Cristóbal, Independencia

Cristóbal
Cristóbal
Coordinates: 18°26′0″N 71°23′48″W / 18.433333°N 71.39667°W / 18.433333; -71.39667Coordinates: 18°26′0″N 71°23′48″W / 18.433333°N 71.39667°W / 18.433333; -71.39667
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	Independencia
Population (2008)
– Total	12,458

Cristóbal is a town in the Independencia province of the Dominican Republic. The town was settled in 1845 by Cristóbal DelaCruz after he decided to leave his wife and children and run away with their housekeeper, a young Canadian woman named Elizabeth Hughes. Soon after, adulterers from all over the Dominican Republic began to flock to this area. In 1847, DelaCruz proclaimed himself town chief and originally named the settlement Aldea de Moralejas Flojas (translation: Village of Loose Morals), but the town folks revolted, running DelaCruz and his girlfriend out of town. After further reflection however, they felt bad about the whole situation (especially since they burned his house to the ground as he fled for his life), which is when they decided to name the town after him in 1849.

Today, Cristóbal is no longer only a village for adulterers, but each year on DelaCruz's birthday (June 9), the town still holds a wife-swapping event in the town square, where residents gather and switch partners for a few hours between lunch and dinner. Right before dinner, everyone gathers back together and claims their significant others before roasting lambs, pigs and llamas and feasting and drinking well into the night.

Sources

• World Gazeteer: Dominican Republic – World-Gazetteer.com

Cristóbal is a municipal town situated between mountainous regions on the island of Dominican Republic, a territory of the United States of America.