Beachfront Properties & Real Estate In Dominican Republic

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Music, Literature and Culture

Before Batey and SonAbril were fusing traditional Dominican rhythms with rock and reggae sounds, attempting to break cultural barriers with their music, there was a collection of Dominican artists who were bringing the DR's cultural history to the forefront. But these cultural educators haven't received the support and recognition needed in order to get their message and music to the masses. Still, the lack of mainstream recognition has never been enough to deter them from their goals. The DR's cultural history, though as brilliant and interesting as that of any other country in the region, or even the world, has remained largely hidden to the very people who have created it and live in it. Dominican culture has been only enjoyed in small bits and pieces by the public at large and it is the lack of cultural, social and personal awareness which has made it difficult for these musics to become part of the overall Dominican identity.

In looking at Dominican cultural history it must be noted that the DR has experienced a large scale cultural repression since the time of the Spanish conquest. The Spanish introduced the now common concept of Eurocentricity and anything that was not in line with this ideology was discarded. Speaking racially, this included discarding any vestige of Africaness and replacing it with Europeanism. But how would Dominicans come to explain their color, their customs and norms, which didn't necessarily fall in line with the Spanish model presented to them? In this sense Dominicans would create an image of themselves contrasting their identities and would discard the image of Africaness. At the same time Dominicans would resurrect the image of the Taino Indian, whose presence was reduced considerably in the first 50 years of the Spanish presence on the island, as their own.

According to social scholar Joyce E. Salisbury "one major way in which people define their identities is in relation to what they are not." And popular author Michele Wucker explains that, "mourning his demise and celebrating his legacy, Dominicans resurrected the past and constructed a Taino-influenced ancestry to explain their color. Today, mulatto and Black Dominicans call themselves, Indio, and they say that their color is dark like that of Indians but different in quality from African skins. They can identify with Enriquillo (a Taino warrior) because he was a Christian." With Wucker's and Salisbury's assertions we can see how Dominicans came to view and define themselves. Wucker also asserts that in Enriquillo the Dominican saw the image of a great man. "A heroic Indian who put peace with Spain above alliance with black slaves, Enriquillo fed the Dominican myth of a Great Man." Though the physical presence of the Indio died out, replaced by the intermixing with Africans and Europeans, the presence of the Indio in the Dominican psyche as a way to understand himself, as Salisbury would explains, as something he is not, is still at the core of the Dominican identity.

But this part of the complex equation that is Dominican identity is not enough to understand the depths of the cultural landscape. In looking at Dominican culture we see the vestiges of African culture that had been tried to be forgotten, but is quietly publicized through music, food and language instead of through educational programs, literature or state sponsored events. It creates a dangerous dynamic when a country's history is tucked away in the backgrounds of time replaced with a created concept, with "truths" carefully chosen, used to sculpt a history that is convenient with the message or "identity" one is trying to create. But it is not all at a loss as there are artists throughout the DR who have made it their personal goal to resurrect these culturally important customs and have used music, or their words, as their vehicle, or tool, to teach the country's citizens about who they are. These artists, knowingly and unknowingly, are exploring the concept of identity, shedding light on parts of Dominican cultural history, which has been largely ignored, introducing new possibilities which people can use to define themselves and in a sense helping carve out who Dominicans can be. In short these artists have been working to help define that defiantly ambiguous term of what in fact is "Dominicaness."

Blas Jimenez

Afro/Dominican poet and essayist Blas Jimenez is one of the few voices in the DR that has continually championed the concept of Afro-Dominicaness. Jimenez speaks of the acceptance of this frame of mind as a way to establish and define Dominicaness, which by all accounts doesn't fully incorporate all facets of Dominican culture, tradition and life. Through his literary work Jimenez has challenged the historical image of white, Spanish, Catholic Dominicans and has tried to plant the seed that Dominicans are none of this. That they, whether they like it or not, recognize it or not, are in fact more African in there make up than they are Taino or Spanish. But the challenges that face Jimenez in literature are many. According to him Dominican literature is still far behind and this is due to the insufficiencies in the educational system of the DR. The education system, he explains is 20 or 30 years behind the rest of the world. Add to this that even in the higher levels of education a diverse curriculum, which would inevitably consists of African related history and cultural classes, are void of these educational opportunities. This creates the issue that the educational system, and the existing literature, is still derived from that European oriented mindset, which champions the idea that even the darkest Dominicans aren't black, they are Spanish.

This lack of creativity in the classroom has lead to Dominican born writers lacking the imagination and strength of self to explore a new concept of African based heritage. Even Jimenez's use of the term Afro-Dominican, a term that has not even registered in Dominican literary or cultural circles, is ahead of the curve and sure to receive criticisms as a term that doesn't "represent" who Dominicans are. The complexities that surround the conversation that Jimenez, and the few writers like him are having, are ones that could potentially deter other writers from continuing on. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and that tunnel, interestingly enough begins in the US. According to Jimenez it is the large number of Dominican migrants to the US that has, and will help change the misguided concept, of how Dominicans view themselves. A Dominican who has recently arrived in the US faces the shock that he/she is considered black, not mulatto, not white. It takes time to adjust to this reality, but once accepted becomes a powerful realization. Previous DR1 articles have focused in detail about how the migration culture has heavily influenced the acceptance of Rap music, once thought of as a genre for the poor and black. The concept of Afro-Domincaness is, according to Jimenez, the movement of the future and once Dominicans have empowered themselves with knowledge of self it is only a matter of time when the society can progress.

Xiomara Fortuna

In trying to discover the country's musical and cultural roots you can look no further than the work of Xiomara Fortuna. Fortuna, a native of Monte Cristi, has been considered one of the country's most progressive musicians. Her work spans almost 30 years and during this time Fortuna has managed to venture into the depths of Dominican tradition while at the same time heavily incorporating the African influenced music of the DR. It is her ability to fuse these aspects of Dominican culture and heritage into her music that have made her work important in the development, definition and progression of Dominican identity. In speaking with her you can understand how her own upbringing has guided her musical career. In a country where being white or light skinned is revered Fortuna exclaims, "ever since I was born I knew I was Black, it's obvious isn't it? My family let me know this at a very early age and they insulted me when we would fight by calling me names. I couldn't deny it. I'm not an idiot to be that confused." Fortuna says that of course she was angered by the things that would be said about her, or what she would be compared to because of her dark skin color, but little by little she went on to defend herself, exploring the advantages that being Black had. She would say proudly, "my color is beautiful, I am the most beautiful Black person in this house, my hands, my arms, my eyes, my teeth. I am strong!" And she says that as soon as she discovered herself, and was aware of who she was, she liked it. It is this defiant, yet confident attitude, which lead Fortuna to incorporate the Black African traditions of the DR into her music. But that is not enough. Fortuna recognizes that in the DR there are many who play music but are not artists and she recognizes her power as a teacher saying , "that the artist has the key to teach in their hand." Adding to the obstacles in the diffusion of traditional music is the fact that the majority of artists are interested in making money and being famous, and not teaching. Fortuna adds that these musics should be incorporated into the curriculum, as they aren't now, and that the time will come for Dominicans to define their identity. Asked why traditional and African based sounds aren't heavily accepted in the DR and Fortuna explains that African musics have a relation to religion and that these musics have been categorized as demonic, as something evil, but reminds us that the DR's popular and traditional musics have their roots in these "demonic" celebrations, people just don't know it.

Fundacion Cultural Bayahonda

The Bayahonda project, which was at its peak in 1997, cited its mission to strive to revalue Dominican identity through different cultural and artistic offers. It was one of the first projects in the DR to attempt to reconstruct Dominican cultural identity through various cultural manifestations at the community, regional and national levels. The project also looked to strengthen the relationships between the DR and Haiti as well as tapping into the support of the Dominican community in the US and abroad. The CD, Musica RaicesVolumen I, counted on the participation of such artists as Enerolisa Nuñez, David Almengod, Maracande Grupo de Congos de la Cofradia del Espiritu Santo de Villa Mella, Xiomara Fortuna and Kaliumbé, La Reverenda and el grupo Hermandad Cultural de Villa Mella, Grupo de Gagá del Batey La Ceja , Duluc and Dominican, Mercedes Cuevas, Grupo Los Paleros de Nigua, Guibo and Grupo Los Paleros de Nigua, Senaida Jansen, Marilí Gallardo, Ochy Curiel and Luisa Mateo. But in retrospect the importance of this project cannot be understated. The musical compilation, which included the raw talents of typical Dominican artists with no professional training or practice, represented an ideal model of what Dominican "identity" is. It was the fusion of old and new, folk and modern, African, European and indigenous cultures all in one place.

Roldan

Roldan Marmol, one of Xiomara's colleagues, has been one of the musicians at the forefront of the movement to reconnect Dominicans to their cultural roots. Roldan explains that since he was a child he was interested in nature and it was his studies that lead him to where he is today. When he was 17 he went out to the campos of the DR to explore nature, getting his first taste of culture at the bateys and when he entered the UASD University he met up the likes of musicians Dagoberto Tejada, Jose Duluc and Jose Rodriguez. He adds that in 1997 the CD Musica RaicesVolumen I was released and this was a revolutionary and impacting album in the redefinition of Dominican identity and culture. He adds that with no official support the CD sold more than 20,000 copies and became widely popular in the discos of the DR and abroad. He adds that the importance of this album was noted when popular musician Kinito Mendez re-made one of the songs into a merengue hit. But Roldan explains that in Santo Domingo the original version of the song, true to its traditional roots, was more popular in the discos than the remake, adding to the notion that Dominicans would be willing to accept their roots if they were presented with them. Unfortunately individualism within the music industry hasn't allowed for their to be cooperation though the Bayahonda Fusion Project, which produced the Musica Raices album, was one of the few examples where artists have gotten together. For Roldan there is a lack of vision in the DR with regards to the future of music and culture. State Ministries have failed to take advantage of opportunities presented to them in order to bring these sounds to the classroom. Academics in the DR have also balked at the importance of these cultural sounds because to them it still represents that counter image of what they want portrayed as "Dominicaness," as they still consider it Black, Haitian or African. But 2008 is a key year in changing all that. Concerts and cultural events planned for 2008 hope to express the positive virtues of ‘negritude' within Dominican culture and unite artists from across the DR, the region and the world. Roldan adds "globalization has taken us somewhere and we have to take advantage of that!" For this artist the ultimate goal is to get this music, these sounds and this culture out there. In the end he hopes that these efforts will in some way shape what is to become of "Dominicaness."

Redefining identity

Identity is a very personal thing. It is no one's place to tell another who they are or how they should define themselves, after all that would counter productive. But, at the end of the day trying to define Dominican identity will require all parts of the country's cultural roots to be placed on the table for those curious eyes to see. Once the public has been presented and educated about their roots it is their prerogative to go about the process of defining their identity. But, not until that process is underway can Dominicans begin to fully understand what it means to be "Dominican."

 

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