History of the Dominican Republic For at least 5,000 years before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America for the Europeans the island, which he called Hispaniola, was inhabited by Amer-Indians. Anthropologists have traced 2 major waves of immigration, one from the West in Central America (probably Yucatan) and the second from the South, descendant of the Arawakan Indian tribes in Amazonia and passing through the Orinocco valley in Venezuela. It is from this second source that the ancestors
Junot Diaz’s “Wildwood” is a roller coaster of emotions. The author gives us a full view of the tempestuous relationship between Lola and her mother who discovers has breast cancer. Lola, a young girl who lives in New York with her brother and mother, early on we can see that Lola’s mother is particularly abusive and channels her frustrations towards her daughter. When her mother asks Lola to examine her breast for a lump, she has a premonition her life would change. Lola is a typical
the population consists of people whom are mostly black. The Dominican Republic has four parallel mountain ranges that run from northwest to southwest that segregate the country into several smaller pieces and also separate the capital of Santo Domingo from the agricultural area and also from the center of the tourist trade area which is located on the northern coast. The mountain ranges are mostly unpopulated and are far less important to the Dominican Republic than the valleys of the cordillera
Junot Diaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is focused on the hyper-masculine culture of the Dominican, and many argue that his portrayal of the slew of women in the novel is misogynistic because they are often silenced by the plot and kept out of the narration (Matsui). However, Diaz crafts strong women, and it is society that views them as objects. The novel recognizes the masculine lens of the culture while still examining the lives of resilient women. In this way, the novel showcases
Eye dimelo mani which means, "hey what's up" are a few of the Spanish phrases used in the Dominican culture dialect. All the members of my family were born in the Dominican Republic, a small island in the center of the Caribbean Ocean which shares its borders with Haiti and to its sides stand Puerto Rico and Cuba. The first person of my family that started the voyage to the U.S. was my father. At the time, my father came to the U.S. it was the late 80's, and the Dominicanos (Dominicans) in the
Merengue tipico was developed in the 19th century after United States troops landed in the Dominican Republic for the first United States occupation. This occupation lasted from 1916 through 1924 and sparked a cultural movement, that included merengue tipico, that celebrated Dominican culture. Merengue tipico originated and was kept alive in the Cibao region (see figure 1), thus also earning the name merengue cibaeño. Santiago, located in the Cibao, became the center for the growth of merengue (Austerlitz
Collin Ballas Period D 4/16/14 David Ortiz His full name is David Americo Ortiz Arias. He was born on November 18, 1975. He was born in Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the capital of Dominican Republic. David Ortiz was the oldest of four children. He was known for being the fun one entertaining one of his family and of his friends. He was a calm and laid back guy for the most part you could always joke with him just because the guy he was. He a big effect in his family and had a big influence
In Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, he is telling the story of a Dominican family but mainly about the son, Oscar de Leon. The book opens with the story of Oscar as a child and him having two girlfriends at the same time. The older people in town see him as a ladies man and encourage him. The boy and the two girls all break up and his life seemed to be on a steady decline since then. He grows up to become a nerdy, fat, and awkward adolescence with few friends and even less interest
Fukú is like bad luck if bad luck were the name of the name of the evil sorcerer Sauron’s pet dragon. It is no joke either, when Trujillo came to power in the Dominican Republic, fukú became the representation of his tyranny. Picture Middle Earth, all of the Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and other races, living in relative peace, then along comes this mysterious man, who tricks people into following him and his ideals, let’s call him Sauron, he then proceeds to use his magic to brutally murder anyone
colonial administrator because he never really wanted the job. He was a seaman, not a landsman: a fish out of water whenever he went ashore.” Horwitz’s next Columbus based trip brings him to modern day Dominican Republic which was formerly Santo Domingo. Here the tension between Spanish and natives still exists as the Spanish claim Columbus’ remains are buried there while those in the Dominican Republic believe
In history, the heroes are the ones who see the faults before the problem has risen, the ones who raise a voice when everyone else is silent, and the ones who decide to change the world even if they stand alone. In The Time Of The Butterflies, Minerva Mirabal is the main character because she is the first person to open up the eyes of her family members to the true injustice being committed in her society. This novel takes place in the Dominican Republic where a dictator named Rafael Trujillo controls
The Dominican Republic, and its owner, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those
Julia Alvarez in the short story, Liberty, depicts that a little girl whose family killed the Dictator of the Dominican Republic his name was Rafael Trujillo's. Alvarez doesn't really ever denied this story's truth and she doesn’t really say it's true. The author's point of this video is to show the audience about the things some people will do to get into the United States of America. The author speaks in an informative tone for the audience to hear her and understands what she is saying. This story
Each famous dictator had a way of “changing” or manipulating history to benefit them. Hitler did it by clearing out his name and saying that he was a pure catholic, while in reality, his grandmother was Jewish. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini did it by become the leader he was by murdering all other candidates for his job. Trujillo is just like these famous dictators, just like Minerva compares him to them during the book In the Time Of the Butterflies. Just like those dictators, he had his
his life in the Dominican and the other half in the United States. When interviewing Jholdi my first question I asked him was what is living in the Dominican Republic compared to living in the United States. He says a major difference in Santo Domingo, where he was born, and Monroe County, where he lives now, is some
On March 11, 2017, I went to a restaurant located in Perth Amboy, New Jersey called “ Duo Restaurant and Lounge” where Fefita La Grande was going to perform at 9:00 PM. Fefita La Grande is a very famous Dominican Tipico player and singer. She is best known for the incredible job she does when she is playing her accordion and singing at the same time. Merengue tipico is the oldest style of Dominican merengue, and it is still commonly played. This version of merengue originated in the northern part
throughout her life, and inspired her acclaimed poems. As an advocate for women’s education, she opened the doors of higher education to the women of her period and then on. Salomé Ureña de Henríquez was born 21 October 1850 in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Nicolás Ureña de Mendoza and Gregoria Díaz y León. Her father was a well-educated man: a lawyer, a teacher, a poet, and as a journalist founded newspaper El Progreso in 1853. She was born in a very turbulent time, surrounded
Strengths and Limits of Negritude Negritude is a term that may not be used very often but is significant; by definition it is a cultural word that represents “black” culture. The term is looked at deeply within the novel from Edwidge Danticat The Farming of Bones. This novel goes into depth on the strengths and weakness of the concept of Negritude through the culture and lives of Haitian and Dominican people. The novel circulates around a few major themes these being birth, death, identity, and
Life of Oscar Wao: A Reflection of the Past Being a colored nerd is difficult, but being a Dominican immigrant colored nerd is virtually hopeless. Oscar lives in a world that reflects the history of his country. In Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the use of historical references is important to the book as a whole in order to understand the present day life of Oscar. Although the book is about Oscar, a majority of the novel tells the story of the de León family history and their
The novel ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’, by Junot Diaz gives a very entertaining insight towards many social dynamics that are relevant to Dominican culture, and it fits very well within the scope of the course; and, although it is a work of fiction, this novel is set in New Jersey, and deals specifically with the Dominican Republic experience under the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. From what I’ve learned after reading the first half of this book, there is certainly a lot that can