Arriving in the bustling town of Higuey, I was surprised to see the high concrete spires of the local Catholic Church – not because of its presence, but because of its architecture.
Built in the 1970s, the Basilica Catedral Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia is a distinct concrete building, with a unique embellishment on its front of red mosaic tiles with gold devotional inscriptions across the front. Above the blue boxes that seem to pile up are actually masking the speakers and the bells of the church.
The front door is cast iron with sculptures of birds and saints, while the inside has stained glass windows behind the altar and simple pews of wood benches that sit beneath the high curved concrete columns of the roof.
