Semana Santa is an entire holiday week. Think Christmas, Easter Monday, spring break, Boxing Day, Guy Fawkes day, Queen Fulanna's birthday and any holiday you can think of all rolled into one.
Next year, I'm going to Santo Domingo for Easter. We always used to enjoy the peace and quiet of the half-empty city. Now we live in a tourist area we were treated to the company of littering, drinking-in-the-pool, swimming-with-clothes, 5am-domino-bashing weekenders. I'm not going to say the 'ch' word, but you get the picture.