Mao (city)

Santa Cruz de Mao Mao
Street in Mao
Santa Cruz de Mao Mao in the Dominican Republic
Coordinates: 19°34′0″N 71°05′0″W / 19.566667°N 71.083333°W / 19.566667; -71.083333Coordinates: 19°34′0″N 71°05′0″W / 19.566667°N 71.083333°W / 19.566667; -71.083333
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	Valverde
Founded	1875
Municipality since	1882
Area[1]
- Total	409.66 km2 (158.2 sq mi)
Elevation[2]	78 m (256 ft)
Population (2002)[3]
- Total	49,475
- Density	120.8/km2 (312.8/sq mi)
- Urban	47,828
- Demonym	Maeño(a)
Distance to  – Santo Domingo	210 km
Municipal Districts	3

The Dominican city of Santa Cruz de Mao, or simply Mao, is the head municipality of the Valverde province, in the northwest of the country.

It is the largest city of the Dominican northwest and the centre of the region. Its name, a Taíno word, comes from the River Mao, near the city. Its nickname is Ciudad de los Bellos Atardeceres (English, "City of the Beautiful Sunsets") because there are not mountains to the west of the city and it is common to see a "red" sky during the sunset; it is a very dry region and there are much dust in the air which gives the red color to the sky.

Population

The municipality had, in 2002, a total population of 49,475: 24,404 men and 25,071 women. The urban population was 96.67% of the total population, one of the most urban municipality in the country.^[3]

History

For most of its history, the region was called "El Despoblado"; that means a region without any population, because it is a very dry region and agriculture was not possible.

When the governor of the Spanish colony gave the order in 1606 that everybody living on the northern coast had to move inland, some people came to live around the present Mao. They had cows that were raised in hatos; "hato" means a large farm for raising cattle (a ranch). And so "hato" is the name of many places around Mao: Hatico, Hato del Yaque, Hato Nuevo, Hato Viejo, Hato del Medio.^[4].

The town of Mao was built close to where the River Mao flows into the River Yaque del Norte. The first Catholic church was built in 1869.

Mao was made a Puesto Cantonal (an old category similar to the present Municipal District under a military government). In 1882, Mao was elevated to the category of municipality and in 1904 its official name was changed to "Valverde" after José Desiderio Valverde, former President of the Dominican Republic.^[4] Because the name Mao was known by everybody and Valverde was a new name, people called the city as "Valverde (Mao)", and it is still common to say so.

When the province was created in 1959, Mao was made its head municipality and provincial capital.^[4]

Economy

The main economic activity of the province is agriculture; the main products in the municipality are rice, bananas and plantain.

References

1. ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
2. ^ De la Fuente, Santiago (1976) (in Spanish). Geografía Dominicana. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Censo 2002 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
4. ^ ^{a b c} Brea Tió, Héctor (1997) (in Spanish). Mao y su gente. Santo Domingo: Librería La Trinitaria.