Gregorio Luperón

Gregorio Luperón (September 8, 1839 – May 21, 1897) was a Dominican military general and statesman who was one of the leaders in the restoration of the Dominican Republic after the Spanish annexation in 1863.

Early years
Gregorio Luperón was born 8 September 1839 in Puerto Plata (then officially called Port-de-Plate, in French) to Pedro Castellanos and Nicolasa Luperón. His parents owned a ventorrillo (rudimentary market stall) that sold homemade foodstuff such as piñonate, a local delicacy made of sweetened pine-nut kernels. Most of these were sold on the street by Gregorio and his siblings in order to help the family livelihood.

Around the age of 14, Gregorio began working for Pedro Eduardo Dubocq, a local timber businessman of French origin. While working there, he displayed a strong strength of character and a knack for getting any job assigned to him completed in the best possible fashion. Because of this, Mr. Dubocq promoted Gregorio to a management position. Mr. Dubocq also allowed Gregorio to spend time in his personal library because Gregorio wanted to enrich his intellect.

In 1861, the annexation of the Dominican Republic by Spain took place. Gregorio was only 22 years old at the time but a sense of nationalism began to swell within him. During one instance, Gregorio was arrested but managed to escape and flee to the United States for protection. Shortly thereafter, Gregorio managed to return to the Dominican Republic through the town of Monte Cristi in time to take part in the uprising of Sabaneta (1863). However, this uprising was short-lived due to the quick Spanish response.

After the failure at Sabaneta, Gregorio and his compatriots hid in the mountains of La Vega in order to prepare for a full-scale revolution against the Spanish forces.

Legacy
The Gregorio Luperón International Airport in Puerto Plata, a metro station in Santo Domingo, and the Gregorio Luperón High School for Math & Science in New York are named after him. The small city of Luperon, located 50 km west of Puerto Plata, is also named after him.