Category Archives: SANTO DOMINGO SIGHTS, MONUMENTS & PARKS

Sights, Monunents and Parks located in Greater Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO SIGHTS, MONUMENTS & PARKS

Mercado Modelo

Mercado Modelo

Mercado Modelo is a large shopping mall and public market. The market spills out into the street and surrounding area. Inside the historic building are mostly gift shops aimed towards tourists. Around the exterior of the building and along the streets are fruit and vegetable stands plus so much more. The area is very chaotic and the streets can be dirty and nasty. All the good and bad combine to show a very interesting and special part of Dominican culture.

The front entrance to Mercado Modelo on Av Mella
The front entrance to Mercado Modelo on Av Mella

About Mercado Modelo | Warnings and Precautions | History – Location

Mercado Modelo – Inside and Out

Inside the market, you will mostly find souvenir shop after souvenir shop, a well-known tourist trap. They are selling every gift shop item you can imagine. Some items are made in the Dominican Republic while others are imported from who knows where.

Inside and outside of Mercado Modelo you can find many touristy type items for sale
Inside and outside of Mercado Modelo you can find many touristy type items for sale

The exterior of the Mercado Modelo has an entirely different vibe. Here you can find just about anything from handmade baskets, fresh produce and more.

One of the many Santeria Shops located at Mercado Modelo
One of the many Santeria Shops located at Mercado Modelo

There are some Santeria Shops selling, herbal remedies, potiches, amulets and items that bring good luck or can cancel out the evil eye. Santeria Shops also sell religious items including statues, crosses, sainted halos and sacred crowns, botanicals and incense.

The chicken and meat vendors outside of Mercado Modelo
The chicken and meat vendors outside of Mercado Modelo

There are fresh meat markets selling fresh-cut beef and chickens killed and cleaned to order.

Around the exterior of Mercado Modelo are vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables.
Around the exterior of Mercado Modelo are vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables.

Surrounding the exterior of Mercado Modelo you can find fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, raw coffee beans and cacao.

Dried beans and herbs can be found at Mercado Modelo
Dried beans and herbs can be found at Mercado Modelo

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Just about every dried herbs and beans are there in abundance including some very strange-looking unknown dried items.

Fresh squeezed juices in the streets surrounding Mercado Modelo
Fresh squeezed juices in the streets surrounding Mercado Modelo

Around the Mercado Modelo you can find people selling fresh-squeezed fruit juices, fried foods and empanadas cooked to order.

The flower market at Mercado Modelo
The flower market at Mercado Modelo

There is a market outside where vendors are selling a wide variety of flowers and plants. Some are locally grown and other flowers are exotic and shipped into the country.

Mercado Modelo can be fun, crazy and chaotic all at the same time
Mercado Modelo can be fun, crazy and chaotic all at the same time

Warnings and precautions to take when visiting Mercado Modelo

*Be aware of your surroundings and belongings. I recommend if you head to this area do NOT take or wear anything of value (phones, jewelry). There are many thieves that roam the area looking for an opportunity to take advantage of tourists and unsuspecting people.

*The area can be very chaotic and hectic with humans, dogs and vehicles everywhere. Just relax, take a deep breath and embrace the chaos.

*Be sure to haggle a little or a lot. Do not accept the first price given for the most part. Especially if you have TOURIST written in bold letters across your forehead..lol. If not sure ask someone not working in the shops for help. Then might guide you as to what the item really sells for so you are aware.

The entrance to Mercado Modelo in the 1960’s
The entrance to Mercado Modelo in the 1960’s

History – Location

Mercado Modelo was designed by Henry Gazon Bona and constructed by Guido D Alessandro Lombardi in 1941. The modern market place was inaugurated in 1943 in then Ciudad Trujillo.

Location – Avenida Mella #505 between Altagracia y Tomás de la Concha, San Carlos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Walking from Colonial Zone walking on Calle el Conde turn up (away from the sea) on Calle Sanchez. When you hit Av. Mella, you will notice the market across the street. This is the easiest and most direct way to get to Mercado Modelo.

General Hours – Monday-Saturday 8 AM-6 PM, Sunday 8 AM-12 noon

SANTO DOMINGO SIGHTS, MONUMENTS & PARKS, Then & Now Pictures

Then & Now – Cine Max

Then & Now / Antes & Ahora – Cine Max is now the Iglesia Pentecostal Church Dios es Amor

The Teatro or Cine Max, originally called El Travieso, is located in Barrio Chino / Chinatown. It was one of the big movie theaters of its time. In fact, it was the second largest cinema in the city of Santo Domingo. The cinema was known for the yummy goodies, including crispy fried platanos, they sold to the clientele. They were famous for their very large lobby. The cinema also had large fans for cooling and a side exit to keep movie goers coming and going easily. Thank you Historia Dominicana En Graficas for the picture.

Cine Max on Av. Duarte in Santo Domingo 1959.
Cine Max on Av. Duarte in Santo Domingo 1959.

The Iglesia Pentecostal Dios es Amor (IPDA.com.do) now occupies the old Cinema Max building. The Pentecostal church is open daily. The interior still has much of the same look as the old cinema.

The Iglesia Pentecostal Dios es Amor in Barrio Chino used to be Cine Max.
The Iglesia Pentecostal Dios es Amor in Barrio Chino used to be Cine Max.

Location: Av. Duarte between Av. Mella and Calle Benito Gonzales, Barrio Chino (Chinatown). It is just 1 block from La Sirena and the Colonial Zone.


SANTO DOMINGO SIGHTS, MONUMENTS & PARKS, Statues/Sculptures

Plaza Monumento a la Caña

Plaza Monumento a la Caña / Sugar Cane Monument Park

The beautiful tree-filled Plaza Monumento a la Caña / Sugar Cane Monument Park is located in Villa Duarte just across the River Ozama from the Colonial Zone. Inside the park are 2 monuments, the Monumento a la Caña/ Sugar Cane Monument and the Monumento Marina de Guerra / Marine Monument.

The beautiful Monumento a la Caña under a spectacular morning sky.
The beautiful Monumento a la Caña under a spectacular morning sky.

The Plaza | Monumento a la Caña | Monumento Marina de Guerra | Location |

Plaza Monumento a la Caña and the Monumento Marina de Guerra both sit in this tree lined park.
Plaza Monumento a la Caña and the Monumento Marina de Guerra both sit in this tree lined park.

The Plaza

The Parque Monumento a la Caña is a favorite among the locals. You can watch some young people dancing or doing some acrobatic moves. There might be a game of Bittila (similar to baseball but played with a plastic water bottle top). There are usually some local dogs lounging around. And of course, the people enjoying the shade, having a picnic, taking a little snooze or visiting with friends and neighbors. The park is well-maintained by the Santo Domingo Este City Council (SDE).

The charming winding stone staircase leading from Av. Malecon to the Plaza.
The charming winding stone staircase leading from Av. Malecon to the Plaza.

The grande stone staircase is the perfect way to enter the park from the road that runs along Rio Ozama. It is on Av. Malecon across from the Marina Bartolomé Colón where many sail and fishing boats are parked. From the top of these long winding stairs, you can have a beautiful view of the river and the Colonial Zone.

Buenagente is enjoying the cool refreshing grass and shade areas of Parque Monumente de la Caña.
Buenagente is enjoying the cool refreshing grass and shade areas of Parque Monumente de la Caña.

On the other side of the Plaza, separated by a road, is the rest of the Plaza. The road divides this lonely part from the main park. It is a part of the park I call it the Annex. It has 3 levels, one is blocked by a fallen tree, that you can walk. It is not well maintained and is sometimes used as a sleeping spot for street people.

Plaza Monumente de la Caña Annex walkways with Inteliperra sniffing the fallen tree blocking one of the paths.
Plaza Monumente de la Caña Annex walkways with Inteliperra sniffing the fallen tree blocking one of the paths.

NOTE: Do not take valuables to this area if you want to walk around. It is not as secured by the police as the Colonial City. It is surrounded by some very poor neighborhoods that are interesting to visit. Also, NEVER GO HERE AFTER DARK. Just to be on the safe side.

Monumento a la Caña / Sugar Cane Monument

A panoramic view of the bronze sculpture Monumento a la Caña in the Plaza.
A panoramic view of the bronze sculpture Monumento a la Caña in the Plaza.

The Sugar Cane Monument consists of a magnificent bronze sculpture that was inaugurated in 1992 by President Dr. Joaquín Balaguer.

The monument dedicated to sugar cane workers under a brightening morning sky.
The monument dedicated to sugar cane workers under a brightening morning sky.

The bronze monument shows six oxen pulling a cart full of sugar cane with a child on top and his mother behind carrying a basket full of Cocoa. The father is the one who guides the animals using a whip. The sculpture depicts the hard work carried out by the colonists, the entire family helping, transporting the raw cane from the field to the mills.

Monumento Marina de Guerra / Marine Monument

Monumento Marina de Guerra is also located in the center of the Plaza Monumento a la Caña
Monumento Marina de Guerra is also located in the center of the Plaza Monumento a la Caña

Monumento Marina de Guerra is also located in the center of the Parque Monumento a la Caña. This monument of a ship’s wheel is dedicated to the remembrance of the Dominican sailors who fell during World War 2.

The marble lined monument lists the names of the Dominicans who fell in the war. There is a list of the the Sunken Ships / Naves Hundidas both Steam / Vapor and Schooner / Goleta

The Monumento Marina de Guerra reads:

“El Gobierno Dominicano, La Marina de Guerra, El Patronato Del Faro a Colon, y la Liga Naval Dominicana, rinden tributo de recordación a estos marinos dominicanos que en la segunda guerra mundial ofrendaron sus vidas en el cumplimento del deber. “Por Dios. Por La Patria y Por El Deber” Santo Domingo D.N. Mayo 1999”

(English Translation) “The Dominican Government, the Navy, the Board of Faro a Colon, and the Dominican Naval League, pay tribute of remembrance to these Dominican sailors who in the Second World War offered their lives in the line of duty. “For God. For the Homeland and For Duty ”Santo Domingo D.N. May 1999 ”

The marble lined monument includes the names of those who fell and has a dedication.
The marble lined monument includes the names of those who fell and has a dedication.

NOTE: Do not take valuables to this area if you want to walk around. It is not as secured by police as the Colonial City. It is surrounded by some very poor neighborhoods that are very interesting to visit. Also, NEVER GO HERE AFTER DARK. Just to be on the safe side.

Location

View of the entire Plaza Monumento de la Caña betweeh Av. Malecon and Av. España.
View of the entire Plaza Monumento de la Caña betweeh Av. Malecon and Av. España.

The park is surrounded by Av. Malecon, Calle Maria Trinidad Sanchez and Av. España in Calero, Villa Duarte, Santo Domingo East. It is less than a 10-minute walk from the Puente Flotante/Floating Bridge that connects Santo Domingo to Santo Domingo Este.

Walking from the Colonial Zone cross the Puente Flotante (Floating Bridge). Turn right walking along Rio Ozama. On the left after the large apartment buildings is a staircase that is across from the Marina Bartolomé Colón. You can walk up the stairs and enter the park. If you do not want to go up the steep stairs continue walking to the next road on the left.

Buenagente enjoying the view of the Av. Malecon, Rio Ozama and the Colonial City from atop the stairs of the Plaza Monumento de la Caña.
Buenagente enjoying the view of the Av. Malecon, Rio Ozama and the Colonial City from atop the stairs of the Plaza Monumento de la Caña.

NOTE: I strongly suggest that if you do not want to climb the stairs that you wait to cross the road. The stone wall after the stairs on that section of the road is not secure. Rocks or the entire wall will fall from time to time.