The Structure Of A Barrio

[dv8]

little reminder

now chris is gonna chop my fingers off for yet another comparison. :dead:

i saw hundreds of polish people who came to london after polonia joined the EU, they all came in search of a "better life". 90% of them ended up going back home, tail between their legs, often thanks to the government support (polish government quickly grasped the crisis and sent free buses to get those people back home after they had to sleep at victoria station, no work, no money to go back, very definitely no "better life"). now, why did it happen? because most of newcomers had no education, spoke no english, had little money to meet the costs of life there.

now, make it DR related. some dominicans are forced to go search for a "better life". but they forget one has to work hard for this better life. bear the difficulty of adjusting, the home sickness, the culture barrier. weak ones end up in american barrios, no better than those back here, doing jobs they will be ashamed to do in DR: cleaners, builders etc.

they should have stayed at home. DR barrios may be bad, but they are things worse than that....

so, snuffy, what does it tell you about DR barrios?

 

[Lambada]

manolo t. justo is all dug up. more and bigger holes are necessary. so we have to go through (still) ungated bayardo. now, that's a barrio. one knows the neighbours because there is no more then few houses along one street, bars are fitted but only on the ground floor. dogs are rather fat and friendly than vicious (ask lambada ).

times changed, they did. no one in bayardo sits outside in the evenings, people either kill themselves working for those grand houses or dine with other sharks. kids don't play outside, they sit inside playing computer games. that's the way it is....

don't get me wrong, i LIKE bayardo....

They do sit outside in the evenings, actually, but 'outside' in Bayardo means by the pool. And domino games opposite are held 'outside' in the marquesina at night so the childrens' sleep isn't disturbed by the slapping down of dominoes.

Bayardo still has 'perambulation' hour when some residents walk around the block, or the muchacha takes the young children out on their bikes. Junta de Vecinos is expecting more of that when entry barrier is in place.

And don't believe there aren't vicious dogs here. Mostly they're behind gates guarding their territories and not running free. When they are out they are usually taking the patio boy for a run on a very heavy chain........

 

[dv8]

They do sit outside in the evenings, actually, but 'outside' in Bayardo means by the pool. And domino games opposite are held 'outside' in the marquesina at night so the childrens' sleep isn't disturbed by the slapping down of dominoes.
And don't believe there aren't vicious dogs here. Mostly they're behind gates guarding their territories and not running free. When they are out they are usually taking the patio boy for a run on a very heavy chain........

the dog part made me laugh...
i have seen them too, some of my family lives in bayardo too.
sitting outside by the pool, you mean everyone by their own pool, or everyone by one chosen pool? :bunny:

i like bayardo. it's pretty. take no offence, por favor.

 

[cobraboy]

now, make it DR related. some dominicans are forced to go search for a "better life". but they forget one has to work hard for this better life. bear the difficulty of adjusting, the home sickness, the culture barrier. weak ones end up in american barrios, no better than those back here, doing jobs they will be ashamed to do in DR: cleaners, builders etc.

they should have stayed at home. DR barrios may be bad, but they are things worse than that....

so, snuffy, what does it tell you about DR barrios?

Interesting point.

I know a Dominican Immigration attorney that told me how many people he sees trying to go to the US where "the streets are paved with gold". He said that the wrong folks try going: the poor and uneducated. He said, "These poor people cannot make it here without an education or skills. Why do they think they can make it in America where even more education and skills are needed?"

 

[Snuffy]

Not all barrios are the same. I see some where at Christmas time everyone comes together to design and put up decorations. They turn the barrio into a miniture wonderland. I see others where the people just don't see to care. There appears to be little community organization. The ones I see where more community seems to exist...may have something in the structure of the barrio that binds them. It is a square that the barrio surrounds or one main street that runs through the barrio. It draws people to it. I would not mind studying this to see what makes a Successful Barrio.

DV8...Many dominicans go abroad to make their fortune. Most do not make a fortune. Most live paycheck to paycheck. Some are successful in making the USA their home and other save up to go back to the motherland one day. Many return after their unsuccessful attempt. Some go abroad knowing they are going to be the sacrificial lamb...the one that gives up his/her life so that others back home will have more or so that those that come after will have more.

I believe the barrio can be a rich place to live life...surrounded my family and friends. If we could take a barrio and cut it off from the rest of the world and erase all memory that there ever was another place....these people would be fine. But they know there is another place and they see the dream not the richness of their world.

I'm serious about this. There is a barrio near my home. We have friends that live there. It is a clean barrio. Why that one area is clean I don't know but it is always clean. They turn it into a wonderland at Christmas. I have met several people in that barrio. They appear to be good people. The kids there have a great time. There is always a ton of kids playing in the little side streets. I tell my wife sometimes...let us just rent a small place in that barrio and go over sometimes and just sit out in the front and let our daughter enjoy the richness of all the kids having a great time. I'm serious. I would really do this. I honestly believe these people have a rich life.

Lets try to define different type barrios.

1. Campo Barrio
2. City Barrio Poor all Tin Roof and mostly Wood Structures.
3. City Barrio Poor and Mainly Concrete Structure.
4. City Barrio Middle Class.
5. City Neighborhood Middle to Upper Class: In Santiago=Villa Olga
6. City Neighborhood Upper Class: In Santiago=Rincon Largo

Help me define the different barrios. I'm going to take pictures and post them so you can see the differences.

 

[Chris]

Not all barrios are the same. I see some where at Christmas time everyone comes together to design and put up decorations. They turn the barrio into a miniture wonderland.

Snuffy, the most esoteric one I saw, was a huge tree outside of a colmado completely decorated from top to bottom with hanging Presidente 6-pack holders ... The tree looked quite spectacular and I'm sure I have a photo somewhere in the collection. This was a miniature wonderland done with no money at all. Campo Barrio! We stopped and there were 12 or 13 years old young fellows sipping Presidente with Papa. We left!

 

[laurapasinifan]

some one mentioned tin roofs....and I got to thinking about the terminology used in this thread.. what is the difference most think, between a barrio and a campo....or can they be used together to describe a place... and can a barrio alos be a slum....or is a slum worse than a barrio.

I have seen just about all the living arraingements that can be had on that island....

I have found the worst looking places always seem to be in a city, in a low lying flood plain..usually the big river that runs through a city....all along the banks where no one wants to invest, people put up ranshakle accomodations ..and if it hasnt flooded in a few years the places builds up where they look like they are growing out of each other.

I have seen places like that crossing some bridges in Santiago...I also saw a place like that crossing a small bridge leaving Moca. And I saw it to a small extent from the air in this picture:

even though this isnt as bad as the other I saw...

I have seen wher haitians will just take over a lean to where ever they can put one up, or find one left from the last police round up.

bob

 

[gary short]

Hey......where are all the swimming pools??????

 

[laurapasinifan]

Hey......where are all the swimming pools??????

what are you blind?.

if you had SOME class gary....youd know a specially designed "LAP" pool when you see one.:laugh:

and theres one running along a lot of those houses....LAP pools are a specialty....not everyone has one ya know.

bobby

 

[gary short]

Nothing like waterfront...........lucky devils...

 

[Snuffy]

Maybe that is what the worst should be labeled...Slum.

1. City Neighborhood Upper Class: In Santiago=Rincon Largo
2. City Neighborhood Middle to Upper Class: In Santiago=Villa Olga
3. City Barrio Middle Class:
4. Campo Barrio
5. City Barrio Poor and Mainly Concrete Structure.
6. SLUM: City Barrio Poor all Tin Roof and mostly Wood Structures.

I'm still trying to determine where Campo Barrio should go in the lineup. I really liked the ones I have seen.

 

[Snuffy]

Are they along this river in order to access the water or is it because the land is very inexpensive or both?

Anyone else have pictures of barrios to share? Come on...this is interesting.

 

[laurapasinifan]

I know i dont have the final say...BUT I HAVE to believe that the slums are there because it is abandoned or unwanted or unusable land.....when the rains and floods come... they are inundated......people with money dont buildthere...

another thing is there are so many people that want to live in the city because things are so close.....and thery cant afford rents..

unlike the super poor out in the country... they live a somewhat healthier life, and dont look nearly as poor , because they have green flora growing around them... they have room for a few chickens....and or they are so spread out... they dont have a mud path beaten from door to door...

bob

 

[laurapasinifan]

took this picture over thanksgiving week on a duck hunt up on the north coats west of Nagua...off the beaten path to be sure....they look like over the years they had started some concrete housing...but they ones they lived in were all wood......

bob

 

[laurapasinifan]

what do you think these number are for?.....thats one well used wooden house...and has stood still for a few storms to say the least......60 years!!!!!!!!!!

bob

 

[Snuffy]

Bob...the super poor in the campo....do they have gardens? chickens, etc? A small house? I have looked at land in some of these areas. I would go live there also. Fresh air, fresh veggies and fruit, probably the better for not having tv and computer, livestock, water to drink. I have seen people living out there that were very clean and then I have seen people out there that are very dirty. The neat little homes of these clean people...that would be fine with me.

 

[Snuffy]

Did you get any ducks? I have hunted ducks many times in the bayous of Louisiana.

 

[Snuffy]

HB once told me the details of those type wood structures. He says they are very durable.

 

[laurapasinifan]

there seem to be chickens everyplace there is some land....I havent walked among the slums of the city....so i cant speak for them....I doubt theyb have animals

we did get some ducks...teal....

here is a nicer wooden house...on the way out to this area...many of the houses are concrete blocks... the nicer one even have large tiled areas, if not the whole house.. they are all single floor dwellings....and the nicer of the concrete ones have nice walls and metal work.. and are painted nice....then once in a while you get one unpainted... out further you get more wooden houses .....and the people that have a decent life or job will keep them looking as best they can

my Gfs grandmother and aunt live out in Mao... and that area is poor, and the dwelling show it...but the people still dress decent.. the kids dont look like they go with the housing....the yard aare all dirt...with even numbers of concrete and wooden structures...the goverment actually went in and built nice sidewalks.....but the road is ****ss poor.....go figure...at least they have good drainage now.

I bet it was because the people revolted 6 months before elections... ha ha ha

bob

 

[laurapasinifan]

out whre it seems the people are poor.. they surround themselves with thing that they need, that maybe you dont notice at first....

you see things like dirt yards, and such...but here is an example of right out the back of this house is a fruit tree....i think it was an orange tree...this place had mangos, bananas, platano, cherry , lime, and avocado trees...

my GFs house has most of those as well.....even a cashew nut tree...

bob