Today is an exciting day. Today I am going on my first Vision Trip with HOPE International.
The trip will be led by my cousin, Chris Horst (see previous post), who also works for HOPE. Chris is flying in with a group of HOPE’s friends, partners, supporters, and collaborators in the work of releasing the poor from physical and spiritual poverty. Together with my colleagues and friends Liz and Máximo, I’ll be helping out with some translating and sharing my experiences here in the DR. I’m also looking forward to what I’ll learn. Over the next two days we’ll be discussing HOPE’s work here in the Dominican Republic, visiting microfinance loan meetings, hearing the stories of entrepreneurs, and learning more about what it means to invest in the dreams of the poor.
Time to hit the road! I’ll be snapping photos and video as much as I can, so stay tuned for more in the coming days.
“You can observe a lot by just watching” – Yogi Berra
Hello there readers! I’ve decided to start a new mini-series here at the blog, based on my everyday observations of Dominican culture.
The concept is simply to complete the sentence, “You Might Be Dominican If…”. I’m hoping to drop a new YMBDI for you each week. It’ll be a fun way to let you in on life in the DR.
I need your help though…I want to hear from you! So, if something is particularly funny, surprising, puzzling, or reminds you of a similar experience – leave a comment! I’ll try to answer your questions about Dominican culture as best I can. That way, all of us in the MarshallBirkeyBlog family can share the blog love. (If you’re not sure what that means…I’m right there with you.)
Disclaimer: These are meant to be light-hearted exaggerated generalizations based on my own experience. This list does not describe every Dominican, nor is it meant to be insulting. I love Dominicans and Dominican culture.
So without further ado:
You might be Dominican if…your family of 6 travels by motorcycle. That’s one motorcycle, all at the same time.
Now that I have your attention, let me give some context from the cover of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild:
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mount McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.
Tomorrow morning I’ll begin a 5-day trek to climb the highest mountain in the Caribbean: Pico Duarte. Standing at roughly 10,000 feet, Sir Edmund Hillary would probably yawn…but it’s a good challenge for the rest of us mere mortals.
If the first sentence still has your stomach in a knot, you can relax. I expect to return to civilization relatively unharmed on Monday. Thanks for your concern, though. Unlike Chris McCandless, joining me are 20-or-so compadres including experienced guides, a doctor, burros for carrying the heavy stuff. Also, unlike McCandless, I don’t obsess over Jack London novels.
We are well organized. My stock of Clif bars should last me through the rest of the 21st century. Chances of survival are maximal. I suspect the worst I’ll suffer are cold nights, sore legs, and psychological exhaustion.
Sounds like a good way to spend a long holiday weekend, no?
Some friends and I happened upon this interestingly-named church over the weekend: ”Iglesia de Dios El Cafe,” the sign reads. (Church of God “The Coffee”). Something tells me they aren’t serving Starbucks…
Photo taken on 4 Dec 2010 in the outskirts of El Limón, a town on the Samaná Pensinsula of the Dominican Republic.
Culture lives in streets and homes and daily routines, but it shines in creative expression: literature, visual art, music, dance, gastronomy, theater. Last weekend’s musical Esperanza: el Musical at the Teatro Nacional was one such experience – a slice of pure Dominican culture.
The Story: Childhood sweethearts Manuel and Esperanza are separated when Esperanza’s family moves to the city in search of a better life. Years later and all grown up, Manuel leaves the countryside to find his cousin, (supposedly) a successful businessman in the city who will surely be able to help Manuel with his fledgling career as a musician. Turns out his cousin is a poor tire salesman in a run-down barrio. But who should live nearby? You guessed it – Manuel’s long-lost-but-never-forgotten love, Esperanza. But the sentimental reunion is dampered by the fact that Esperanza is to leave the very next day to pursue her dream – three years of university in New York City. Tension builds. Relationships are strained. What becomes of these star-crossed lovers? You’ll have to see it for yourself!
The story isn’t nearly as profound as, say, Les Miserables, but dilemmas presented are very Dominican. The dream of a better life. The dream of making it to America. The dream of success and fame. The dream of love.
In the barrio.
The Characters: Aside from the main characters, the rest of the cast are as typical as it gets, stereotypes of the people you encounter in everyday Dominican life.
El Colmadero: Sporting his flashy diamond earrings and Lakers jersey, he runs the local colmado (bar/corner store). He’s a man of the streets, a joker, a smooth operater, and he knows everyone.
Shawn the Gringo: The American…nerdy, awkward, bad accent, can’t dance, he runs the local internet café. In love with Esperanza but doesn’t realize he doesn’t have a chance.
The Bodacious Dominicana: Loud, plump, flirty and forward, she wants an American lover so she can get a visa for the States.
La China: Grouchy Chinese immigrant who runs the local dry cleaners. Easily identifiable by her slumped posture and shuffle/walk, she’ll occasionally surprise you with a joke and a high, whiny laugh.
The Rich Girl: Shows up when her SUV gets a flat tire. Lives vicariously through her BlackBerry (I can attest, this is very typical here) and her fashion sense.
El Frutero: Sells fruit from his pushcart, he’s a passive character who observes everything in the barrio and offers his philosophical insights to the audience.
The Music: It´s hard to imagine that one man’s music could literally be universally loved by a country, yet Juan Luis Guerra has achieved just that. Quite literally, every Dominican knows and loves his music. He has so many hits that you could turn them into the soundtrack for a musical. And that’s exactly what they did.
You see, Esperanza is based entirely on the music of Juan Luis Guerra. Every song. Spicy salsa, movin’ merengue, beautiful bachata ballads, and everything in between. Guerra, born in Santo Domingo and trained at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, is a master of Latin music and has achieved huge success in the Latino world. His songs are a celebration of Dominican life. Here’s one that made it into the musical:
The Dancing: It wouldn’t be Dominican if it didn’t make you want to dance!
All in all, a very cool It was quite fitting to go out for typical Dominican food at Adrian Tropical afterwards. Dominican experience! A special thanks to mis amigos Angie and Krudo for bringing me along!
No, not the Spanish release of the Backstreet Boys’ little-known Thanksgiving Day single. I shared this scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner with my wonderful Dominican friends. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Photo taken 25 Nov 2010 (Thanksgiving Day).
Want a feel for the life of a field volunteer with Esperanza? Check out this post from my colleague Nick Hamilton, over at the Kiva blog. Hailing from England, Nick is volunteering for a few months as a Kiva Fellow in the DR & Haiti, sharing the stories of various Esperanza loan clients online at Kiva.org. We met a few weeks ago at Esperanza’s main office and he’s been working at the San Pedro branch ever since.
Preview:
San Pedro is a loud, throbbing, dusty market town thronged with cluttered stalls and swerving, reckless traffic. The stuffy daytime air is dominated by the raucous buzz of rattling motorbikes while barking dogs and the odd confused cockerel assume control at night. A shortage of running water is a real issue and mass electricity outages occur on a daily basis. In almost 2 weeks in San Pedro I haven’t encountered a single tourist. I don’t think that’s likely to change. This, for me, is the real Dominican Republic.
Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving-Eve travels to all back home!
Steps of the Catedral de Santo Domingo, oldest cathedral in the Americas, built in 1506. Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Photo taken 23 Oct 2010.
Haiti’s police chief, the health minister and other Cabinet officials headed to Cap-Haitien, the country’s second largest city, where protesters erected barricades of flaming tires and other debris and clashed with U.N. troops. At least two demonstrators died, one of them shot by a member of the multinational peacekeeping force that has been trying to keep order since 2004…A U.N. World Food Program warehouse was looted and burned.
Some of the rioting occurred not too far from where Obed lives, but he’s fine.
Why the animosity toward the U.N.? Apparently, rioters are blaming Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers for introducing the South Asian strain of cholera to Haiti. No case of cholera had ever been documented in Haiti before last month. Ouch.
It’s plausible, but unproven yet (the U.N. denies the claim). And with the upcoming Haitian elections on Nov 28, there are certainly political motivations at play.
Culture lives in streets and homes and daily routines, but it shines in creative expression: literature, visual art, music, dance, gastronomy, theater. Last weekend’s musical Esperanza: el Musical at the Teatro Nacional was one such experience – a slice of pure Dominican culture.
