According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic , the carnival of Santa Bárbara de Samaná is celebrated on February 27th. It has a great popular participation and numerous comparsas come from various towns in the province, further enriching the traditional festival. Color, music and joy are the flags of the carnival. For the occasion, the characters of Samaná dress up in turquoise costumes, decorated with corals, fish, octopuses, starfish and whales, covered in blue, green, orange and purple and adorned with mirrors, bells and sequins. You can enjoy the Sea Devils, among other colorful and fun characters.

Despite the fact that a considerable number of cultures have inhabited this coveted peninsula, the first to be known were the Ciguayos.

This native tribe was named after other aboriginal groups on the island and it is not known what they called themselves.

The mystery that surrounds the Ciguayos is part of the magical air that surrounds Samaná, who were they and where did they come from? To date, we hardly know a few words in his native language.

The imminent disappearance of the Ciguayos was already evident when Father Bartolomé de las Casas arrived on the island in 1502.

What happened to the Ciguayos? Some say they were defeated by the other tribes that inhabited the island, who were besieged in Samaná until there was no choice but to integrate.

But is that the whole story? During your visit to Samaná you will have the opportunity to explore this and other mysteries.

The Spanish made little use of the port of Samaná during the first two centuries of their rule, clearing the way for pirates to take advantage of the narrow Samaná channel and the grunt of limestone caves within the dense swamps of Los Haitises.

The most notorious of these pirates was Joseph Bannister of England, a privateer and former English government official condemned to illegality by the 1670 Treaty of Madrid between England and Spain.

In 1690, after escaping from the English authorities, Bannister was anchored in Samaná with a frigate and another smaller ship when two English warships tried to enter the port to arrest him.

Bannister took his boats to the nearby island of Cayo Levantado and moved his men ashore along with heavy artillery.

Incoming warships came directly into the line of fire and 125 English soldiers were killed while sailing towards the Bannister defenses.

Bannister's large ship was also destroyed in combat; Unfortunately for him, when his two-hundred-man crew learned that the ship had been wrecked and that the smallest could only accommodate a quarter of them, they rushed aboard the light ship, forty of them perished in the process.

Despite this, Bannister escaped, as a result of this intense battle, the islands that surround the port of Samaná have been known since then as the Bannister Keys.

In Santa Bárbara of Samaná, you have to pay a visit to one of the architectural jewels of this city: la Churcha (from English “church”). In addition to being part of Samaná's cultural heritage, it is a meeting point and historical reference for its descendants of African Americans, who lived there in times past.

La Churcha has a Victorian style and its exterior structure is made of zinc, it is supported by metal angles and its interior is completely covered with wood. It was built in 1901 and brought by ship from England. This, called the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), is today the Dominican Evangelical. In addition, as a curious fact, this is the only building that remains intact after a fire that destroyed Samaná in 1946.

When you are there, you will observe something particular in the zinc sheets that cover it, some perforations resulting from gunfire between supporters and opponents of the regime of Ulises Heureaux, president of this country between 1889 and 1899. And the church is it was used by some opponents as a place of protection.

The Churcha is 5 minutes, walking, from our Hacienda Samana Bay project.

The Churcha served as a community school where they taught English, French and Spanish and represents the freedom of a population that arrived with the hope of building a new life.

If you plan to go in the summer, you will arrive at the best time, as you will be part of the traditional harvest festivals that take place on the church grounds between June and October.

Samaná is a territory where diverse cultures have converged, making it a multi-ethnic and multicultural province. From the aborigines and their Spanish, to the Africans and Afro-Americans, immigrants have been groups with important contributions to what is today the culture of this part of the country.
We are going to tell you this story, but surely you will want to discover it for yourself. It dates back to the 19th century when President Jean-Pierre Boyer, leader of the Haitian Revolution, used the land and resources in order to attract black Americans, many of whom were freed slaves to the island that he and his compatriots had occupied.

An estimated 6,000 African Americans arrived after being released.

Unfortunately for Boyer, the free African Americans of Samaná were never pro-Haitian. Given the wars of annexation and restoration, African-Americans, motivated by the spiritual encouragement of the symbols of the Dominican flag and shield, gave all their support in the battles for the Dominican Republic to be free and independent.

Last names of the African Americans of Samaná.
Vanderhorst, King, Miller, Jones, Green, Anderson, Wilmore, Johnson, James, Hamilton, Milton, Jackson, Carey, Redman, Shepherd, Kelly, Barrett, Coates, Buck, Disney, Wright, Forchue, Simmons, Michell, Smith, Henderson, Rodney, Paul, Berry, Banks, Copeland, Kery.