January 22, 2023
Yesterday was both a religious and a secular holiday in the Dominican Republic. La Virgen de la Altagracia is the patron saint of this country and January 21 is her feast day. Her name is usually associated with the basilica in Higüey, a city around 100 miles East of the Capital, Santo Domingo. According to a press report, President Luis Abinader attended a Catholic Mass there yesterday. Occasionally you may see a car driving around Inwood sporting a window decal of something resembling the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO. But it’s most likely an image of the catedral in Higüey, Dominican Republic.
La Virgen de la Altagracia calendars for sale yesterday in Santo Domingo.
That being said, it’s a national holiday, so naturally it’s observed throughout the entire country. For example, yesterday afternoon about a dozen soldiers and police officers suddenly appeared at an intersection near Parque Duarte in the old part of the Capital (la Zona Colonial). Cars were detoured as a quartet of bemused looking teenagers in the parque looked on. The sound of drums beating in the distance grew louder, suggesting an approaching parade.
Moments later a marching band in crisp, white military uniforms appeared. They were followed by about a hundred devotees in a procession honoring their patron saint. More sailors and some priests joined in as they continued on past the original site of Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino, the first university in the Americas (1538).
