Sosúa

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title: "Sosúa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["historic-jewish-communities", "municipalities-of-the-dominican-republic", "populated-places-in-puerto-plata-province"] topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosúa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Sosúa
settlement_type	Municipality
official_name	Puerto Plata
image_flag	Flag of Sosúa.png
flag_size	158px
image_seal	Escudo del Municipio Sosúa.svg
seal_size	158px
image_skyline	Sosua Beach Dominican Republic.jpg
image_caption	Sosúa beach
pushpin_map	Dominican Republic
pushpin_relief	1
pushpin_map_caption	Sosúa in the Dominican Republic
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Puerto Plata
government_footnotes
leader_party	Social Christian Reformist Party
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Wilfredo Olivences
area_total_km2	276.89
area_footnotes
population_as_of	2010
population_total	49593
population_urban	7713
population_density_km2	auto
population_footnotes
blank_name	Municipal districts
blank_info	2
blank1_name	Distance to
– Santo Domingo
blank1_info
240 km
::

Sosúa is a beach town and municipality in the Puerto Plata Province of the Dominican Republic. The Gregorio Luperón International Airport is located in the western part of the municipality.

The town is divided into three sectors: El Batey, which is the main tourist section and on the east side of the main beach (Playa Sosúa); Los Charamicos, on the west end of the beach; north of them, toward the airport, is Sosúa Abajo.

Sosua is accessed primarily by Camino Cinco, or Highway 5, which runs the country's northern coastline.

History

Main article: History of the Jews in the Dominican Republic

The town of Sosúa was officially founded by Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany. At the 1938 Evian Conference, Rafael Trujillo offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees; about 800 German and Austrian Jewish refugees received visas issued by the Dominican government between 1940 and 1945 and settled in Sosúa. An agreement was made between Trujillo and Jewish businessmen in New York City. The government provided the settlers with land and resources with which they created a food factory and company named Productos Sosúa still in existence today.

Descendants of the original Jewish settlers still live in Sosúa; among them is the former mayor Ilana Neumann. They remain an important segment of the community and maintain a synagogue and a museum.

Most of the descendants of the refugees have migrated to the United States. Some families remained and established inns and bed and breakfasts, which were first visited by former refugees.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/City_of_Sosua,_Dominican_Republic,_Aerial_View.jpg" caption="Aerial view of the town."] ::

Sosúa Abajo, which translates roughly to "Lower Sosúa", is located on the western side of Sosúa in a valley nearby a river that flows into Sosúa Bay. Mainly a rural area of Sosúa, Sosúa Abajo houses many of the workers who commute to the El Batey area, nearby Cabarete Bay and Playa Dorada.

The Barrio of Los Charamicos, between El Batey and Abajo, is a densely populated urban area known for its nightlife, dancing, and bar scene.

The bay and beach

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Marcos_Díaz2.jpg" caption="Marcos Diaz]] off Sosúa beach"] ::

Sosúa Bay attracts many water sports enthusiasts, including snorkelers and divers because of its sheltered, calm waters, diverse species of fish and intricate reef structures. In the winter, whale watching is also a popular tourist activity in Sosúa Bay. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Sosúa_-_Playa_Alicia_0413.JPG" caption="Playa Alicia in Sosúa"] ::

Recently, naturally occurring beach replenishment has created a new beach just north of Sosúa Bay, depositing sand where there were previously only sheer rock cliffs. The beach is called Playa Alicia.

There are several other beaches, Sosúa Beach, which is a crescent-shaped bay protected by coral formations. Sosúa's other beaches are Waterfront (Playa Alicia), Paradise beach (actually shifts on and off every several months), Playa Imbert and Playa Chiquita. Waterfront beach is just years old, created after a storm around 2002.

Sex tourism

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Доминиканская_Республика_-panoramio(74).jpg" caption="Resort building in Sosúa, Dominican Republic."] ::

Sosua became a popular tourist destination with the rise of the tourism industry in the Puerto Plata area during the 1980s. In the late 1990s and 2000s Sosúa also became a favorite destination of sex tourists from Europe and North America. Starting in the late 2000s there was an effort to crack down on this industry, which caused a decline.

Sosúa remains a destination for sex tourism, though with a poorer clientele. Local women turn to prostitution as the town has fewer economic opportunities compared to larger cities of the country. Haitian migrants also take part in the sex tourism business, with many of the prostitutes in some areas being of Haitian descent. At sex tourism sites the lighter Dominicans are favored over darker Haitians, who are forced to work in the streets or local bars rather than the more lucrative up-scale areas.

Gallery

File:Sosúa - El Batey 0403.jpg|Sosúa street mural File:Sosúa - Sinagoga 0388.jpg|Jewish museum File:Доминиканская Республика - panoramio (75).jpg|Sosúa resort area File:Los-charamicos.jpg|Los Charamicos

References

Taveras, Yamira. (29 April 2015). "Unidos por la amistad. Festejan 75 aniversario de la migración judía a RD". Hoy.
"Wilfredo Olivences".
link. (2009-04-17)
(5 May 2012). "IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2010: Informe Básico". Oficina Nacional de Estadística.
(2017-09-08). "Relation: Sosúa (7367027)".
(2019-05-25). "Historia de Sosúa, Puerto Plata".
Crassweller RD. "Trujillo. The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator.". The MacMillan Co, New York (1966).
Reyes, José María. (2022-01-11). "Sosúa: su historia como atractivo turístico cultural".
Hans-Ulrich Dillmann, ''Ein karibischer Ausweg. Die Siedlung Sosua in der Dominikanischen Republik,'' in: ''Heimat und Exil. Emigration der deutschen Juden nach 1933.'' Jüdischer Verlag, Frankfurt 2006 {{ISBN
"Avalancha de rechazo al turismo sexual en Sosúa y Cabarete", ''Periódico El Faro'', June 7, 2013, http://periodicoelfaro.com.do/2013/06/avalancha-de-rechazo-al-turismo-sexual-en-sosua-y-cabarete/
Antonio Heredia, "Deportan norteamericano arrestado en Sosúa acusado de promover el turismo sexual hacia RD", ''Puerto Plata Digital'', July 3, 2014, http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=15808
"Apresan en Sosúa a alemán acusado de explotación sexual", ''Dominicano ahora'', March 15, 2014, http://www.dominicanoahora.com/nacionales/region-norte/27513-apresan-en-sosua-a-aleman-acusado-de-explotacion-sexual.html
"The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country".
(September 2009). "UN Peacekeeping Economies and Local Sex Industries: Connections and Implications". MicroCon.
"100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies".
"2008 Human Rights Report: Dominican Republic". U.S. Department of State.
(24 October 2010). "Sex tourism thrives on Dominican streets with Haitian girls".
"Latin American Herald Tribune - Dominican Republic Deports 163 Haitians".
(12 April 2010). "Sex Trafficking: A Global Perspective".

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