Sosúa

Sosúa is a beach town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic. Located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) from the Gregorio Luperón International Airport in San Felipe de Puerto Plata, the town is accessed primarily by Camino Cinco, or Highway 5, which runs much of the length of the country's North coastline. The town is divided into three sectors: El Batey, which is the main tourist section and on the east side of the main beach (Playa Sosúa), Los Charamicos, on the west end of the beach and past that, heading north toward the airport, is Sosúa Abajo.

Sosúa
Municipality
Puerto Plata
Aerial view of Sosúa
Seal
Sosúa
Sosúa in the Dominican Republic
Coordinates: 19°45′00″N 70°31′12″W
Country Dominican Republic
ProvincePuerto Plata
Government
 • MayorWilly Clarence (Social Christian Reformist Party)
Area
 • Municipality276.89 km2 (106.91 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)[3]
 • Municipality49,593
 • Density180/km2 (460/sq mi)
 • Urban
7,713
Municipal districts2
Distance to
 – Santo Domingo
240 km (150 mi)
Websitewww.sosua.gob.do

History

At the 1938 Evian Conference, Rafael Trujillo offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees; about 800 German and Austrian Jewish refugees received visas issued by the Dominican government between 1940 and 1945 (see Dominican Jews) and settled in Sosúa.[4] The government provided them with land and resources with which they created a dairy and cheese factory, named Productos Sosúa[5] still in existence today. Descendants of the original settlers still live in Sosúa, where they maintain a synagogue and a museum. Most of the descendants of the refugees live in the United States. Some families remained and established inns and bed and breakfasts which were first visited by former refugees.

The town was little known until tourism took off in the island in the mid 1980s.

The town

Sosua Abajo, which translates roughly to "Lower Sosua", is located on the western side of Sosúa in a valley nearby a river that flows into Sosúa Bay. Mainly a rural area of Sosúa, Sosúa Abajo houses many of the workers who commute to the El Batey area, nearby Cabarete Bay and Playa Dorada.

The Barrio of Los Charamicos is situated between El Batey and Abajo, and is a densely populated urban area known for its nightlife, dancing, and bar scene.

Sosúa beach
Los Charamicos

The bay and beach

Sosúa Bay attracts many water sports enthusiasts, including snorkelers and divers because of its sheltered, calm waters, diverse species of fish and intricate reef structures. In the winter, whale watching is also a popular tourist activity in Sosúa Bay.

Recently, naturally occurring beach nourishment has created a new beach just north of Sosúa Bay, depositing sand where there were previously only sheer rock cliffs. The beach is called Playa Alicia.

There are several other beaches, Sosua Beach, which is a crescent-shaped bay protected by coral formations. Sosúa's other beaches are Waterfront (Playa Alicia), Paradise beach (actually shifts on and off every several months), Playa Imbert and Playa Chiquita. Waterfront beach is just 17–18 years old, created after a storm around 2002.

Sex tourism

During the 1990s and 2000s Sosúa was a favorite destination of sex tourists. Starting in the late 2000s there was an effort to crack down on this industry.[6][7][8]

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gollark: Macron does not have integers.
gollark: Use of `lea` or something.
gollark: Apparently Zig can get some optimizations out of making all integer overflow UB.

References
  1. Taveras, Yamira (29 April 2015). "Unidos por la amistad. Festejan 75 aniversario de la migración judía a RD" (in Spanish). Sosúa, Puerto Plata: Hoy. Retrieved 30 August 2016. El acto fue encabezado por el embajador de Israel, Bahij Mansour junto a la alcaldesa de Sosúa, Ilana Neumann de Azar, de descendencia judía, y la presidenta de la comunidad judía Ivonne Milzo, [...]. (Translation) The ceremony was led by the ambassador of Israel, Bahij Mansour along with the mayor of Sosúa, Ilana Neumann Azar, of Jewish descent, and the president of the Jewish community Ivonne Milzo, [...]
  2. Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica Archived 2009-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Pablo Tactuk, ed. (5 May 2012). "IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2010: Informe Básico" (PDF) (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Oficina Nacional de Estadística. pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (pdf) on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. Crassweller RD. Trujillo. The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator. The MacMillan Co, New York (1966). pp. 199–200.
  5. Hans-Ulrich Dillmann, Ein karibischer Ausweg. Die Siedlung Sosua in der Dominikanischen Republik, in: Heimat und Exil. Emigration der deutschen Juden nach 1933. Jüdischer Verlag, Frankfurt 2006 ISBN 3633542221, pp. 171 - 177, in German. E. g. Artur Kirchheimer. Cf. online, here max. 571 German refugees in total are counted for Sosúa
  6. "Avalancha de rechazo al turismo sexual en Sosúa y Cabarete", Periódico El Faro, June 7, 2013, http://periodicoelfaro.com.do/2013/06/avalancha-de-rechazo-al-turismo-sexual-en-sosua-y-cabarete/
  7. Antonio Heredia, "Deportan norteamericano arrestado en Sosúa acusado de promover el turismo sexual hacia RD", Puerto Plata Digital, July 3, 2014, http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=15808
  8. "Apresan en Sosúa a alemán acusado de explotación sexual", Dominicano ahora, March 15, 2014, http://www.dominicanoahora.com/nacionales/region-norte/27513-apresan-en-sosua-a-aleman-acusado-de-explotacion-sexual.html
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