Some questions before heading off to the DR

[miyaunna]

Hey ya'll, I am new here. I am not Dominican but I have a lot of friends from the DR and was interested in learning a little bit about the culture. I am tavelling there with some friends of mine (santo domingo

Comments

[delrosario]

My advice to you is to be yourself, but be prepared. Don't change your hairstyle or what you call yourself.

You may find yourself in uncomfortable situations, you may need to respond to a different kind of racism than what there is here. In some ways it will probably be a lot easier because you will probably see many people who look like you and will accept you. But Dominicans have a lot of self denial and even self hate when it comes to our African heritage. I've met a lot of people who think they are ugly just because they are dark skin or have African features. So be prepared to tell them no, you are not "ugly".

There are Dominicans who are proud of being black, of the African heritage, and this black pride movement has been going on for years. Look up the work of poet Manuel del Cabral as an example. Today there are writers like Blas Jiménez, who also write about black pride. And there are young people involved in projects like Melassa: http://www.melassa.org/ (Check them out if you get a chance.) But many Dominicans have a long way to go.