Ribeira Grande | |
---|---|
Municipality | |
Coordinates: 17°09′N 25°07′W / 17.15°N 25.11°WCoordinates: 17°09′N 25°07′W / 17.15°N 25.11°W | |
Country | Cape Verde |
Island | Santo Antão |
Area | |
• Total | 166.5 km2 (64.3 sq mi) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 19,201 |
• Density | 120/km2 (300/sq mi) |
Website | Official website |
Ribeira Grande is a concelho (municipality) of Cape Verde. Situated in the northern part of the island of Santo Antão, it covers one fifth of the island area, and is home to nearly half of its population. Its seat is the town Ponta do Sol. Its current president is Orlando Delgado (MpD) who was first elected in 2008.
The municipality consists of four freguesias (civil parishes):
The Municipality of Ribeira Grande is one of the oldest administrative divisions in Cape Verde. By the end of the 19th century it merged with the older Municipality of Paul, becoming the two the Municipality of Santo Antão. In 1971 the Municipality of Santo Antão was redivided in 3 municipalities: Ribeira Grande, Paul and Porto Novo.
A new dam named Canto Cagarra on Ribeira da Garça in the west of the municipality was completed on November 16, 2014, the only large dam built on the island.
Since 2008, the Movement for Democracy is the ruling party, they take the assembly and the chamber seats, Mpd has 11 in the assembly and 7 in the chamber. Up to 2008, the municipal party, Grupo Democrática Ribeira Grande (GDRG), the Ribeira Grande Democratic Group was in power.
The municipality has seven football (soccer) clubs out of eleven in the North Zone. The most popular clubs are Rosariense, Beira-Mar and Solpontense.
Each year, the Ribeira Grande Municipal Cup takes place each year in the months of September and October. The competition features teams from the municipality.