la basilica de higuey

La Basilica de Higuey:

 

this is one of the most respected monuments in Dominican Republic. It is located in the main street of Higuey . La Basilica is one of the most visited monuments visited for foreingers and national tourist. It certainly is the religious center of attetion of Latin America and it is where the Altar of La Virgen De La Altagracia, the patron Saint of Dominican Republic, is placed.

This it is the first sanctuary of America and in it agglutinates January 21, every year thousands of Dominicans to yield him worship to the Virgin of La Altagracia.
At present the picture venerated of the miraculous image is exposed in the Basilica that was built to honor it set against the old Sanctuary and united him by a great avenue, modern and well visionary.

La Basilica was inaugurated the 21st of January of 1971, and it was built by French architects (same as many other Dominican monuments) to substitute the antique sanctuary built back in 1572. Its name is due to La Virgen de la Altagracia, the Patron Saint of the Dominicans; in La Basilica you’ll find the spectacular image of the Virgin that is 45cm tall and 33,5cm wide; the painting was made in the 15th century by a Spanish painter.
The frame that holds the image of La Virgen de la Altagracia is made of gold and precious stones; it was created in the 18th century and its value is immeasurable. La Basilica de Higuey is a Dominican Monument since the 12th of October of 1970, the 17th of October of the same year the Pope Pablo IV declared it Minor Basilica. Two years later, the 15th of august of 1972, La Basilica was declared the Diocese of Salva Leon de Higuey.
La Basilica is a structure of monumental dimensions, designed in the shape of a Latin cross; the entry is made of bronze with a 24 carat gold bath and was blessed in Rome by the Pope John Paul II. La Basilica has a bell tower composed by 45 bronze bells. It is located in Higuey (province of Altagracia), in the Dominican Republic.

Pico Duarte (duarte peak)

 

Is the highest peak in all the Caribbean Islands with 3,098 meters high. It lies on the Cordillera Central range, the greatest of the Dominican Republic's mountain chains. This area has a climate that many people would not associate it with a typical Caribbean Island, with cool temperatures all year round, going several degrees below freezing during winter nights.

This is a nice place that people use to climb and interact with the nature that a place far from the city can offer to adventure tourists.

The Pico Duarte was allegedly climbed for the first time in 1851 by the British consul to the country, Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk. He named the mountain Monte Tina and estimated its height at 3,140 m. In 1912, Father Miguel Fuertes dismissed Schomburgk's calculations after climbing La Rucilla and considering that it was the tallest summit of the island. A year later, the Swedish botanist Erik Leonard Ekman sided with the Englishman's estimate, thinking it was closer to the truth, and called the sister summits as Pelona Grande and Pelona Chica. During the Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina regime, the taller of the two was called Pico Trujillo, only to be renamed later, after the dictator's death, with its current name of Pico Duarte, in honor of Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the Dominican Republic's founding fathers. An east-facing bronze bust of Duarte atop a stone pedestal sits today at the very summit, next to a flagpole that bears the Dominican banner and a cross.

punta cana!

 

is part of the newly created Punta Cana-Bavaro-Vernon-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia. This area is best known for its beaches, which face both the Caribbean and the Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist destination since the 1970s.

 

Punta Cana is is considered the major resort area in the Dominican Republic with 28,000 hotel rooms, Punta Cana has 12 professional golf courses that have already been built since 1991, from designers like Jack Nicklaus, and P.B. Dye. Since Punta Cana became an important tourist point many water sports had to be introduced to the are like diving and boat trips. Also there are tours that take people to Saona Island which is a nice place for scuba diving.

 

you can visit this place the whole year, the weather is one of the most essential factors to consider when planning your honeymoon vacations at Punta Cana.The weather of Punta Cana is the most attractive feature to consider. The maritime condition and the temperature of Punta Cana is perfect to experience the water sport games and to celebrate or enjoy comfortable time

los haitises

Los Haitises:

-samana

is a humid tropical forest that offers jungle-covered islands and thick mangrove forest. Also there are strange rock formations emerging from the sea and bird-filled caves around many places on the park.

 

In January and Fevruary 80% of the world's  humpack whales mate and bear young in the waters of Los Haitises. The visit of the whales to the coast of the Dominican Republic calls the attention of million of people to watch very close this huge and amazing animals. People prepare trip in boats to the places in the sea where the whales spend more time, there they can watch the whales singing, playing, and doing different activities of their nature.

 

people and whales

Los Haitises National Park is a place where people can visit the caves, walk around all the park, watch the whales, interact with wildlife animals, and also this is a bird sanctuary. This is one of the most important places  in Dominican Republic and many people used for ecotourism where they enjoy the spectacular landscapes that just a virgin forest can offer.

 

nice view from a cave

 

dominican cuisine...

 

the cuisine from Dominican Republic is made up of a combination of tainos, spanish, and african influences. Dominican food is very similar to the other latin american countries the only difference are the names. In Dominican Republic the food is very important that is why the breakfast, the luch, and the dinner have the same importance. A good dominican breakfast is mangú (mashed boiled plantain), boiled cassava, or other root vegetable accompanied with fried eggs, fried cheese, or salami; for every dominican this is a great way to start a good day. Similar to Spain, lunch usually consist of some type of meat(chicken, pork, beef, or fish), rice, and beans, and any kind of salad. "La Bandera" is the name of our main dish, and if you go to any restaurant and you ask for "La Bandera" you will be eating a nice dish with white rice, beans, meat, and salad. And for dinner people usually prepare any kind of pasta with bread, dominican dinner depends of what people want in the moment.

 

 

La Bandera

Since we are a very productive island our cuisine is very varied, and you can find any kind of seafood everywhere you go, also a lo of vegetables, meat, rice, and root vegetables. In Dominican Republic the food is very healthy and natural, and most the people on the countrysides have their own crops to supply their needs.

dominican carnival!!

in dominican republic every sunday off February the dominican population celebrates their independece a very colorful parade that ends on February 27th with an amazing and huge parade.every city adds its own flavor to the celebration, but what they have in common is that in every city people wear costums, masks, and any kind of thinks to be part of the carnival parade. people from around all the world come to celebrate our carnival every year because during February many funny, exciting, crazy things happen in Dominican Republic.

the main character of our carnival is the devil, but this is not a bad devil, people in the past call this character like that because this character was very funny and likes to make jokes to the people. in the present each devil has a ballons that is used to tap the people on the parade.every city has a different kind of devil, character, and also a different way to prepare the parades. this is way dominican republic become a colorful and joyful country on February.

La vega is the main city in dominican republic when we talk about carnival, because this city spends a lot of money on their costumes and maks, on the decoration of their caves (which is the spot where they get together and start their parade), with parties almost every weekend, on the parades around all the city where they go jumping, dancing, and tappinig people. this carnival is known around all the world, and it is considered to be one of the most famous and joyful of the world.

In Bonao is almost the same parade and costumes than La Vega, the differences is that they make their carnival a little bit longer.

The carnival in Santiago is different because the devils and their history is not as the other carnivals of the country. In the past in Santiago each neighborhood used to wear costumes to fight against any other neighborhood, so every neighborhood began to used the same costumes but different masks to differentiate their partners. Now they still using the same way of wearing the costumes, but now they do not fight, they just go around the city tapping people and pretending that they are fighting with their whips.

devils fight....

dominican baseball!!!!

Coming from the sugar mill towns of San Pedro de Macoris, to fields all across Dominican Republic, young, poor kids dream of some day to play in the Major League Baseball and bring to their families finantial security and a better life style. Dominican Republic has a great passion for baseball going far above anywhere else.

For Dominican Republic baseball, from late October to February is when the professional baseball is played, where professional baseball players can come back to play in their country and share with their families, also where the young players improve their skills, and where northamericans come to play good baseball.

Since the 1950's when Osvaldo Virgil made dominican baseball famous by playing in the major leagues, we have seen a huge quantity of dominicans players parading for the professionalism in the USA. Guys like the three Alou brothers, Juan Marichal, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez and currently, Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Vladimir Guerrero, Usbaldo Jimenez have showed during their stay in the Major Leagues the quality and the delivery that dominican baseball player have for this sport.

During the ten yearsd war in Cuba, many cubans emigrated to Dominican Republic bringing with them this game called "Baseball". And this sport became very quickly in our National sport and our passion. No matter where you go in the island you will find a baseball park, even in the poorest towns; something very common that you can find in Dominican Republic are the little kids playing on the streets, or any empty field where they can play. Baseball season never ends in my country, young guys and their coaches are getting ready waiting for the moment that any scout of a major league team sing this guy. Baseball is played in love and this young kids can spend all day on the baseball field watching, playing, and talking about baseball. Today more than one in six playersin the American Leagues is from Latin America, the majority if them coming from the towns located on the Southeastern of Dominican Republic.

other genres of dominican music

Salves:

 

salve is a call and response type of singing uses a lot of african instruments. Salves are ceremonials that are used to in pilgrimages and at parties dedicated to saints.

 

Palo:

dominican sacred music that can be found around all the island. the drum and the voice are the principal instruments. Palo is played at religious ceremonies, usually coinciding with saint' days. Palos and Salves are related by the instruments used and the main subject which are the saints.

 

An african culture that dominican still keeping alive.

 

Dominican Rock:

Dominican rock is popular among younger and not so younger crowds of the Dominican Republic. Dominican rock is influenced by British and American rock, but also has its own sense of unique style. The rock scene in the Dominican Republic has been very vibrant in recent years, spanning many genres of rock such as pop rock, reggae/rock, punk, metal.

 

Reggaeton:

dominican reggaeton is associated to puertorican reggaeton. Dominican reggaeton is like a mixture of bachata and merengue rhythm, and also in Dominican Republic the reggaeton singers try to follow famous singers from Puerto Rico like Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Arkangel, and Luny Tunes.

 

Jazz:

the most important representative of the genre is Michael Camilo.

 

The music in Dominican Republic is very important because the music keeps the happiness between the population, is a way to express how we enjoy our lifes day by day.

 

 

bachata

bachata is a popular guitar music, which was originated in the countryside and the rural neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. Bachata took shape over a period of 40 years in the bars and brothels of the different cities, this genre did not gain acceptance until 10 years ago. Bachata is a variant of bolero. the bolero in our culture is traditionally romantic, dealing with themes like deception and lost of love. Bachata subjects are must of the time romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbrake and sadness, just like bolero's music. Bachata dance is a four-step beat achieved with a walking Cuban hip motion, and a unique "pop". The dance is performed both in open position and in closed position depending on the setting and mood of the partners.

 

The genre of bachata has passed throught many faces since 1961, because for that time bachata was considered as the music played in places of ill repute. With the death of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in 1963 a huge number of musicians left the rural areas to record their music in the capital. During the era of the dictator the music was monopolized by his family and with his dead arise the first generation of "bachateros". The 1970s was a dark era for bachata because it was even metioned  on tv or played on the radio, because of the content of the music. By the 1980s bachata began to take some place in the dominican society, due to popular demand of the population.  By the 1990s the sound was modernized and the bachata was dominated by two young stars: Luis Vargas and Anthony Santos. Both mix bachata with merengue in their repertoires. They were the first generation of pop bachata artists and with them the bachata began to emerge internationally as a music of hispanic dance-halls.

Juan Luis Guerra and Aventura are accreditted the most important representatives of bachata, they have taken the genre around USA, Europe, and almost all Latin America.

merengue

Our music is represented primarily for Merengue, though Bachata and other forms are also very popular like Perico Ripiao, Dominican Rap, Merengue from the street, Bachata Height, and Reggaeton.

Merengue:

merengue has been part of our repertoire since mid-19th century, it was during the dictatorship of Trujillo, when merengue became the most dominant musical genre on the island. In these days merengue is also very popular in Latin America and some parts of the world. The word merengue comes from an spanish word "meringue" which is a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar. Merengue was created by Ñico Lora a Dominican of spanisg descent, in the 1920s.

The most famous artist from Dominican Republic is Juan Luis Guerra. This man took the dominican music to a hight level around the world, with his amaizing voice and a great way to mix his music with another genres many people dance our music in many places. He just does not sing merengue, is very good in bachata, and he also has duos songs with other famous artist like Enrique Iglesias. He had won Latin Grammy Awards, and many pizes in Dominican republic.

Other famous singers from Dominican Republic are Fernando Villalona, Jhonny Ventura, and Sergio Vargas all of this are merengue singers.

DOMINICAN CULTURE

 

 

The culture of the dominican have been influenced by many different cultures, and the result of that is what we are today. the dominan official language is the Spanish because of the spanish colonialism, other languages that some people speak are Creole and English. English is becoming more prevalent and common due to the continued emigration to USA. Dominican are very amiable and we have a great sense of hospitality. It is very common at every dominican house to invite friends and family without any special reason to share a meal, we like to smile and laught at every moment. Dominicans try to have a relax attitude, because the main point is to avoid bad moments.

 

The Catholic Church is the principal religion in the country. The dominican culture still using some of the taino culture like with medicine, food, and several names of cities and different stuffs. An example of this is the Cassava, the tainos used to prepared to eat, and we still using it; also name of cities like Higuey, which is an important city in the East of the country.

 

 

Dominican Republic's national beer is Presidente and the national drik is Rum, people combine this drinks watching out national sport "BASEBALL".

For every dominican home the food is very important, thats why we have a great variety of food. Something very important for us is the music, as we are a very happy country, the music is part of our daily life.

 

Dominican culture is awesome, and we can absorb any other culture and make any person feel in home, this is a great characteristic that every dominican has, and that is why many people enjoy of our company.

 

history of how DOMINICAN REPUBLIC became an independet country.....

Thousands of years before Christopher Colombus discovered what today is America for the Europeans, the first island that he and his crew landed was  named by Colombus as la Hispaniola; this island was inhabitted by tainos indians. The word taino mean "good person" in their native language, they showed that to the spanish when they got to the island in 1942. the tainos indians were very peaceful and they were very organized. the spainiards saw that the tainos where an easy target to conquer, and also they saw how rich this island was. for the tainos the island was called Quisqueya, and they had a lot of gold jewelry around everywhere because the gold was found very easy almost in every river of the island, so Colombus hurried his trip back to Spain to talk about his new discovery.

 

in Christopher Colombus second trip to La Hispaniola, he brought all kind of equipment and any kind of men to prepare the conquest of the island. he start to explote the tainos with hard work and the women from the island were sexually abused by the spaniards. the tainos were kind of weak and with all the different diseases that the spaniards brought, the tainos start to die and their population began to dissappear very quickly. Colombus decided to use stronger men, so he brought africans to the island. the conquer of the spaniards was very succesful and they were getting all what they want, but the coming years other big nations from Europe start to navigate to the new world, and this became a problem for spain. for many year La Hispaniola was a colony of Spain, but then the France got into the island and colonized the west part of the island. the problems start for Spain when france, and the africans, and a few of the tainos that where in the island start to fight against them. Spain lost the island, so the island was part of France now, but after a while the the africans moved to the west part of the island and became independent from the french, they called their part of the island Haiti. and a few years later the haitians occupied the entire island.

(christopher colombus house in DR)

 

for 22 years the east part of the island was dominated by Haiti, there were many attempts before from the inhabitants of the east part who where a mixture of races (spaniars, tainos, and africans), this attempts failed, so om February 27th of 1844 was created what today is Dominican Republic, thanks to a secrete organization called "La Trinitaria" that was under the leadership of Juan Pablo Duarte.

dominican republic introduction!!!

dominican republic is located in the caribean next cuba, puerto rico, haiti, and jamaica. these countries form what is called the Greater antilles. dominican republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, where domincan republic has the biggest part of the territory of the island.

dominican republic is a great island where people can go and enjoy of the natural resources, and the great sense of humor of the population from this marvelous country.
dominican republic history is very interesting because many things happened in this little country. the spanish colonization, the french ocupation, the haitian ocupation, our independence, war of restoration, USA ocupation, an era of a dictator....
this country had suffered a lot of things, but still trying to improve the economy, and the style of live of the population. the dominican population has something very important and it is that it does not matter how tough the situation is they always try to find the good things of everything and keep going forward.

our economy depends a lot of what we produce in the crops, and of the tourist. the tourism is fundamental for us since people around the world go to DR to enjoy of our beaches, rivers, mountains, and any kind of landscape that people can find there.

dominican republic is full of happiness and a lot things to offer to all the world, and i will post them on my web page so you can enjoy of them and maybe i can convince you to visit my country.

dominican republic

first day of my winter term class!!!!

after a great and short break, we finally came back to graceland for the winter term class. i was kind of sad because the break was gone for me, but now after the introduction of our class, i am vey interested and excited about our project.
today we were looking through our sillabus to know what we were going to do, there were very interesting things like that we need to creat a blogg, and a web page this is something different for me, since i am not very familiar with this things. Also we were suppose to think about what our web page is going to be about, my first thought was my country, because there are a lot of interesting and nice thinks that i can publish on a web page, and hopefully many people can learn more about it.

dominican republic is a country full of happiness and nice places to visit, and i will give my best to show all of them on my web page, i also will talk about the culture, the food, the music, and all the good and bad things that will come to my mind about dominican republic.

i'm proud of my nationality and one of my purposes is to make that people from other countries feel interested about DR and visit that amazing island in the caribbean.