The city is also notable for being the birthplace of Rafael Trujillo, dictator from 1930 to 1961, who was killed by anti-dictatorial Dominicans on his way to San Cristóbal in 1961 as part of a successful plot to end his 30-year authoritarian regime.

Fleeing from the punishment that awaited him from the authorities of La Isabela (the first city created by Columbus in America), due to a violent fight he had with another colonist, he moved to this place where he married an indigenous woman by the name of Catalina.

According to legend, fearing being abandoned by her spouse, she revealed to him the existence of a place where they found gold deposits; Díaz then returned to La Isabela to inform the colonial authorities of his find.

Upon confirming the existence of gold on the banks of the Haina River, the Spanish proceeded to arrange for the settlement of a group of settlers and the installation of a fort called Buenaventura and later San Cristóbal, in honor of the admiral.

[10] San Cristóbal has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am), with hot weather year-round and heavy rainfall from May to November, when hurricanes are a major risk.

The economic activities are influenced by the fact that it is the main city in the southern region and the fifth in the country and are industry (in San Cristóbal and the free zones of Bajo de Haina, Nigua and Villa Altagracia), small-scale agriculture (except citrus plantations in Villa Altagracia, coffee in the mountains and onions in the Najayo-Palenque plains) and port plantations (in Bajo de Haina and Palenque).

The main centers are the beaches of Najayo, Palenque, El Balnearios de La Toma, Cuevas del Pomier and the Haina and Nizao rivers.

The large number of high school graduates in this city are concentrated in the Liceo Enedina Puello Renville, located in the Madre Vieja Sur sector.