The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic was discovered on December 5, 1492, by Christopher Columbus during his first voyage to the New World. At that time the island of Hispaniola (as Columbus named it) was called "Quisqueya" by the Taino Indians who occupied the land. With a population estimated around 600,000, the Tainos (meaning "the good") were peaceful and hospitable to Columbus and his crew of Spaniards. Columbus himself grew a particular fondness for Hispaniola, describing it in his journal as "a beautiful island paradise with high forested mountains and large river valleys."

Arts, Culture, and Sports

The spirit and charm of the Dominican Republic is captured in its music, food, and national pastimes. Known for its professional winter baseball, handcrafted cigars, and annual music festivals, the culture of the Dominican Republic is never stodgy, or boring. It's always an artful and colorful expression of life.

Even the museums and archeological sites are vibrant, bringing the daring history of the Dominican Republic alive with antique treasures, dazzling jewels, and the cavernous time capsules left to us by a long lost culture. In the Dominican Republic, culture really means adventure.

Food and Drink

Dominican Republic cuisine features lightly spiced, coconut imbued, native Antillean and hearty Creole recipes. Many dishes are similar Central and South America cuisine and consist of rice with fish and other seafoods, meats, or vegetables. 

The Dominican flag meal or more known as the "La Bandera Dominicana" is the most well known of all famous foods of the Dominican Republic. This palatable dish is eaten by almost all locals during lunch time and is considered as one of the most important meal of the day. The La Bandera Dominicana is made up of rice, beans, meat vegetables and plantains that are fried. The locals eat this delicious dish to make sure that they have all the energy they need all throughout the afternoon and evening.

Baseball

A love for the game permeates local culture. This could be the reason why so many talented baseball players come from the Dominican Republic.

Music and Dance

The music and dance moves of the merengue and bachata were once controversial. Now they are a staple of the entertainment scene.

Merengue
The country's national dance, traditional merengue groups are comprised of a three-piece band including a melodeon (accordion-like instrument), a guira (a scraped percussion piece) and a tambora (double-headed drum); however, it has expanded to incorporate other instruments such as the saxophone, trumpets, violin, flute and piano. Its tempo is characterized by an aggressive beat, requiring its dancers to swing their hips in rapid, fluid motions and make sure their feet follow suit. Early merengue's lyrics were based on sexual encounters and other socially taboo subjects, thus preventing it from becoming widely accepted. Today, merengue's lyrics cover more general topics including politics and current events. Its music has become so popular, in fact, that it is honored with two regional festivals each year.

Although its true origins remain disputed, merengue combines a mixture of African and European elements. Others claim that merengue is a purely Dominican form, developed by a soldier named Tomas Torres after the country's victory at the battle of Talanquera. Another shaping influence was the country's interaction with Germany, a major trading partner, who familiarized the DR with the accordion.

Merengue remained out of favor with lower class society during the early 1900's because of its nature. Artists including Juan Espínola, Julio Alberto Hernandez and Juan F. García were unsuccessful in their attempts to make merengue mainstream with the lyrics as they were. Following a reduction in tempo from its original form (to accommodate American soldiers who were in the country between 1916 and 1924 and couldn't keep up with the fast-pace of the dance), the merengue began to take-off. Major mainstream acceptance started with the rise of former President Rafeal Trujillo in 1930 thanks to his perpetual promotion of the merengue to his followers. Born into a relatively poor family, Trujillo identified with those who were also kept from attending upper-class clubs and events and thus made the music the social status symbol of his fellow citizens. In fact, several merengue songs written during his presidency used his dictatorship as a topic.

Throughout the '60s, '70s and '80s, popular artists continued to develop merengue (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901-2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900-1999 ifurther by adding their own touches to the tempo and lyrical nature. Johnny Ventura and Wilfrido Vargas, who had top hits during those decades, are considered some of the best merengue musicians in history. Today, artists like Juan Luis Guerra, Jose Luis Rodriguez and Pablo Alejandro peak the charts.

Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global deprPolitics is the process and method of making decisions for groups.

Bachata
A much slower dance than the merengue, bachata emerged in the rural areas of the island during the 1960s. It was derived from bolero, a music genre native to Cuba, and is compared to country or R&B music of the United States. Originally popular with the poor or lower classes, bachata is characterized by guitar-based melodies rather than large bands. Its lyrics are mostly about relationships and hard times. 

The word bachata developed after the wealthier classes used the word to describe rowdy lower-class parties and the people who attended them. Before bachata groups were able to take advantage of the Dominican music and recording industry, it was common to see small groups strumming guitars and singing at street-side bachatas.

During the '70s and '80s, the economic hardships experienced by the rural and poor could be heard in the beat and lyrics of bachata. Words reflected negative attitudes toward women and promoted drinking and other taboo forms of behavior. Like merengue, bachata was viewed as too inappropriate to be considered mainstream but was forbidden until fairly recently when the lyrical content became more appropriate. Now, it is experiencing a resurgence in tourist and rural areas and is liked by all classes. Bachata artists are even beginning to appear in the media and on hit music lists. 

Well-known Dominican bachata artists include Aventura, Luis Vargas Aventura is a city in Florida, USA. Aventura is a Bachata-R&B music group from New York City. ..., Anthony Santos, Joe Veras, and Raulin Rodriguez.