Bánica

San Francisco de Bánica, or simply Bánica, is a town and municipality in the northwest region of Dominican Republic in the Elías Piña province. It is located on the border with Haiti near the Artibonite river. The name Bánica comes from the Taíno name of the region, Banique ("land of ebony").

==History== The town was founded in 1504 by Diego Velázquez, who later went to conquest the island of Cuba, on the left side of the River Artibonite. It was an important town in those years but later it lost its importance. In the 18th century, the Spanish government moved the city to its present place, away from the river, and brought families from the Canary Islands to live there.