Museums You Shouldn't Be Missed When In Dominican Republic

From the late 16th century, Cuba was the king of the cigar world. However, this changed following the Cuban Revolution and the subsequent US embargo that forced many cigar makers to immigrate to the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic is today the world’s largest cigar exporter, producing some of the finest and most famous cigar brands in the world. Some cigar aficionados believe that many of the cigars made in the Dominican Republic are superior in quality to their much more famous Cuban counterparts, as they offer a greater variety in aromas and colors.

Cultivated by the Taino Indians long before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, tobacco is the oldest crop in the Dominican Republic, and Santiago is the main hub for receiving tobacco from the Cibao Valley where the crop is grown. Located in the town center of Santiago is El Museo del Tabaco, the tobacco museum at which you can learn all about the making of cigars in the Dominican Republic.

The museum is situated in a former Victorian cigar warehouse and features exhibits that include the tools used to form cigars, as well as fascinating old pictures. The distinctive museum displays a collection of art with exhibits that cover the usage of the crop dating back to the times of the Taino.

The tobacco museum is an ideal spot for cigar lovers and a great place to relax after a full day of exploring. At the museum, you not only learn about the art of cigar-making, but can also purchase some of the top brands in the country.

There is also a mock cigar room in which visitors can observe how some of the world’s finest tobacco is processed and rolled. Here you can watch the process of cigar-making from when the tobacco leaf is cut to when the cigar is rolled. If you desire a flavorful and unique Dominican cigar for your own pleasure or as a souvenir, you should definitely go here.

Museo Folklorico Yoryi

Morel Santiago de los Caballeros or just Santiago in short is located in the Cibao Valley. As the second-largest city of the Dominican Republic, Santiago has a thriving arts and culture scene. A good place to get a taste of this is at the Museo Folklorico Yoryi Morel.

Situated on Restauracion Street in the historic city center, Museo Folklorico Yoryi Morel is a museum that showcases the carnival culture of Santiago. Here you will find interesting designs of the “lechones”, the garments worn in the Santiago Province of the Dominican Republic during Carnaval. The museum also displays carnival costumes from other provinces.

The museum is named after Yoryi Morel, the late Dominican Republic painter who is regarded as one of the founders of the modernist school of Dominican painting. A native of Santiago, Morel was self-taught and is famous for his portraits, landscapes and genre paintings. The museum is situated in a pretty painted wooden house with columns at the front, and highlights the passion of Yoryi Morel for folklore.

Right from the doorstep, you can admire huge masks hanging from the walls, which immerse visitors into the carnival atmosphere. The eclectic museum collection comprises an amazing clutter of unusual, colorful personal objects that tell the story of the villages of Cibao Valley.

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