Odds and Ends

The Miami Herald newspaper has an extraordinary series they're doing on growing influence of Afro-Latin Americans. The first two installments are out. There is an article on Dominicans entitled, "Black Denial." There is a video link. Very interesting series, indeed. There are two more articles to come, which will cover Brazil and Cuba. I think I smell a Pulitzer Prize for this series. There is a great graphic of the route and the number of slaves brought from Africa, and to which countries they were taken. (Link for the article en Espanol.)

Carrying the theme for a bit longer. I recently ran across the website for Ruth Ocumarez. She is the first woman of predominantly African heritage (her words) to win the Miss Dominican Republic title. Where as the issue above is "black denial," Ms. Ocumarez is known as the Ebony Goddess. As I was just really exploring the DR, I was shocked that there had been no one like her before (or since). Things are changing, not fast enough for some, but they are changing.

Listin Diario, the well-respected newspaper of the Dominican Republic, came out with an editorial against Gays frolicking about on TV. They just find it unseemly, especially with children of impressionable ages watching. Very interesting, because it does seem to be a lot of gay people on TV. At least, they seem Gay to me. I'm not quite sure how they would classify themselves, but ...

The next time you are driving in the DR, you should make sure to NOT run a red-light. But to show the seriousness of government, they are detaining some people for 6 hours for them to attend some type of class. I'm not sure how this will pertain to foreigners. But hey, just don't go through red lights and all should be fine.

For those who have been looking for information on Dominican artists, check out this link: http://www.galeriadeartedominicana.com. Great source of information.

As ever,
The Monaga Blogger