- Thread starter MaineGirl
- Start date
from LP website...
BULL CRAP IM FROM SAMANA no haitains are you crazy? search on the web for Samana history and yes my grandfather speaks English and Spanish.
For once I will agree with Erickson
The post is very wrong in its general approach.
While there are many French speaking people in Saman? nowadays, mostly recent arrivals who work with tourists, and there are French speaking Blacks-yes from Hait? but some time ago, the majority of Samanenses are Spanish speaking. and a large minorty speak English.
There is a stretch of road, just after you go up the hill towards Las Galeras, where you can find Haitian creole, English and Spanish all within a 300 meter piece of road. Just before you get to the Bezi place if I am 'membering rightly.
And, yes, there are descendants from forced migrations from the Canary Islands, but in the minority.
Remember, this place was very isolated from mainstream Dominican Republic for so long and mostly forgotten, until Balaguer did his stupid re-modeling job.
HB
The post is very wrong in its general approach.
While there are many French speaking people in Saman? nowadays, mostly recent arrivals who work with tourists, and there are French speaking Blacks-yes from Hait? but some time ago, the majority of Samanenses are Spanish speaking. and a large minorty speak English.
There is a stretch of road, just after you go up the hill towards Las Galeras, where you can find Haitian creole, English and Spanish all within a 300 meter piece of road. Just before you get to the Bezi place if I am 'membering rightly.
And, yes, there are descendants from forced migrations from the Canary Islands, but in the minority.
Remember, this place was very isolated from mainstream Dominican Republic for so long and mostly forgotten, until Balaguer did his stupid re-modeling job.
HB
HILLBILLY ARE YOU FOR REAL OR YOU JUST COPY THAT? nobody i knew when i was a little kid spoke french not even in school, lots spoke english do to a black american migration to the penninsula lots of english speaking caribbean people settle in the area called (TESON) never heard of any Haitians when i was a little kid. and Isolation? until Balaguer did what? i mean which renovations? he did several before i was born and recently the malecon re-design wonder which i love. Samana' have attract tourist since i know how to drink water i don't think isolation is the correct word.
Oh, man, Erick, you have been on DR1 long enough to know better than question the bona fides of HB!
As for French speakers, in my recent visit to Samana I encountered quite a few. The hotel owner at the hotel I stayed at was French, and has been there 10-15 yrs. There were several other French transplants there owning small businesses, and even a local newsletter/ad sheet in French. Some of the tourist signs I saw were in English, Spanish, German & French -- in most places I have been in the DR, I always see the first two and often the first three, but this is the first time I recall consistently seeing all four.
Last but not least, some of the beach vendors we met were most certainly Haitian -- it is often quite detectable in the way they speak Spanish.
Regards,
Keith
P.S. I agree with you, Erick, that the Malecon in Samana is lovely -- much better than the ones in SD or PP.
As for French speakers, in my recent visit to Samana I encountered quite a few. The hotel owner at the hotel I stayed at was French, and has been there 10-15 yrs. There were several other French transplants there owning small businesses, and even a local newsletter/ad sheet in French. Some of the tourist signs I saw were in English, Spanish, German & French -- in most places I have been in the DR, I always see the first two and often the first three, but this is the first time I recall consistently seeing all four.
Last but not least, some of the beach vendors we met were most certainly Haitian -- it is often quite detectable in the way they speak Spanish.
Regards,
Keith
P.S. I agree with you, Erick, that the Malecon in Samana is lovely -- much better than the ones in SD or PP.
Mrs keith, i said when i was a little kid millions and millions of years ago lol! anyways i was in Samana` 3 weeks ago and wallah French people everywhere i bougth 2 large pizzas at the hotel you stayed i loveeeeeeeeeeeee the new Malecon with the towers and everything.
How much was the hotel per night?
How much was the hotel per night?
Erickxson, you are showing your age
1) Please read my last post, slowly, so you can understand it.
2) Then the next time you go there ask around for where the Haitians are on the road over by the Bezis.
3) Balaguer only did one God-forsaken reconstruction project at Saman?, stripping all vestige of its history and its culture. This was done in 1968-1970. The only structures left were La Churcha-the Methodist church in the middle of town and the AME church to the west of town center, and the Chino's restaurant, which he had just built Negia had to move out of her place on the docks to a place in front of the hospital and then out of town where the new police station is located. The beautiful "Iron Market" was also destroyed.
4) I doubt that the Haitians would have gone to school, but I'll be a couple of their kids did.
5) "Due" to is the correct usage, and it was not an immigration rather an offer to place freed slaves (1824-25 +/-) from North America (from around Washington, D. C. ) in the recentrly conquered eastern part of Saint Dominque. An attempt to "culturally integrate the East and West of the island" that didn't work, and the Samanenses are the remnants of that group. The "cocolos" came a lot later....mostly for work in the sugar mills owned by English speakers from North America and Great Britain.
6) Lastly, I can't imagine that a black Samanense would speak French to you, unless you asked about it. But try and remember the last names of the kids in your class.....Wanna bet that there were maybe 1 or 2 there??
HB
1) Please read my last post, slowly, so you can understand it.
2) Then the next time you go there ask around for where the Haitians are on the road over by the Bezis.
3) Balaguer only did one God-forsaken reconstruction project at Saman?, stripping all vestige of its history and its culture. This was done in 1968-1970. The only structures left were La Churcha-the Methodist church in the middle of town and the AME church to the west of town center, and the Chino's restaurant, which he had just built Negia had to move out of her place on the docks to a place in front of the hospital and then out of town where the new police station is located. The beautiful "Iron Market" was also destroyed.
4) I doubt that the Haitians would have gone to school, but I'll be a couple of their kids did.
5) "Due" to is the correct usage, and it was not an immigration rather an offer to place freed slaves (1824-25 +/-) from North America (from around Washington, D. C. ) in the recentrly conquered eastern part of Saint Dominque. An attempt to "culturally integrate the East and West of the island" that didn't work, and the Samanenses are the remnants of that group. The "cocolos" came a lot later....mostly for work in the sugar mills owned by English speakers from North America and Great Britain.
6) Lastly, I can't imagine that a black Samanense would speak French to you, unless you asked about it. But try and remember the last names of the kids in your class.....Wanna bet that there were maybe 1 or 2 there??
HB
First off, Erick, it's Mr., but on the board I prefer just "Keith" (I have yet to figure out why some Spanish speakers think "Keith" is a female name -- I have no such problems in other languages. And before you suggest that I am just generalizing something about Dominicans, you should know that I work, travel and correspond with much of Latin America, and this phenomenon has occured elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking countries (i.e., not Brazil) of the region.)ERICKXSON said:
Second, HB was not talking about a million yrs ago when you attacked him. And as I said, you should know better by now than to question HB's credibility -- if there is anyone on this board who has earned the title "above reproach," it is him.
Third, I would never buy pizza at that hotel's restaurant. I liked the Tropical Lodge, but I had the lousiest breakfast there I have ever had in the DR. We instead dined at a restaurant down the street (can't recall the name just now, but will dig their card out of my records), which had a great Dominican breakfast, with fresh batidas to die for.
Fourth, we paid only RD$35 a night, family of four, two double beds, w/ AC, although the official price was RD$43. I sent my wife in to do the negotiating while I waited in the car (we find we always get better rates that way!). As I said, we liked the hotel, esp. its views of the Malecon.
Regards,
Keith
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Adding to what HB has aptly stated regarding the history of Samana: many of the Haitians on the peninsula today are recent arrivals, a lot within the past 5 years as they gradually infiltrate the DR. Also, when you study the surnames of many of Samana's residents you will find an English-based ancestry and not French. The Lonely Planet's report is consistent with much of the mis-information (or lack of) that they have for the Samana peninsula which leads one to wonder just WHAT planet they are really living on.
well HB when i was alittle kid in Samana` i can asure you that in my school we had no Haitians, discrimination was so high that they would of stop going to school even if you were from (Teson) and had an english accent or anyone knew you spoke english that was a beating after school in front of (LA ESCUELA PRIMARIA)
and dragged to the park.
Hey HB wanna buy that piece of land above (LOS CHINOS) i mean the whole mountain? lol!
and dragged to the park.
Hey HB wanna buy that piece of land above (LOS CHINOS) i mean the whole mountain? lol!
Thanks for the responses.
It was the first time I checked out the Lonely Planet boards--not that impressed.
I wish all the countries I was interested in had a place to find out info. like DR1.
It was the first time I checked out the Lonely Planet boards--not that impressed.
I wish all the countries I was interested in had a place to find out info. like DR1.
Have to say I am very surprised
Since Ray Guevara, Chago Hamilton Coplin and his brother and all the Greens, Shepards, Andersons spoke English....Must have been a lot of fights after school. How dei Erickson get there??
I do know that the English speakers always referred to Dominicans as "natives" , which I found amazing.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Miss Alice Vander Holst, when she lived in front of the Churcha. The year before the remodeling..
I always referred to the group of French/Creole speaking people as a "pocket" so maybe there were just a very few of them out there on the highway..?? Be interesting thing to study...
the why and the when of the first arrivals to Saman?....
HB
Since Ray Guevara, Chago Hamilton Coplin and his brother and all the Greens, Shepards, Andersons spoke English....Must have been a lot of fights after school. How dei Erickson get there??
I do know that the English speakers always referred to Dominicans as "natives" , which I found amazing.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Miss Alice Vander Holst, when she lived in front of the Churcha. The year before the remodeling..
I always referred to the group of French/Creole speaking people as a "pocket" so maybe there were just a very few of them out there on the highway..?? Be interesting thing to study...
the why and the when of the first arrivals to Saman?....
HB
The Myth of HillBilly!
Erickxson, let me speak up once for Hillbilly --
He is older than the amount of money you have in your pocket, immaterial of the amount of money in your pocket!
He has been here longer than ALL of the gringos put together on this board, and he will always be!
He is more intelligent than the current and all the previous administrations of the DR put together!
He has more wisdom that Medusa has snakes on her head - and he will always have more wisdom!
And if he tells you where the Samanenses came from, all of the Samenenses agree!
And I've personally seen him eat folks like you for breakfast - so, watch out!
Erickxson, let me speak up once for Hillbilly --
He is older than the amount of money you have in your pocket, immaterial of the amount of money in your pocket!
He has been here longer than ALL of the gringos put together on this board, and he will always be!
He is more intelligent than the current and all the previous administrations of the DR put together!
He has more wisdom that Medusa has snakes on her head - and he will always have more wisdom!
And if he tells you where the Samanenses came from, all of the Samenenses agree!
And I've personally seen him eat folks like you for breakfast - so, watch out!