Dominican Republic

Caribbean restaurants are easy to find, those specific to the Dominican Republic are more rare. I was thrilled last February to discover Tropical Savor Bar & Grill in the Gaslamp District, especially since it meant spending time with my San Diego buddies. Vonnett ordered sancocho, a stew with beef, chicken, pork, and root vegetables. Kevin ordered espaguetis (pasta) with tostones (fried plantains). I had pescado guisado con coco (snapper cooked in coconut milk) with moro (coconut milk and pigeon peas rice). Vonnett and Kevin shared Mamajuana (spiced rum with roots). We all shared two desserts, majarete (corn pudding) and habichuela con dulce (sweet beans). I loved the beans. Kevin, Vonnett, and the super helpful server all liked the corn pudding better. Everything was delicious! If you can’t make it to San Diego for dinner, here are some recipes that can fly you to the Dominican Republic while staying at home: https://www.dominicancooking.com/recipes/traditional-dominican

Another way to visit the Dominican Republic while staying at home is to learn merengue and appreciate bachata.

· If you want a quick merengue lesson, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daaHi0jtHlw

· If you want to see some really great bachata dancers, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO8kvrPHirU&feature=emb_rel_end

· The Los Angeles Bachata Festival is still scheduled for February 2021 and includes a beginner program: https://www.labachatafestival.com/

· Representing both merengue and bachata music, you can watch a full concert by multiple Grammy award winning Juan Luis Guerra here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7lgRHrPZNM

Beyond the food and the music, the Dominican Republic also has good books, both those set in the DR and those with Dominican characters in the United States. The one I had the most fun reading is about baseball! Baseball has been played in the DR for almost 150 years, their national team won the World Baseball Classic in 2013, and what baseball fans don’t know Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa? Reading Pedro by Pedro Martinez taught me when to fight, how to negotiate, and the strategy of a pitcher.

The book that made me think the most was The Mare by Mary Gaitskill. It brought up mixed emotions in me because cross cultural relationships are hard, none of us are perfect, and there are few happy endings. This girl with a horse story illustrates things we need to consider when we work in programs that reach out to underprivileged children. Hopefully we can stretch our ability to do good work without being do-gooders.

I also read two books from the Dominican Republic that address the impact of Rafael Trujillo, one of the bloodiest dictators in the Americas. The first, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, I read for a Spanish class. I still want to read How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by the same author. I saw her interviewed in “The New Latinos” which is part of the series The Latino Americans from PBS. This episode explains immigration from the Dominican Republic to New York as encouraged by the United States government to avoid the growth of communism (“The New Latinos” is available on Kanopy).

The second of the two books that I read addressing the impact of Trujillo is probably the most famous book from the Dominican Republic, the award winning The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I love the diverse literary references and vote this book the most likely to be assigned (and enjoyed) in a literature class.

I found the four books I read through the Los Angeles County Library. Check for them also in other formats including eaudiobook & ebook.

If you want to learn more about the Dominican Republic, an excellent option is Black in Latin America with Henry Louis Gates Jr: Haiti & Dominican Republic: An Island Divided. You can find it on Kanopy and Amazon Prime.

There are plenty of fun things to do in the Dominican Republic as illustrated here: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-dominican-republic/

It’s on my list of places to go when I get the chance and I will of course be checking in with my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in the Dominican Republic and throughout the world.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mustangjoe/12103628896/