José Arias
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO.- The once fierce Ciudad Nueva sector of Santo Domingo is inscribed in the annals of Dominican history as the center of the conspiracy of the Patricio Juan Pablo Duarte and his Trinitarios in 1844, to give rise to our new nation.
That founding epic, crystallized with the shot of Ramón Matías Mella at the Gate of Mercy.
A century and 21 years later, in its narrow streets, national sovereignty was defended after the invasion of the Inter-American Peace Force led by the United States, which thwarted the desires of Francisco Alberto Caamaño and the constitutionalists to reinstate Professor Juan Bosch as president in 1963.
Today, however, it shows the marks of architectural decay on many of its once-splendid buildings, including the residences of illustrious writers, poets, historians, and politicians.
The Gate of Mercy was the first gate in the wall of the Colonial City. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
Art to the rescue
Faced with the decline of the city's first modern enclave, artists and cultural managers with an entrepreneurial spirit have revitalized the walls of its buildings and homes.
This is the case of the Transitando Group, which in the summer of 2022 attracted the attention of 50 artists dedicated to painting murals with essential figures of Dominican history such as Concepción Bona, Pedro Francisco Bonó, the Mirabal Sisters and artists such as the master of Dominican music, Luis Días (Terror) and the merengue singers Cuco Valoy, Francis Santana and Víctor Víctor, with financial support from the company Pinturas Popular.
José Cesteros, master of Dominican painting. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
With the same purpose, the Caye Festival (Creativity, Art and Entertainment) was held in July of this year, with free admission, between José Gabriel García streets, the Eugenio María de Hostos and Cervantes parks, turning Ciudad Nueva into an art district and the first orange sector of Santo Domingo, with creative and artistic proposals that strengthen citizen ties.
The architect speaks
According to the prestigious architect Gustavo Luis Moré (Cuquito), the Ciudad Nueva sector achieved its urban development based on the grid system typical of the colonial layout of the historic center of Santo Domingo.
Moré added that the buildings were arranged side by side, “or as it is called in construction, “with boundary 0”.
Although the location and street alignments reflect the colonial coordinates, the architectural style underwent other variations, Cuquito explained.
The San José fort or park was built in the early 18th century. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
“The buildings of Ciudad Nueva began to be built of reinforced concrete, imported to the country around 1905, through the port of San Pedro de Macorís, while the styles were defined based on geometric figures typical of Art Deco, in vogue in those decades,” he stated.
He reported that the area was the first non-colonial urban development outside the city walls, and its growth originated between the western section of the city wall and the land of Plaza Colombina, now designated as Eugenio María de Hostos Park. To the north, it occupies the land between Avenida Independencia and Avenida Bolívar, up to Calle Dr. Delgado.
“Casimiro de Moya’s plans highlight the plots, farms and properties of the inhabitants of these manor houses arranged along the axes leading out of the city, to the Güibia road, the Santa Ana road and the Gazcue road,” added the urban researcher.
Dilapidated, abandoned houses, offered for sale or rent, project an image of decay that now resembles an Old City that is rapidly dying.
Ciudad Nueva must be revitalized in tandem with the transformation of the colonial zone into a top-tier tourist destination. And that is a priority that cannot be delayed.
Article originally published in the 9th edition of El Inmobiliario print magazine.
