Brugal and Merengue

Brugal rum is made in the Dominican Republic. It's one of the first things that I remember about the D.R.
After going through customs we were greeted by a Brugal representative who let us sample the well known rum with Sprite. Delicious!
If you're drinking it straight, the rum, which is made with sugar and molasses, goes down smoothly with a spicy-sweet aftertaste.
Don Andrés Brugal Montaner came to the Dominican Republic from Cuba. After learning rum making in Cuba he started making rum in Puerto Plataon the North coast. Brugal & Co. was formed and has become one of the top businesses in the country and has branched off into many smaller businesses and organizations helping the country and its people.
The Brugal factory is located in Puerto Plata and the distribution and marketing offices are located in Santo Domingo and Santiago. The factory is the oldest bottling operation in Dominican Republic. More than one and a half million liters of white and dark rum are produced in the factory each year.


Order a Cuba Libre (rum and Coke) and you'll get:

2 ounces of rum (with a little poured out on the ground for the dead)

Coke

A squeeze of lime

Serve in a highball glass filled with ice, add the rum then fill with the coke add the lime.

To make a Cuba Libre Dominican Style. Get a large styrofoam glass. Fill with ice. Fill it almost to the top with rum. Add a shot of soda to the glass and lime if you have it. Swirl it around a bit or mix with your finger if necessary. Then drink up!
(recipe provided by colonialzone-dr.com)

The other thing that I remember about the Dominican Republic is the dancing!
We arrived in Santo Domingo our first day and drove straight to Cabarete, where we were planning on staying for the week.
Upon our arrival we were exhausted but after a couple of Presidentes we decided to go out and see what the town had to offer.
After a few drinks at the beach bars we ended up on the dancefloor. I don't really know how it happened because I'm a terrible dancer but suddenly I was on the dancefloor in the midst of a mass of people dancing to merengue and having the time of my life.
Merengue is a type of music and dance that comes from the D.R. It was created in the 1920s and became the country’s national music and dance style after being promoted by dictator, Rafael Trujilo.
Other country's have picked up on the merengue rhythm. Venezuela has it's own merengue artists and certain artists in New York also produce merengue music.

Straight From The Dominican Republic

Nicole Mera is a student at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida but originates from the capitol of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. I interviewed Nicole about her life in the Dominican Republic and this is what she had to say...

1. How long did you live in the Dominican Republic and when did you move to the U.S.?
I’ve lived in the Dominican Republic all my life (18 years). I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. I moved to the U.S. in September 2009, just for college.

2. How did you end up in St. Augustine and at Flagler College?
I ended up at Flagler College because my counselor in high school recommended it and I wanted to go somewhere where it was warm and close to the beach like D.R. and St. Augustine is just like that. Also, I’ve studied in English all my life since preschool and the U.S. offers be a better education than back home.

3. What is your favorite thing about Dominican Republic?
Everything. I absolutely love my country. I would say that what I like the most is the people. We are so happy and friendly with everybody. We are really optimistic and open-minded even though we have a lot of poverty and we’ve been through a lot of corruption, we try to live our life based on carpe diem.

4. What are some popular: bands or music and social networking (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) in the D.R.?
Music: We are famous for our Merengue, salsa, reggeaton, and mambo. We dance everything! We love music and to dance.
Bands: Aventura, Juan Luis Guerra, Omega, Milly Quezada, and Eddy Herrera.
Facebook and twitter are really popular all over the island.

5. Do Haitians immigrants in the D.R. get along with Dominicans or is there discrimination?
To be honest, some Dominicans don’t like Haitians emigrating in to our country but most of the time we offer them jobs with low income. For example: gardeners, street cleaners and construction workers. We don’t like the idea of them invading our country but at the same time we feel sorry for them so we try our best to help them. I don’t think we discriminate towards them at all. Maybe some people.

6. What is your favorite part of the Dominican Republic?
Santo Dominigo ( the capital), where I was raised and born.
The North: Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete.

7. How has poverty affected the country and is it progressing towards a brighter future?
If you’re young and poor in the Dominican Republic, chances are you’ll finish secondary school and get a steady job. Maybe, you will never go to school and just become a delinquent or a beggar in every intersection. Meaning that poverty has caused a lot of delinquency and unemployment in the DR. Now the country is taking a step toward solving these problems with a new plan to train some 28,000 young people and expand its adult education programs over the next four years. Hopefully conditions in my country will improve soon.

8. Why are there so many groups of men hanging out on their scooters and motorcycles on the street corners?
Hahaha!!! They are like taxis but cheaper and they can only take one person or sometimes more. They try to fit as many people as they can. Many people depend on them for transportation; especially poor people that can’t afford to pay a taxi or a car. They all hang out while someone comes to them for a ride. Those are called “ Motoconchos.”
They always scream dirty stuff to women that pass by them! haha!

9. Do Dominicans like their government or are there some problems?
There is too much corruption and people feel indignant, mistreated, and deceived. We don’t trust our government but since we haven’t had a good government for a while we are used to it.

10. Do you plan on returning to the Dominican Republic when you leave Flagler or will you stay in the U.S.?
I definitely plan to go back to my country and make a difference. I came to the U.S. only to experience a different culture and for the education but what I call home is the Dominican Republic. It can have all the problems in the world but I love living in that little island that not many people know of.

Photos by: Nicole Mera

Education

Upon our arrival in Boca Chica one afternoon, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see what was going on. It was around 4 and a public school was just letting out. I was surprised by the fact that every child was wearing a school uniform. In the U.S. most public schools let the kids wear whatever they want. It got me interested in the education system in the Dominican Republic and this is what I found...


Children ages 7 to 14 are required to attend school in the Dominican Republic. However, many children drop out of school before they reach these requirements, of this group many are girls. With so many children attending public school, there is often a lack of teachers, facilities and funding. Classes in public schools are taught in Spanish, while private schools are often bilingual. Although public school education is provided to citizens at no cost, they still are required to pay for the school uniforms and books.


As of 2009, the adult literacy rate was at 89 according to a United Nations Development Programme. In Santo Domingo the oldest university in the Americas, Santo Tomas de Aquino University, was created in 1538. Today it is known as the University of Santo Domingo.


Photo credit: ME

Religious Ceremony Turned Dance Party?

La Guacara Taina is an underground bar in Santo Domingo. While you're dancing the night away as you hold your Presidente with music blaring and a lasers beaming rays over you're head the last thing in the world you would probably think of is a anything having to do with religion.
But sure enough, this cave was originally used by the Taino people as a place where they would conduct religious ceremonies.
The only thing going on now in this mulitlevel underground cave is just a memorable night of dancing and drinks.


Photo credit: Guacarataina.net

Googlization?

Globalization? No, more like Googlization. As Google continues to extend its services throughout the world, they are now showing a specific interest in Central and South America. Google has already appointed a delegate in Peru and is now looking to the Dominican Republic for another possible candidate.
According to Dominican Today, Daniel Gertsacov, team manager of Google TV ads, said, "his visit to the country aims to make Google more open to markets with the potential to develop the Internet".
Photo credit: Google.com

What's playing in the Dominican Republic?

While I was in the Dominican Republic, one of my friends bought a few pirated CDs from a street vendor. They were all bands we had never heard of before but we figured we needed something to play in the car while we were cruising along the beach. There was one CD in particular that we thought was exceptionally good and it ended up becoming our kind-of soundtrack for the trip. The CD was Aventura's most recent album The Last.
To us, Aventura was just a group that made great music to listen to in our car, but when one of our Dominican friends, Gabriel, got into our car and heard Aventura playing we realized that the group was much more than that.
Gabriel, a guy in his early 20's who lives along Encuentro Beach in the northern part of the Dominican Republic, was surprised that we had an Aventura CD. He told us that Aventura is what everyone his age listens to and that it was one of the biggest bands in the Dominican Republic.
Aventura's members are mainly of Dominican descent. Ever since their beginning in 1994, the group has grown more and more popular over time as they have mixed bachata with hip hop and R&B. In their most recent album, Aventura collaborated with Akon, Wyclef Jean, Ludacris and other well known artists. The group has won countless awards and has a fans worldwide.
Who knew that buying a CD by a group we had never even heard of, would turn out to teach us about one of the most popular groups in the Dominican Republic and around the world!


Photo credit: Soundcheck.freedomblogging.com, Beinglatino.wordpress.com

Roots from the Dominican Republic...

Sammy Sosa (baseball player), born in Consuelo, Dominican Republic. Sosa started his major league career with the Texas Rangers, spent a short time with the Chicago White Sox before becoming a baseball legend with the Chicago Cubs. In 1998, Sosa went up against Mark McGwire in a race to achieve the Roger Maris' home run record. He is the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 600 home runs and he has the most home run hits among foreign-born Major League baseball players.


Alex Rodriguez (baseball player), born in New York to Dominican parents. Rodriguez moved to the Dominican Republic for a short time as a child before moving to Miami. He currently plays for the New York Yankees but has played for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers in the past. He is the youngest player to hit 500 home runs.


Oscar de la Renta (fashion designer), born in Santo Domingo. De la Renta left the DR at 18 to study in Spain. There he apprenticed for renowned designer, Cristobal Balenciaga. After leaving Spain, he worked as an assistant at Lanvin in Paris. In 1965, De la Renta, launched his own label. He has recieved the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award in 2000 and 2007. Today, De la Renta resides in the U.S. but has a house in Punta Cana.


Michelle Rodriguez (actress), born in the U.S. to a Dominican mother. Rodriguez moved to the Dominican Republic at the age of 8. She has been in films such as Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious, Blue Crush, Resident Evil, S.W.A.T. and Avatar. She has also appeared on the TV series, Lost.


Arlenis Sosa (model), born in Montecristi, Dominican Republic. Sosa has modeled for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Interview. She has walked for Dior, Oscar de La Renta, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, John Galliano, Emanuel Ungaro, Hermes, John Paul Gaultier, Diane von Furstenberg, Bottega Veneta and many other top name designers. She is the current spokesmodel for Lancome and has been listed on People's 100 Most Beautiful list.


Juelz Santana (rapper), born in New York to a Dominican father and African-American mother, Santana was signed by the age of 15 to Priority Records. Santana has released several albums and has collaborated with Cam'ron, Lil' Wayne, Jim Jones and DJ Mick Boogie.
Photo Credits: NBCsports.com, Hollywoodgossip.com, Papermag.com, Horaz.com, Vivafashionblog.com and Flypaperblog.com