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| A Dominican youth selling his paintings |
A favorite place - Dominican Republic
(a) I apologize this essay sounds like an advertisement for tourism to the Dominican Republic.
(b) Favorite protégé: Leonardo R.
(c) Some people would say one’s favorite place is Boulder, Colorado, or pre-AIDS Fire Island on south coast of Long Island, New York. Another beautiful city is Charleston, S. C.
(d) The first time I went to the Dominican Republic, la República Dominicana, was 25 years ago. I paid money gradually into a scholarship fund established by the NHYC HRA, Local 371, for needy Hispanics to go to school. A worthy cause. This paid for a flight on American Airlines from NYC to Santo Domingo Airport. I went to a “luxury” resort in Juan Dolio, a section of the Caribbean Sea Coastline, on the DR’s south shore, about 10 miles east of Boca Chica and 15 miles west of San Pedro de Macoris. I sat in the pool and got free daiquiris and rum and cokes. I got photographed sitting on a burro or was it a burra? I had a ball.
(e) Then there was the side trip to Santiago and Punta Cana on the north shore of the DR. Two more beautiful sun-drenched cities.
(f) 2nd visit, 2 years ago. The name of the resort I went to was the Albatross. A business woman was also there, she described how she came to DR to relax. She previously went to Breckenridge, Colorado. My brother and I had just visited Breckenridge, CO. A coincidence.
(g) Another coincidence is the 60-year old barber in College Point in NYC. He goes to DR every chance he gets because he has a Dominican girl friend there. He goes to Boca Chica.
(h) One afternoon, I was sitting on the beach enjoying watching the geckos and sea gulls, when I noticed a man swimming in the water. I looked a little closer. He wasn’t actually swimming, he was taking a bath. When he got out of the water, he approached me and said “Hola”; I got red in the face. We got acquainted.
(i) Leonardo served as my guide although he could only drive in the areas of DR where the police had no jurisdiction, which, for some reason I do not know, is inland and covers a lot of territory.
(j) If you get stopped by a local cop, and it does happen more or less regularly, you have to hand over the equivalent of $3.00 or US $3.00. One cop told me they have to do this because their pay is not sufficient for them to buy lunch.
(k) I visited with Leonardo’s relatives. L. loves his mother, his aunt, his uncles, his cousins.
(l) His very petite elderly aunt looked sort of dried up like a raisin. But I knew that was the tropical sun that had made her skin a dark brown. She looked very different from what I am used to. But she looked fine. I asked Leonardo’s relatives if they had enough to eat. The aunt and uncle said they have plenty to eat. They harvest the veggies from their garden plots and they have chickens laying eggs, and pigs, and goats and bulls and cows for milk. The point is they were 3rd world dirt farmers, but they sort of lived well without any cash.
(m) They showed me where they live. In the U. S. I have noticed the popularity of tool sheds, sometimes designed like little houses in the backyards. In the DR a “casa” is the size of one of these tool sheds. Which was fine. They were living in paradise, right? So what does the size of their house mean? And then of course the hurricanes blow down big houses so easily anyway.
(n) I had a rented car so Leonardo and his (beautiful) cousin piled into the vehicle and led me on a little trip through the back woods where they all got pretty much naked and netted some fish in a babbling brook. They said that would be their dinner. I thought to myself, “How delightfully primitive.”
(o) In the DR, you can take a trip on a catamaran that takes you to a town about 30 miles east of Juan Dolio, called San Pedro de Macoris. I took the trip, more champán, more booze, more beautiful boys swimming. More beautiful tropical coastlines.
(p) Then there were the horse rides, the casino, the really ritzy resort , the Talanquera Beach Resort, at the end of the roadway in front of my resort, the Albatross. The Talanquera had a boutique selling Dominican style clothes; it had a French restaurant, an African restaurant decorated with a large black shield, more lovely primitive art, decorating the main hotel, an American restaurant. There were three reflecting ponds: the palm gardens pond, the flamingo ponds with beautiful pink flamingos eating shrimp; and the orchid pond with a magnificent floral display.
(q) The Talanquera displayed the local art which consisted primarily of gorgeous oil paintings. I am fussy about my art. The local artists enjoyed painting palm trees on beaches, scenes from the sugar plantation days of 150 years ago and abstract paintings depicting African themes of mother earth. These paintings are tasteful and magnificent. They are hung on the fences of all the tourist resorts. The colors are rich and vibrant.
(r) Once when I was sitting in the front yard of my pseudo-luxury resort, the Albatross, I observed the passing of a herd of wild goats. They were adorable, and, like the humans, they were enjoying themselves. The resort architecturally was substantial and lovely, but of course since we were in the 3rd world, one could not drink the water and the plumbing and electricity were iffy.
(s) I remember the week before I went to the DR in February of 2011. In New York it was a typical winter. I remember walking down the street being pelted with frozen ice pellets in my face. I said to myself it is time for DR.
(t) Unlike the Mexican diet, dominated by hot spicy tomato sauces, the Dominicans seem to prefer fresh fruits and vegetables. The tropical fruits are particularly tasty: mangos, guanábanos, guavas, tamarind juice, avocados and papayas.
(u) After a while, one wants to prepare one’s own food. This requires a short trip to the local supermercado, “Jumbo’s”. Leonardo and I went there. I told Leonardo to buy what he wanted. His favorite purchase was octopus tentacles. He said he and his family would really enjoy dining on this delicacy. For me personally, I never ate calamari and do not have plans on doing so. A chacun son goût.
(v) While I was in Jumbo’s shopping with Leonardo, I noticed an elderly blond American doing shopping with a young Dominican man who looked like a movie star. I knew instantly why this (I presume gay) American was enjoying the DR. Inwardly, I applauded his good judgment. Gather ye rosebuds …, right? I suppose the Pope would disapprove, but Oscar Wilde would have understood.
(w) I frequently had lunch in a nearby restaurant and made the acquaintance of several Italian businessmen who said they were investing in Juan Dolio to make it look like the Italian Riviera. Many of the other guests at the Talanquera were Italian, some Americans, and the French.
(x) I asked Leonardo if he knew how to read and write. He said sí. I thought Leonardo would be better off if he had a driver’s license, went to school to start to learn English and apply for a passport so that he could come to the U.S.A. For me that would have been a good investment. Leonardo agreed to all three of these projects but never followed through. We never found out how either how I could send him money other than via Western Union or Moneygram.
Denver, 2013
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