One would wonder if on the agenda of the legislators at the Chamber of Deputies in the Dominican Republic there are not more important bills to be studying and championing than the changing of the name of a province.
But, Deputy Luis Alcides Baez (Peravia-PRM) is convincing deputies and senators that the time is right to change the name of the southcentral province of Peravia. He insists that Maximo Gomez is a better name for the province. The general has a museum in his honor in Bani, capital of Peravia province.
The province received the name of Peravia for the wife of a little known relative of Christopher Columbus, Ana de Peravia, who had never lived in the province. No historic relevance or outstanding reasons for the naming have been found. To tell the truth, only now are people finding out where the name of the province has come from. Most people simply refer to the province as Bani.
CDN reports that so far, around 70 legislators back the initiative by Luis Baez.
Born in Bani, Máximo Gómez Báez (1836-1905), was a key figure in the Cuban War of Independence, serving as a Generalísimo and commander-in-chief of the Cuban revolutionary forces against Spain.
Máximo Gómez first served in the Dominican army and later commanded Spanish reserve forces in Santo Domingo.
He became a prominent figure in Cuba’s struggles for independence, participating in the Ten Years’ War (1868-1878) and later leading the Cuban revolutionary forces in the 1895-1898 war against Spain.
Máximo Gómez is also known for his controversial scorched-earth policy, which involved destroying property and resources to weaken the Spanish forces, including dynamiting trains and burning plantations.
He worked closely with the Cuban revolutionary leader Jose Marti.
The bill is getting sent to a committee that will decide whether it is important enough to move to the floor.
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Diario Libre
CDN
12 March 2025