Culture of the Dominican Republic

La Vega Carnaval in the Independence Month. One of the most famous carnivals in the country.

The people and their customs have origins mixing of Spaniard, African and Taino roots. The Dominican Republic was the first Spanish colony in the New World. Diseases inadvertently brought by the Spanish previously unknown to the native inhabitants wiped out the vast majority of the Taino Indians on the island; the colonizers thus began importing massive numbers of African slaves to replace the natives. After the Haitian liberation of the entire island, slavery was abolished and free blacks (and those of mixed race) could be found all over the islands.

However, there are differences in class and education that separate different groups. The wealthy privileged status elite are mostly of Spaniard, (others include Italian and French) and to a lesser extent, African descent, while the majority of the lower class are Mulattoes of primarily African descent. The metropolitan culture available to the upper class and vanishing (due to economic turbulence as of late) middle class is often comparable to the life of city dwellers in the rich countries of Western Europe and the United States. But this metropolitan culture doesn't reach the poorest people, who may not have the most basic amenities, necessities, running water, electricity, sanitary facilities nor consumer electronics.

See also

• Music of the Dominican Republic
• Professional baseball in the Dominican Republic
• Latin American culture
• Literature of the Dominican Republic
• List of Dominican Republic films

References

• Manuel A. Patin Maceo (1947) Dominicanismos, 2do Ed. Ciudad Trujillo: Libreria Dominicana

External links

• Island Thresholds, Peabody Essex Museum's interactive feature, showcases the work of contemporary Caribbean artists and their exploration of identity, culture, and social justice. (requires Macromedia Flash)
• Dominican People and Culture