sun, sea and beautiful beaches, subtropical temperatures and merengue and bachata music. The Dominican Republic has more to offer. Besides the beautiful and highly varied landscape, the country also has several impressive festivals that are celebrated every year.

Hispaniola

The Dominican Republic, along with Haiti, is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. The Dominican Republic is located in the center and east of the island and covers about two-thirds of the island. The capital is Santo Domingo and in addition to the island of Hispaniola, the country includes three other reasonably sized islands. The best travel advice for the Dominican Republic is from December to April. The months of June through November are hurricane season with the highest chance of hurricanes in the month of September.

Besides enjoying the sun, sea and beautiful beaches on the island, the country has much more to offer. Dominican Republic excursions are very diverse. The island has many mountain ranges including the Cordillera Central with the highest mountain in the Caribbean (3175m). Furthermore, the island has several waterfalls and national parks. There are also many lakes including Lago Enriquillo, the largest lake on the island and also the largest lake in the Caribbean.

Carnival in February and in August

The Dominican Republic is also known for its carnival. This feast is celebrated twice a year nahetmically in February and in August. However, carnival in August is celebrated somewhat less exuberantly than in February. In 1510, the first carnival was celebrated in the Dominican Republic, in La Vega, hence the name Carnaval Vegano. The celebration was organized by Christian who wanted to get the "wild" out of their slaves. Wanting to enjoy the feast themselves, they added their own influences to the carnival. The Haitian occupation caused costumes to disappear from the streets in the period between 1822 and 1844.

On Feb. 27, 1844, the Domincian Republic became independent. Since then, Carnival has been known for its colorfulness and the masks people wear. The masks are made by "carreteros" and are made of feathers, burlap and mostly paper maché. During the month of February, a parade takes place every Sunday in a different town each time. The big national parade takes place on the last Sunday of February in Santo Domingo, in honor of the country's independence. During these parades, all the "comparsas" (carnival associations) are dressed in costumes typical of their region. Every year more than 100,000 people from home, and abroad, descend on Santo Domingo's national parade. Since the Dominican carnival has expanded throughout the island, this celebration is called the "Carnaval Dominicano".