The region where La Romana now stands was, before the conquest, part of the Taíno chiefdom of Higüey, one of the great chiefdoms into which the Taíno people of the island they called Quisqueya or Haití were organized. The Taíno of the southeast lived from fishing, gathering, hunting and the cultivation of cassava and corn, in villages near the sea, the islands and the rivers, like the Chavón itself. The neighboring islands (Saona, Catalina) and the region's caves preserve their imprint, including the rich rock art of Cotubanamá National Park.
After the arrival of the Spanish at the end of the 15th century, the chiefdom of Higüey was one of the last to submit, following clashes in the early 16th century. With the collapse of the Taíno population and the shift of the colonial axis toward other regions of the continent, the whole Dominican east remained for centuries a rural, cattle-raising and sparsely populated area, far from the centers of power.
About the origin of the name 'La Romana', several explanations circulate. The most widespread links it to a 'romana', that is, a scale or balance that would have been used in the port area to weigh goods (like sugarcane or export products) shipped from its coast. As usually happens with place names, the details have elements of tradition, but the link between the name and the port and commercial activity is the most accepted.
La Romana's real transformation came in the early 20th century with sugar. The establishment of the Central Romana mill, one of the largest sugar complexes in the country and the Caribbean, turned the small port town into a thriving industrial city. The vast cane plantations, the factory and the export port shaped the city, marked its economy and attracted an enormous number of workers.
Much of that labor came from outside. Alongside the Dominicans, migrant workers from the English-speaking Caribbean islands (the British Lesser Antilles, like Tortola, Anguilla, St. Kitts or Nevis) arrived in the region, popularly known as 'cocolos'. This community contributed its language, customs and cultural traditions, in a mix that enriched the identity of the Dominican southeast. One of its most striking expressions is the 'guloyas', theatrical dance groups of Afro-Caribbean root that UNESCO recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
For decades, life in La Romana revolved around the zafra (the cane harvest) and the rhythm of the Central Romana. The sugar industry not only defined the economy, but also the social and cultural physiognomy of the city, with its working-class neighborhoods, its 'bateyes' (the settlements of the cane workers) and its mix of peoples. That sugar and working heritage remains today an essential part of La Romana's identity, even as tourism has added new layers to its history.
From the 1970s, La Romana added a new calling to its sugar profile: luxury tourism. The business group linked to the Central Romana developed Casa de Campo, an enormous top-tier tourist complex near the city, with villas, hotels, a Mediterranean-style marina, beaches and, above all, world-class golf courses. The most famous, 'Teeth of the Dog', designed by golf architect Pete Dye, became one of the most recognized courses in the Caribbean and the world, with several holes at the sea's edge.
As part of that project, in the early 1980s one of the country's most singular creations was built: Altos de Chavón, a recreation of a 16th-century Mediterranean village, constructed entirely in stone and coral on a cliff overlooking the Chavón River. With its cobbled streets, its church, its artist workshops, its archaeological museum and a spectacular Greek-style amphitheater —inaugurated with a famous concert featuring great music stars—, Altos de Chavón became a cultural and tourist icon of the Dominican Republic.
This luxury hub put La Romana on the map of elite international tourism and set it apart from other destinations in the country. The Chavón River, with its jungle setting, gained worldwide fame by serving as the setting for movies like 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Rambo'. Thus, in a few decades, La Romana went from being above all a sugar city to combining that industrial identity with that of an exclusive and recognized tourist destination.
With its tourist consolidation, La Romana also became a gateway to the Dominican southeast for visitors from all over the world. The construction of La Romana International Airport allowed international and charter flights to arrive directly in the region, without passing through Santo Domingo, which made access to Casa de Campo, Bayahíbe and the islands easier.
The city also added a cruise terminal, which incorporated it into the itineraries of the great ships that travel the Caribbean. The cruise passengers who disembark in La Romana usually visit Altos de Chavón, do excursions to Saona or Catalina islands, or enjoy the beaches and marina of Casa de Campo, which gave a new boost to the area's tourism.
In this way, La Romana was placed at the center of an exceptionally rich tourist region: a short distance away are the charming fishing village of Bayahíbe (the country's diving capital), the paradisiacal Saona and Catalina islands, the reefs and wrecks of Cotubanamá National Park, and about two hours away, historic Santo Domingo. Few places in the Caribbean offer, in such a small space, a combination like this of beach, islands, diving, golf, culture and protected nature.
Today's La Romana is a singular synthesis of coexisting worlds: the working sugar city, with its neighborhoods, its market and its people; the international luxury enclave of Casa de Campo and Altos de Chavón; and the protected nature of the islands and the reefs of Cotubanamá National Park. That diversity is what makes it different from other Dominican destinations more exclusively geared to sun and beach.
The region's cultural heritage is rich and mixed. To the Taíno, Spanish and African roots common to the whole country is added the particular contribution of the cocolos, the community of English-speaking Afro-Caribbean origin that arrived with sugar and left traditions like the guloyas, recognized by UNESCO. The music —merengue, bachata, and the rhythms of African root— and Dominican cuisine complete that vibrant Caribbean identity.
The great challenge for La Romana and its region, like that of much of the Caribbean, is to balance tourist development with the conservation of its natural and cultural heritage: caring for the reefs and mangroves of Cotubanamá Park, the Saona and Catalina islands, and keeping alive the memory of sugar and of the communities that built the city. In that combination of industrial past, tourist present and protected nature beats the identity of a destination that offers, within a few kilometers, several faces of the Dominican Caribbean.