Re: Santo Domingo.... to Keith
Estimado John,
Reciba mi saludo m?s cordial. Thank you for your message. As with your first message, on some points we agree. But many we do not. Let me respond to some of your counterpoints.
> most of your points of view are interesting, but i have to argue in some of them with you.
> First.
> The Catedral in mexico is nice, but.. how you can tell, if this is full of scaffolds inside to keeping from sinking. about the
> sorroundings areas, it is true the zocalo, goverment palace, etc are nice, but it is dirty as hell, and full of indians selling all kind of
> junks. sorry, but you dont see vendors around our catedral.
Re-read my message. I was not talking about the Catedral Metropolitana. I also find the C.M. a disgusting mess. In my message I referred to the BASILICA DE LA VIRGIN DE GUADELUPE. A completely different story! If you think the Catedral de las Americas is more impressive than the complex at La Virgin's Basilica, with its beautiful chapels and gardens, then you are in a distinct minority in Latin America.
> Beaches? yes, we have beach in SD, and nice beach. if you take the new map, you will see that boca chica belongs to SD.
I partially concede the point. Politically and legally speaking, B.C. WAS in Santo Domingo -- until the recent partioning of the city into four municipalities. But, I'll agree we can consider it part of "Greater Santo Domingo."
I guess because I always had to travel so far to get to BC that I did not really consider it part of SD per se. The beaches along SD's Malecon were never really that good for swimming, my wife & suegra tell me, but at least when they were growing up they were not so litter strewn and the water not so full of raw sewage.
> Rivers?, i know that ozama river is contaminated now, but do you know about the $3 billions project to convert the river in a touristic
> area such as the river in San Antonio.
Yes, I know about the project. I applaud the attempt, as well as the Environment Ministry's push to stop dumping and illegal effluent emissions into the Ozama, and the Navy's work to help clean it. But having the Ozama as something to "dream of" as you put it, is still far into the future. And I seriously doubt that the Ozama will ever be as charming as San Antonio's River Walk. Few places in the world are. [Yes, I've been there too.]
> what about the Isabela river around cuesta hermosa?
Better! But the Ozama is the river that dominates SD life and therefore must be taken into account when evaluating your stated reasons why the SD should be considered the capital of Latin America.
> Theathers, sorry, i missed to say that i am talking about modern theathers, of course being an architect i wont compare our National
> theather with Bellas Artes in Mexico or Colon in argentina, full of history.
I wasn't speaking of their architecture. Of course Bellas Artes in Mexico City is prettier. I was speaking of programming. And I said that I was impressed at how good the performance arts are in SD and they are getting better all the time. This, in my book, is a big plus for SD. But they are still not quite caught up with the level of theater I have seen in Buenos Aires or S?o Paulo or Mexico City. Getting there, but not quite yet.
> phones? this is maybe the only country in LA, where you can get your home phone is less than 24 hours. you have to wait around 2
> years in Mexico.
In November-December 1995 in SD I waited over a month for a phone to be installed, and only got it then when we had a relative with influence in Codetel intervene. Even then, Codetel employees tried to get a bribe to install it! In January 1997, I had to wait a week for Tricom to install a second line. So yes, installation is improving for many. But I still hear from some relatives that installation can take weeks or months.
And installation is not the only barometer of service and "best phone system." For example, I had four years of difficulty calling my wife during the day, and she worked only 2 miles away, all within SD! "Lo sentimos, todos los circuitos est?n ocupados" became the most hated refrain on my phone line. Trying to fax to South America was always troublesome. Codetel changed our phone number twice -- WITHOUT TELLING US! Disputing a bill with erroneous charges & services I never ordered and phone calls I never made was a tremendous travail that wasted much of my time. My dail-up link to Tricom dropped on me constantly. Internet service was down frequently. Once Tricom changed its Internet connection protocols to PPP, but forgot to notify us users. When I phoned them to find out why I couldn't connect, they said, oh, just download the software fix from our website. I replied, and just how am I supposed to do that if I cannot connect to the Internet because of the changes you made? "Oh, that could be a problem..." Tricom NEVER fixed my phone line after Hurrican Georges, but continued to bill me for regular service for 9 months!!! And Tricom refused to re-establish service until I paid for these bogus bills!
So, please pardon me for feeling that simply having the latest and greatest technology does not necssarily equate with having the best phone service.
> cable tv?, if you get 20 channels in mexico, you are very lucky.
> here we have over 70.
Interesting that you choose to compare SD with Mexico City, when the comparison I made was with Rio's. My point on this one still stands.
> restaurants? it is strange that you were dissapointed with our rests. did you check? Italo's (150-200dlls/p), fellini, Season's,
> Caribbean blue, Jardines San Pedro? what about a good steak house as David Crockett or Rancho Steak House?
It's not so strange. Everyone I know who has traveled widely outside the DR has said similar things about SD's range of restaurant options. There are a few gems (many of them frankly overpriced), but many of the restaurants are okay or mediocre -- none I would rave about . The steak houses you mention are fine, but they frankly do not hold a candle to Mariau's in Rio, Spettus in Brasilia, or even El Novillero in Santiago de Chile.
> I know Buenos Aires, Mexico city, Santiago are bigger than Santo Domingo and maybe has much to offer, but where are they
> located?
Last time I checked, Latin America.
> how much an airfare ticket cost to go to buenos aires, santiago or sao Paolo?
Depends on many factors, including season and how far in advance you buy them. But I have often traveled to Brazil for what American asks for SD, and I ALWAYS pay less to travel to Mexico City than I do SD.
> santo domingo is just 2 hours from miami (the latin american financial center)
I didn't realize being within 2 hrs of Miami was a criterion of being the "capital of Latin America." That means you're restricting the competition to Havana, Port au Prince, Kingston and SD. Gee, sort of stacking the deck, aren't you?
> how can you call Sao Paolo or Rio capital of LA. if they are not even Hispanic.
Re-read my message. I never called either one the capital of LA. In point of fact, I suggested that even Paulistas (people from S?o Paulo, in case you didn't know) would contest Rio as the capital! I just said that these two cities could match or better most of the criteria you cited for being the capital of Latin America.
Hmmm, I didn't know that being Hispanic was a criterion for being in "Latin" America. As someone with a B.A. in Latin American Studies and a Masters in International Relations, I can firmly assure you that "Latin America" does indeed include Portuguese-speaking Brazil. "Latin," by almost any official definition, includes those of Iberian heritage, which most assuredly Brazil is. Some experts -- I think primarily geographers -- would also include French-speaking Haiti, Dutch-speaking Suriname, and English-speaking Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Belize and a host of the Antilles in "Latin" America.
Even if you try to stack the deck by removing 1/2 half of the region's population and nearly 1/2 of its territory (i.e., Brazil), SD STILL would have to compete with Buenos Aires and Mexico City for the title of "capital of Latin America." I know some Dominicans like to dream otherwise, but these two cities can match or better any of the criteria you've offered for the claim of "capital of Latin America."
> Miami is not even in Latin America. and it is full of cubans..... !foo que bajo!
Re-read my message. I acknowledged that Miami technically is not in Latin America, and that I myself do not offer Miami as the capital of LA. I said that many Latin Americans suggest that it has become/is becoming the DE FACTO capital. [I have had Brazilian, Venezuelan and Colombian friends make this case to me.] You yourself already ackowledged in your post that it is LA's financial capital. It is fast becoming more.
I used to dismiss the idea of Miami becoming LA's "capital" -- and I am still not totally persuaded -- because I felt that Miami was too dominated by Cuban influences. But since the 1980's, Miami has become much more broad spectrum -- it even has a fast-growing Dominican community.
So while Miami may not yet be the de facto capital, trends are headed in that direction, and not toward Santo Domingo.
I'll say again, I love Santo Domingo. It holds a special place in my heart. I have always argued -- just ask any of my former students at the Dominico, or my compadre Pedro, or my other friends or my (very large) Dominican family -- that SD COULD be the cross-roads, if not the "capital," of Latin America. But I'm afraid that anyone looking at it honestly and logically must conclude that SD has much, much work to do become it can ever realize this dream.
Con todo respecto,
Keith
