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Culture
of Dominican Republic
A plethora of
cultures have left their stamp on Dominican society. Traditional
Taíno foods and medicines are familiar today, and Taíno words - like
hammock and tobacco - still pepper the language. Spanish settlers
gave the country their language, the Roman Catholic faith and a deep
strain of machismo. Africans brought here as slaves brought their
own faith, inextricably bound in the dominant European offering, as
well as art and music. Even US troops left their mark - Dominicans
love baseball. It is a heady mixture.
Music and dance is at
the heart of Dominican culture. The most popular form is merengue,
which will be blasted, full volume, almost anywhere you go in the
country. A tad more pastoral is bachata, Dominican country music,
with plenty of songs about heartbreak and loss. Salsa probably makes
the third favorite musical type in the DR's holy trinity, though
you'll find plenty of jazz, rock, hip-hop and just about anything
else that'll keep your feet moving.
The Dominican art
scene is also quite healthy, thanks in no small part to dictator
Rafael Trujillo. Creative freedom was not a hallmark of his reign,
but the man did have a soft spot for painting. He founded the
Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts) in
1942, basically instituting the country's fine painting tradition.
'Primitive' art, which relies less on perspective and shading and
more on color and action, is also popular; keep your eyes open for
it. And to check out what's happening in edgier scenes, drop by the
Museo de Arto Moderno in Santo Domingo.
Architecture is
another important part of Dominican culture, from the well-preserved
colonial Spanish buildings of Santo Domingo, the Americas' first
European city, to the brightly colored farmhouses of the
countryside. Color and style are ignored by no one in the DR, which
makes for some very interesting sightseeing. |
