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Dominican Republic The Merengue Island
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With
Jennifer Trainer Thompson's CARIBBEAN
COCKTAILS, escape to an island paradise
is just an ice cube's throw away. You'll
find yourself in libation nirvana with
this thirst-quenching collection of over
60 delicious cocktail recipes, including
Mojitos and Le ti' Punch, tangy tequila
quenchers, and refreshing non-alcoholic
concoction,
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The Dominican Republic (Spanish: Rep?lica Dominicana;
Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ?miniˈkana]) is a nation on the
island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in
the Caribbean region. The western third of the island Hispaniola is
occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two
Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin
being the other. Its size is 48,700 km? with an estimated population
of almost 10,000,000.
The Dominican Republic is the site of the first permanent European
settlement in the Americas: Santo Domingo, the country's capital.
For most of its independent history, the nation experienced
political turmoil and unrest, suffering through many
non-representative and tyrannical governments. Since the death of
military dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in 1961, the
Dominican Republic has moved toward a liberal economic model, which
has made it the largest economy in the region, and towards
representative democracy.
Listen to Samples
Tourism
Tourism is fueling the Dominican Republic's economic growth. For
example, the contribution of travel and tourism to employment is
expected to rise from 550,000 jobs in 2008 — 14.4% of total
employment or 1 in every 7 jobs — to 743,000 jobs — 14.2% of total
employment or 1 in every 7.1 jobs by 2018.[52] With the construction
of projects like Cap Cana, and San Souci Port in Santo Domingo and
Moon Palace Resort in Punta Cana the Dominican Republic expects
increased tourism activity in the upcoming year. Ecotourism has been
a topic increasingly important in the nation, with towns like
Jarabacoa and neighboring Constanza and locations like the Pico
Duarte, Bahia de Las Aguilas and others becoming more significant in
attempts to increase direct benefits from tourism.
Culture
Carnaval of La Vega, one of the most famous carnivals in
the country.
The culture of the Dominican Republic, like its Caribbean
neighbors, is a blend of the European colonists, Africans, and
Ta?os, and their cultural legacies. Spanish, also known as
Castellano (Castilian) is the official language. Other languages
such as English, French, German, Italian and Chinese are also spoken
to varying degrees. European, African and Ta?o cultural elements
are most prominent in food, family structure, religion and music.
Many Arawak/Ta?o names and words are used in daily conversation and
for many foods native to the DR.
Music
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Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for the creation of the
musical style called merengue,[101] a type of lively, fast-paced
rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160
beats per minute (it varies wildly) based on musical elements like
drums, brass, and chorded instruments, as well as some elements
unique to the music style of the DR. It includes the use of the
tambora (Dominican drum), accordion, and g?ra. Its syncopated beats
use Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass, and piano or
keyboard. Well-known merengue singers include singer/songwriter Juan
Luis Guerra, Fernando Villalona, Eddy Herrera, Sergio Vargas, To?
Rosario, Johnny Ventura, and Milly Quezada. Merengue became popular
in the United States, mostly on the east coast, during the 1980s and
90s, when many Dominican artists, among them Victor
Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Milly, and Jocelyn Y Los
Vecinos, residing in the U.S. (particularly New York) started
performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. The
emergence of bachata along with an increase in the number of
Dominicans living among other Latino groups in New York, New Jersey,
and Florida have contributed to Dominican music's overall growth in
popularity.
Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra in concert, 2005.
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Bachata, a form of music and dance that originated in the
countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican
Republic, has become quite popular in recent years. Its subjects are
often romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbreak and
sadness. In fact, the original term used to name the genre was
amargue ("bitterness," or "bitter music"), until the rather
ambiguous (and mood-neutral) term bachata became popular. Bachata
grew out of, and is still closely related to, the pan-Latin American
romantic style called bolero. Over time, it has been influenced by
merengue and by a variety of Latin American guitar styles.
Particularly among Dominican youth, a genre of music that has been
growing in popularity in recent years in the Dominican Republic is
Dominican rap. Also known as Rap del Patio it is rap music created
by Dominican crews and solo artists. Originating in the early 2000s
with crews such as Charles Family, successful rappers such as Lapiz
Conciente, Vakero, Toxic Crow, and R-1 emerged. The youth have
embraced the music, sometimes over merengue and bachata, as well as
salsa, and most recently reggaeton. It must be noted that Dominican
rap differs from reggaeton in the fact that Dominican rap does not
use the traditional Dem Bow rhythm frequently used in reggaeton,
instead using more hip hop-influenced beats. As well, Dominican rap
focuses on urban themes such as money, women, and poverty, similarly
to American rap.
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