Dominican Republic Researched via: Kalesha Sykes April 11, 2011

Where is Dominican Republic located? The Dominican Republic a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation with 48,442 square kilometres and an estimated 10 million people.

Flag, Motto, Anthem: Quisqueyanos valientes, alcemosNuestro canto con viva emoción,Y del mundo a la faz ostentemosNuestro invicto glorioso pendón.Salve el pueblo que intrépido y fuerte,A la guerra a morir se lanzóCuando en bélico reto de muerteSus cadenas de esclavo rompió.Ningún pueblo ser libre mereceSi es esclavo indolente y servil;Si en su pecho la llama no creceQue templó el heroismo viril.Más Quisqueya la indómita y bravaSiempre altiva la frente alzará:Que si fuere mil veces esclavaOtras tantas ser libre sabrá.Que si dolo y ardid la expusieronde un intruso señor al desdén,¡Las Carreras! ¡Beller!... campos fueronque cubiertos de gloria se ven.Que en la cima de heroíco baluarte,de los libres el verbo encarnó,donde el genio de Sánchez y Duartea ser libre o morir enseñó.Y si pudo inconsulto caudillode esas glorias el brillo empañar,de la guerra se vió en Capotillola bandera de fuego ondear.Y el incendio que atónito dejade Castilla al soberbio león,de las playas gloriosas le alejadonde flota el cruzado pendón.Compatriotas, mostremos erguidanuestra frente, orgullosos de hoy más;que Quisqueya será destruidapero sierva de nuevo, jamás.Que es santuario de amor cada pechodo la patria se siente vivir;Y es su escudo invencible, el derecho;Y es su lema: ser libre o morir.Libertad que aún se yergue serenaLa victoria en su carro triunfal.Y el clarín de la guerra aún resuenaPregonando su gloria inmortal.¡Libertad! Que los ecos se agitenMientras llenos de noble ansiedadNuestros campos de gloria repiten¡Libertad! ¡Libertad! ¡Libertad! Dios, Patria, Libertad (Spanish, God, Country, Liberty)

Sports: Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic today. After the United States, the Dominican Republic has the second-highest number of baseball players in Major League Baseball (MLB). Some of the Dominican players have been regarded as among the best in the game. The Dominican Republic also has its own baseball league, the Dominican Winter Baseball League, which runs its season from October to January. It comprises six teams: Águilas Cibaeñas (Cibao Eagles),Azucareros del Este (Eastern Sugar- makers), Estrellas Orientales (Eastern Stars), Gigantes del Cibao (Cibao Giants), Leones del Escogido (Chosen Lions), and Tigres del Licey (Licey Tigers). Many MLB andminor league players play in the Dominican League during their own off-season. The Dominican Republic has participated in the Baseball World Cup, winning one Gold (1948), three Silver (1942, 1950, 1952), and two Bronze (1943, 1969), placing it seventh, right after Puerto Rico's one Gold, four Silver, and four Bronze. (Cuba holds a record twenty-five Gold, two Silver and two Bronze.)

History: Successive waves of Arawak migrants, moving northward from the Orinoco delta in South America, settled the islands of the Caribbean. Around AD 600, the Taíno Indians, an Arawak culture, arrived on the island, displacing the previous inhabitants. They were organized into cacicazgos (chiefdoms), each led by acacique (chief). The final Arawak migrants, the Caribs, began moving up the Lesser Antilles in the 12th century, and were raiding Taíno villages on the island's eastern coast by the time the Spanish arrived in 1492.

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