travelwithdestinyy

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A Refreshing Drink

A very popular Dominican drink is morir soñando. Morir Soñando is a drink made of either oranges or limes, evaporated milk, sugar, and a lot of ice.

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A Typical Dominican Meal

A very popular Dominican dish is mangu con los tres golpes (the three strikes). Mangu is smashed plantains and its usually served with fried eggs, salami and cheese. Its very common for mangu to also be served with cooked onions on top and a side of avocado. It's a traditional breakfast meal but can be eaten at any time of the day.

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Los Vendedores y El Colmado

In the Dominican Republic there are vendors everywhere. There are street vendors that sell literally everything! From food to clothes to any essentials. Something unique about this country is that vendors will pass by neighborhoods selling food that you would use to cook your daily meals. They pass by in vehicles or even walking. Instead of going to the grocery store or to el colmado, you have the luxury of buying right in front of your house.

"A Dominican colmado is a neighborhood store, but it is also a place to socialize, meet your neighbors, pick from an enormous array of products, have a beer, and much more."

You can find a colmado in every corner of a neighborhood in the Dominican Republic. People that live in DR go here daily. It's very convenient for them because if they need anything from the store they are at walking distance.

Last summer, I remember walking with my grandma to buy the food items needed to make the 12 o'clock meal which of course is lunchtime. We stopped at 3 different colmados to buy different things and found everything we needed. My mom would also send my sister and I almost daily whenever we needed something quick. Instead of driving to the grocery store we would just walk to the corner to buy whatever we needed.

El colmado is also a place for socializing. Most people sit in chairs in front of the store and just talk and socialize with each other. It is a passing time in DR. The people in DR are very nice and friendly. Everyone greets everyone!

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Music and Dance

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Besides the delicious Dominican cuisine, dance and music are unique and important aspects of the Dominican Republic. Merengue is the national dance and music of the country. Merengue can be described as having a moderate to very fast rhythm. The instruments used in this genre of music are la güira , the tambora drum, and the accordion.

This is a güira. It is played by scraping the stick onto the metal cylinder. It's a very popular Dominican instrument.

Music is always heard all over the country. Another popular genre of the country is bachata. Bachata is more of a slow, sensual beat with romantic or bittersweet lyrics. There is always a love theme. Its instrumental music and the instruments used are acoustic or electric guitar. My favorite bachata artist is Romeo Santos. I grew up listening to his music because my parents would play it all the time!

Where did the music come from?

According to World Music Central, "the Dominican Republic is home to a diverse musical culture that derives from Spanish, African and indigenous Taino musical influences." I actually learned this in one of my Spanish college courses. I always grew up listening to the music but never knew where it came from. I was absolutely fascinated knowing how many cultural influences contributed to the music I grew up listening.

When it comes to merengue I would describe the music to be very lively, fun and happy.

Here's a clip of what merengue looks like!

Here's a clip of what bachata looks like

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My favorite beach! Every time I go to the Dominican Republic I always go to La Ensenada. The water is crystal clear and just beautiful! As you can see from the video there aren't waves on this beach and you can walk out very far and the water is still shallow. It is a very relaxing beach. Many locals visit La Ensenada. La Ensenada has so much to offer! There's food, drinks, boat rides and even inflatable rides!

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El Monumento

This is a picture of "El Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración" in English it translates to "The Monument of the Restoration". This monument is located in the city of Santiago de Los Caballeros. This monument is actually 5 minutes from where my grandparents live in DR.

It is the highest building in Santiago and it is a tourist attraction. The meaning or significance of this monument was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the country's independence.

The history behind it

Not only is this a historical site, it is also a place Dominicans go to pass the time. During the night, the monument lights up red and blue. There are many restaurants around it that are extremely popular. There are horse carriage rides and people selling light up toys for kids, refreshments for everyone and so much more!

This monument is definitely worth a visit!

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This is a picture I took of a small outdoor restaurant on my way to the beach. There are many food stops all over the Dominican Republic. They are mostly outdoors and they always have the best foods. This particular one is called "Rancho Mendez" as you can see on the sign. On the left there are signs that show the foods they have. Most of their meats are cooked on the grill that's what "carne a la parrilla" means. Outdoor restaurants are my favorite because there is always nice scenery and the weather is always perfect. The gentle breeze cools you off on a hot sunny day.

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Primary Source

For my primary source I chose to interview my mom, Emmy Tejada. I asked her to describe what it's like living in DR including her experiences. I also asked her what a normal day looks like from waking up to the nighttime. What is it like to go to school there? What working looks like? What do people in DR do to pass time? This is what she had to say.

"So I moved to the DR when I was 12 years old it was kind of scary the feeling of moving from New York where I used to live and where I had all my childhood friends. But once I got there neighbors came up to say hi and introduce themselves which helped me to cope quickly. Neighbors over there can be like family. They are very friendly and caring. My experience living in Dominican Republic was like being on vacation all year, weather was just great everyday. It was sunny and hot that meant playing outside or heading to the beach and when it was raining everybody gathered outside and just played in the rain which was so much fun! In the morning everybody would eat breakfast together and head to their daily routines. Then we would come back for lunch and ate lunch together and in the evening dinner that was just such a blessing. The whole family ate together during each meal time.

During the morning I would walk to school which was about 5 minutes away and on my short walk to school I would meet with my other classmates and we would walk to school together. After school I would head home to eat with my family and then do homework. After eating and doing my homework all my friends would meet together and play sports and games on the streets or at someone’s backyard. I had the opportunity to work at my dad's business in DR which is a dry cleaner. I worked as a receptionist it was kind of fun because people over there would be so nice. I would go help my dad after school, when help was needed after lunch.

Lunch over at my dads and most businesses was about 2 hours meaning they would stop working at 12pm and reopen at 2pm, which I think was really nice. People in the Dominican Republic when they are not woking they are having fun for sure. Most of the adults are either playing dominos in front of their house listening to music or in front of a grocery store, visiting neighbors or heading to the beach or other attractions like the monument where most people go visit at night. They can see the whole city from there and eat at nice fancy restaurants all around, ride a horse carriage all around the monument.

Something else I enjoy is that you have merchants all day long passing in front of your house selling, all kinds of things whether it’s food, house goods and so much more. Imagine just waiting in front of your house for an ice cold coconut drink. What else can I say, food over there is delicious it’s hard to get bored with every day activities. I lived in the Dominican Republic till I was 17 and I would never change my vacation over there every summer. I just love it there. It will always be my home".

(Source) This is a picture of the outside of the school my mom attended when she lived in DR. The name of the school is "Colegio Santo Niño de Atocha".

This is a video of my grandparent's house and where my mom lived. We stay here every time we go to visit.

This is my grandfather's dry cleaning business and where my mom would go and help out after school. She worked as a receptionist.

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February 27th

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Red, white, & blue! February 27th is Independence Day in the Dominican Republic. However the whole month is a celebration! Dominicans love to show their love for their country and themselves. They celebrate with music, delicious and traditional Dominican food, parades and so much more! According to Spanish.Academy, Dominican's Independence Day is one of the most unique independence celebrations in the world because Carnival takes place during the same month! The Carnival is included in their celebrations and everyone participates!

The Dominican Republic is one of the few countries who fought for their independence twice! Yes not once but twice! We first declared our independence from Spain in 1821 and then later from Haiti in 1844. It was a long battle but we never gave up to be a free and independent country! This shows a lot about us Dominicans. We are very determined and ambitious people who fight hard for what we want.

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Book Review

Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic is a book written by Isabel Zakrzewski Brown. The book was published by Greenwood Press in 1999. Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of South Alabama. Knowing this about the author tells us that she probably spent a long time studying Spanish speaking countries and their culture. This book would be considered a monograph because it is written on a single specialized topic and only has one author.

Once I started reading this book I was very intrigued and wanted to keep reading. As you can tell by the books title, this book is all about the culture and customs of the Dominican Republic. The book focuses on the Dominican way of life and how its land, history, its people, social customs and so much more reflect on the lifestyles of Dominicans.

Since I am Dominican, I can relate to literally everything this book has to say. I was fascinated on how the author, Brown was able to gather all her research and put all this information into book form. I believe a lot of what she has written is extremely accurate and relevant to Dominican culture. I know because I've lived it since I was born!

This book is extremely helpful and relevant in this blog because the book specifically goes into Dominican culture and Dominican's way of life instead of just talking about its beautiful scenery that drive the people to the island for vacation.

The chapter on social customs shows the daily habits of the average Dominicans. The chapter focuses on the meals including traditional meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dominicans are known for inventing their own words in Spanish or adding certain letters to words that already exist. This book explains the language and dialect very well and in depth. The chapter also goes further into Dominican celebrations including national holidays, festivals and the meaning of the national symbols of the Dominican flag.

The book includes photographs that add context and visuals to the reader. I feel that the certain photographs chosen for this book also adds realism and it makes the book even more accurate to what the author has written about.

I also loved how the introduction set the stage for the book itself. It goes on to give a brief explanation on each chapter. Brown does an amazing job on explaining ways that the Dominican Republic has its own traditions and customs that differ from other Hispanic nations. Brown writes, "Despite the proximity of other Hispanic island nations such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, Dominicans have developed distinctive customs and language that make then unique and not directly comparable to their neighbors." I really like how she added this information. A lot of people may think that hispanic countries all have the same customs or traditions but it certainty is not the case and I feel that it is something everyone should know about Hispanic nations. Yes, there are many similarities but also differneces that make them unique.

Overall this book, depicts specific details in the lifestyles of Dominicans and many aspects of the country that add to the Dominican culture and the history behind its land and people.

I would judge the accuracy of this book to be very accurate because I can tell the author, Isabel Brown, did her research of Dominican culture and customs. I can tell that her information is accurate because I can speak from my own experiences. My family is from DR and I grew up around Dominican culture and I have been to the Dominican Republic more times than I can remember. I've learned about the history of the country from my parents and grandparents. To this day we follow the culture and traditions of the Dominican Republic. From the food I eat to the way I speak.

Virtual Book

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Library Scavenger Hunt

While doing the preliminary research on my topic I found the library databases very helpful and useful. I was able to find a book that relates to my topic. When I had first looked for a book on the Dominican Republic using the library website, I found one I thought would relate to my specific topic. However, when I actually went to find the physical copy of the original book I found one even better. I ended up checking out the book, Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic. When I started skimming the pages I knew this book would help me a lot in researching how people live in DR and how culture plays a big role in their lifestyles. The key words I used were Dominican Republic, culture, life, its people, customs, and economy. There were a lot of eBooks on my topic as well! It was so hard to just choose one so I ended up printing out pages from several eBooks. I also did find a documentary about the island as well on the library database "Films & Videos". Overall, I had a very good experience using the library databases in finding relevant materials for my research topic!

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Meet Andreína Martínez

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Andreína Martínez is a Dominican-American psychologist, model, and beauty queen. She graduated from the city college of New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

She currently works at The Women’s Equality Center, a non-profit organization ran by women to guard the rights of women in Latin American and the Caribbean. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to New York at the age of 13. She has been an advocate for women’s rights for as long as she can remember. She has received many recognitions and awards for her accomplishments.

When graduating college she was at the top of her class and was awarded with the Magna Cum Laude, an academic honor award given to the top 10%. She is the winner of Google’s Pay it forward Award.  According to SK Pop, "Andreina was recognized in Hispanic Heritage Month by Google Student for being an outstanding student who made a difference and provided help in her community. I am sure that her beauty, intelligence and presence will impact Miss Universe putting the name of the Dominican Republic on high." She was awarded Miss runner up in the Miss Universal competition 2023 representing the Dominican Republic.  

She has been working really hard to create change for women in Latin America and the Caribbean and continues to do this by using her platforms.

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¡La Calle de las Sombrillas!

This is a picture I took in Puerto Plata, a northern city in the Dominican Republic. This particular street is called "La Calle de las Sombrillas" in English this translates to the "Umbrella Street". Hmm I wonder why! This is a popular city where there is a lot of tourist attractions. The street is filled with beautiful colorful umbrellas and so much more to see! From gift shops to cotton candy stands to cute cafés and restaurants. When you come here you are guaranteed to want to take pictures everywhere!

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Our topics are very similar! Everyone may know many islands in the Caribbean for its vacation spots but there's a lot more to them! I am very interested in learning more about the Cayman Islands! Both the Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands are known for its crystal clear waters and luxurious places. I love how both our blogs are going to explore beyound the touristic views!

Welcome to Paradise!

You’ve probably heard of the popular Caribbean vacation destinations like St. Lucia, Bahamas, Puerto Rico and many more. But have you heard of the smaller collection of islands located below Cuba on the lower left hand side? The Cayman Islands are commonly overlooked by many vacationers. You can’t really blame them either. I mean the main island, Grand Cayman, is a whopping 76 square feet in its entirety. 

In more recent years the island has gained some attraction with its main city, George Town, as a popular cruise ship port and the famous 7-Mile Beach as a vacation destination. Travelers are being drawn to Grand Cayman’s crystal blue waters, world famous coral reefs and wrecks for scuba diving trips, and many luxurious hotels along the coast that make for a perfect week of relaxation in the Caribbean sun. 

But what’s below the surface of this vacation destination? That’s what I’m interested in. I’ve been traveling to this island for years and know very little about it. 

I know it hasn’t always looked the way it does today. This island has come a long way since its first airfield was put in in 1953. Almost overnight they put in their first hospital, bank, hotels and commercial dive center. According to explorecayman.com, “Suddenly the Cayman Islands were on the map - both as a tourism and recreational dive destination and as an international finance centre.”

But the development of the island didn’t stop in the 50’s. Grand Cayman was overtaken rapidly by growth economically and residentially. New homes and hotels were being built all over the island. As well as the government advertising the no taxation on the island to build and grow the banking industry.  

https://www.explorecayman.com/about-cayman/history-of-the-cayman-islands

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I love this! This topic is a great way in representing and appreciating hispanic culture! In my blog I am talking about the Dominican Republic, a Spanish speaking country. "It is spoken in 31 countries", DR being one of them! I am very excited to learn more about why some hispanics do not speak Spanish. I have always been curious about this. I did grow up speaking the language so I have a different perspectives from others who did not. I love how we are both appreciative of our culture and background!

¡Bienvenida!

¡Hola! Welcome to my blog, where I will talk about Hispanics and the Spanish language in general as well as the numerous difficulties that non-fluent Hispanics face. In this blog, I'll talk about why it's common for Hispanics to not speak Spanish fluently. I'll also discuss what it's like for those who had that struggle growing up and what may be done today to overcome it. This will lead to the next topic I'll cover in this blog post, which is what it means to be a "No Sabo" kid and how that affects how people see their ability to learn Spanish.

Let's start by talking about the origins of this lovely language, Spanish! Spanish is what exactly? What's the source of it? In the Indo-European language family, Spanish is categorized as a "Western Romance" language. Occitan, Portuguese, Italian, and French are only a few of the various Romance languages that have influenced the language. Including Arabic-related impacts on Iberian and Basque.

According to the Renaissance Translation, In the fifth century, the Roman Empire introduced the Spanish language for the first time to the Iberian Peninsula. It served as the Roman Empire's official language (which was called Hispania). It is now referred to as "Vulgar Latin". It was first cut off from the rest of Latin America, but as time passed, it gradually merged with Spain and the rest of the continent. Spain began its exploration and colonization of the Americas in the late 15th century. Only missionaries, conquistadors, and entrepreneurs could speak Spanish. But gradually, people started speaking the language among other people, and this led to the language being used by others.

In the present day, even non-Hispanics speak Spanish, which is now spoken by about 500 million people worldwide. According to Translate Today, “Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. It is spoken in 31 countries which are mostly around the Latin America and in Spain. This language has about 475 million native speakers in addition to the nonnative speakers.” Crazy, huh? Spanish has been around for a very long time and has definitely influenced many people as well as our culture. Learning about Spanish history is important, especially for no fluent speakers because it's a huge part of the Hispanic culture, and it brings us together.

As a community, we must also be aware of the causes of the problems that affect so many third-generation children and what we can do to prevent them in the future. According to The Pew Research, Due to the fact that there were more Hispanics than Spanish people who were born in America at the time and the fact that immigration was a major issue, there were fewer Hispanics who spoke Spanish as a result of their immigration to America. I'll talk more about how that happened in the blog post, but this is one of the key causes of many third-generation children's lack of fluency.

By the time you've finished reading this blog, I hope you'll be excited to learn more about Spanish, be more accepting of people who don't speak it well, and be more appreciative of the language and culture in general!

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Welcome to D.R. !

Known for its white sand beaches, crystal clear waters and tropical climate all year around. The Dominican Republic is an island located in the Caribbean. Most of you may know this island because of its popular vacation resort in Punta Cana. I will be analyzing how tourism is important to the country and some of the many beautiful sites this country has to offer.

However, I will also be shedding a light on other parts of the country. Including things such as poverty, the living conditions, and how a normal daily life is in the Dominican Republic. Not many people know that the Dominican Republic faces issues such as poverty. With poverty, crime increases and some places are considered “unsafe”. According to World Nomads, “Some high-crime areas in the capital city of Santo Domingo include Arroyo Hondo, Naco, Gazcue, Cristo Rey and Villa Agricola. Violent crimes such as theft, muggings and even murder have occurred”. These places however are not parts of the country where most travelers go to visit. 

Life in in the Dominican Republic is not always bright and happy. There are many people who face hardships in their day to day living. It is very common for the light to go out or even the water to be shut off for long periods of time. I have experienced this myself when I go there to visit. Everyone prepares for these circumstances by having flashlights in their houses along with candles. They also make sure to have extra water stored just in case.

The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country with a lot of amazing sites. Therefore, this blog will also share some of the most popular places to visit. Despite some unsafe places in the country there are a lot of attractions that provide adventure, beaches and places that offer cultural experiences. According to Planet Ware, “postcard-perfect beaches, luxury resorts, and a solid tourism infrastructure are the main reasons people visit the Dominican Republic”. 

Tourism is one of the country’s top industries and plays a big role for its economy. 

Tourism in the Dominican Republic did not start to rise until after the 1930s when Rafael Leonidas Trujillo ruled the country. Trujillo dominated the country’s economy at the time. Ever since then tourism has become very important to the Dominican Republic and continues to grow today.

This blog will give you two perspectives of the Dominican Republic and will explore different parts of the country! 

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