José Arias
El Inmobiliario
The San Miguel neighborhood, one of the oldest in the city of Santo Domingo, is part of the network of sectors located north of the Colonial City: El Polvorín, San Lázaro, San Miguel, San Antón and Santa Bárbara.
Some of the houses in San Miguel date back to the colonial era, featuring interior courtyards with central cisterns for water supply. They were designed and built using limestone extracted from the Santa Bárbara mines, along with lime and clay, to withstand the cannon fire of the pirate ships that plagued the Caribbean region.
The houses of San Miguel were built using rocks to withstand pirates. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, single-family wooden houses with a backyard for planting fruit trees began to be built.
These houses surrounded the María Trinidad Sánchez park that still exists, right in front of the San Miguel Arcángel Church, patron saint of the neighborhood and center of devotion to the general of the Heavenly Armies, San Miguel or Belié Belcán, within the framework of the religious and popular syncretism of the Dominican Republic.
The wooden houses were mercilessly demolished by the San Zenón cyclone of 1930; however, following the rise to power of dictator Rafael Trujillo Molina, wood was replaced by cement, giving rise to the republican style in most of the houses.
The Republican-era houses of the mid-20th century were colorful and cheerful. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
Saint Michael, take away the bad!
Every September 29th, the feast of Saint Michael is celebrated in this small but vibrant district of the capital. It is the day when devotees of Belié Belcán dress in red and green attire (skirt and pants).
They also wore scarves tied around their necks, smoked tobacco, and consumed large amounts of alcoholic beverages.
The Migueletes (as the locals of the neighborhood are called) dance with fervor to the rhythm of sticks and salves.
The faithful Migueletes turn to their general for “the payment of debts or for the cure of illnesses.” The only one who defeats Lucifer with his triumphant sword has several nicknames: “the little troublemaker,” “the one who knocks everything down,” and “he was born a baron.”.
According to the late historian and prominent resident of Miguel de Allende, Miguel Antonio Ramírez Obilongo, this religious space was commissioned by the Royal Treasurer of the Colony, Don Miguel de Pasamonte. In 1740, the church was rebuilt with solid materials.
The building was destroyed by an earthquake in 1751, and was completely rebuilt in 1765, larger and stronger, as it is today.
The so-called Carolino Black Code of 1796 stipulated that the Church of San Miguel would be the headquarters of all the Black brotherhoods. The church is a simple, single-nave structure, built directly on the edge of the public road and very close to the northern city wall, bordering the stonemasons' quarter of Santa Bárbara.
Devotees of Saint Michael smoke tobacco and dress in red and green. Justo Feliz/El Inmobiliario.
The nave is covered by a barrel vault with a low, semicircular section. It consists of three bays, divided by relieving arches, supported by buttresses that can be seen on the exterior of the north and south facades.
Currently, the restoration and beautification project of the alliance between the Ministry of Tourism and the financing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) involves not only the Church of San Miguel but also most of the colonial buildings and religious temples.
The neighborhood also boasts the First Dominican Evangelical Church, which was established in 1922, holding its first constituent assembly in the city of San Pedro de Macorís. It arose from a joint project of three North American missions: Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Brethren.
Let's save the houses of San Miguel and its surroundings, a historical legacy of our first urban spaces, as relevant as any neighborhood in Europe.
Originally published in the print edition of El Inmobiliario .
