Higüey (city)

Higüey
Salvaleón de Higüey
Shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia in Higüey
Higüey
Coordinates: 18°37′12″N 68°42′36″W / 18.62000°N 68.71000°W / 18.62000; -68.71000
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	La Altagracia
Founded	1503
Municipality since	1844
Area
• Total	2,029.14 km2 (783.46 sq mi)
Elevation	106 m (348 ft)
Population (2012)
• Total	288,990
• Density	140/km2 (370/sq mi)
• Demonym	Higüeyano(a)
Municipal Districts	3
Classification	Af

Higüey (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈɣwei]), or in full Salvaleón de Higüey, is the capital city of the eastern La Altagracia Province, in the Dominican Republic, and the eighth largest city of that country. The Yuma River flows through the urban areas of Higüey.

Higüey is also the name of a former native chiefdom in Hispaniola's easternmost end when Christopher Columbus arrived. It is now one of the country's economically fastest-developing cities, sometimes nicknamed the Capital of Dominican Tourism or the Capital of . As of 2006, over 150,000 people lived in Higüey. The city thrives chiefly on tourism, with many of its inhabitants employed in the hotel complexes of Punta Cana a few kilometers away, or selling tourist products.

The most important monuments in the city are the Basilica of La Altagracia and the Church of San Dionisio (Saint Denis), from the 16th century.

The city is divided into more than 50 sectors, some of them are,

According to some authors, GUEY or HUIOU is the sun in the Arawakan language of the island's native Taíno people. Among several Mesoamerican tribes the term also means sun, light, day. Perhaps coincidentally, Higüey is located at the island's eastern end, that is to say, in the region that first receives the rays of the sun. Thus the name Higüey might mean land where the sun is born.

The economy of Higüey is based on tropical agriculture (reed, coffee, tobacco, cacao, rice, and maize), cattle (cows and pigs), fishing and tourism on the coast.