The future of Sosua

[Big]

Then you didn't see what happened on the stretch from what used to be El Rocon heading east up to where the Kite Hotels are several years ago. The squatters along that ocean front stretch were warned to pack up and leave by a certain date. They expected nothing would happen. Instead they were surprised by a HUGE bulldozer that made quick work of even 2 story cement block homes that used to be there. Everything was down within a day and the area was cleaned up as if no one was ever there within a week. I never saw such fast work in the DR. A bulldozer may have been the wrong tool for the job, but it sure worked just fine.

And I never smelled tear gas before, which was used to quell a somewhat rowdy and resistant crowd who didn't like their ocean front homes destroyed. . We headed to Sosua for the day until that job was done. Getting such a huge bulldozer onto Sosua beach could be problematic. The change to Sosua beach has been a long time in coming. CV-19 is causing yet another delay.

I know a thing or two about heavy equipment and industrial machines, I have never seen a bulldozer knock down anything taller than 7 maybe 8 feet. I have heard it happening but it would be dangerous. To knock down a two story cement block building with a bulldozer would damage the hard nose of the tractor and endanger the operator. A dozer is not going to make quick work of anything two stories. That is why I am confused when people post reports of bulldozers being seen in Sosua. They are for building roads and clearing material on the ground. Maybe what you saw was a tracked loader AKA crawler loader. and you thought all I knew about was Sosua putas

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

There hundreds of city blocks with the same exact atmosphere as Sosua,
scattered across this country. Only difference is Sosua has a beach and caters to gringos in addition to Dominicans.

This is a gross overstatement to say the least. The ambiance of clistante is one of a kind. It's why Sosua diehards view the dump as a major % of the national GDP. Hundreds of blocks? All over the country there are carwashes, colmadones, "negocios" like cabarets, etc, but I have yet to see a replica of clistante. Most Dominicans procure on the down low. Clistante is/was a grotesque cesspool

 

[Caonabo]

Any new shade trees?

 

[CristoRey]

You just said there are hundreds of city blocks like Clisante, less the gringos. You are not correct

During "normal" times. Indeed there are. Whether or not you want to admit it is up to you. I know of at least 4 just in La Joya, Santiago.

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

During "normal" times. Indeed there are. Whether or not you want to admit it is up to you. I know of at least 4 just in La Joya.

Agree to disagree. You are on a roll with your exaggerations today. At times I do agree with your calls on Dominican culture etc.

 

[ctrob]

I know a thing or two about heavy equipment and industrial machines, I have never seen a bulldozer knock down anything taller than 7 maybe 8 feet. I have heard it happening but it would be dangerous. To knock down a two story cement block building with a bulldozer would damage the hard nose of the tractor and endanger the operator. A dozer is not going to make quick work of anything two stories. That is why I am confused when people post reports of bulldozers being seen in Sosua. They are for building roads and clearing material on the ground. Maybe what you saw was a tracked loader AKA crawler loader. and you thought all I knew about was Sosua putas

Me too, nothing but construction and real estate. But they use whatever machine is most handy at the moment in the DR,. You'll see dozers, excavators, backhoe loaders and once in awhile a tracked loader being used to demo. I always say dozer because that's what people understand.

 

[Caonabo]

During "normal" times. Indeed there are. Whether or not you want to admit it is up to you. I know of at least 4 just in La Joya, Santiago.

Agree to disagree. You are on a roll with your exaggerations today. At times I do agree with your calls on Dominican culture etc.

I believe you both make a strong case, and are not too far apart with the truth.
While there are strips of entertainment districts nationwide, they do not all cater to open air prostitution. This is a huge misconception that gringos tend to make, and this is why they should not venture out all too frequently to parts unknown.

 

[Big]

Me too, nothing but construction and real estate. But they use whatever machine is most handy at the moment in the DR,. You'll see dozers, excavators, backhoe loaders and once in awhile a tracked loader being used to demo. I always say dozer because that's what people understand.

I hear ya, I have always equated bulldozers with road building, mining and clearing. Never have I seen one used for demo especially a brick or concrete structure. I don't even see how a tracked dozer can knock down a brick building w/o damaging the tractor. Dozer blades only raise up a few feet from the ground, add that to the height of the blade and all other materials end up on the hard nose ( hood) of the tractor. Loaders and excavators are used for demo

 

[windeguy]

This is a gross overstatement to say the least. The ambiance of clistante is one of a kind. It's why Sosua diehards view the dump as a major % of the national GDP. Hundreds of blocks? All over the country there are carwashes, colmadones, "negocios" like cabarets, etc, but I have yet to see a replica of clistante. Most Dominicans procure on the down low. Clistante is/was a grotesque cesspool

I have only been here 17 years and I never saw anything like Sosua in the dozens of trips I have taken to Santo Domingo, Santiago, Las Terrenas, Bavaro, Jarabacoa, La Vega, Constanza, etc... Maybe after CV19 dies down I will see something that resembles Sosua, but I really doubt it. That one little section on PC really was unique.

 

[jd426]

I have only been here 17 years and I never saw anything like Sosua in the dozens of trips I have taken to Santo Domingo, Santiago, Las Terrenas, Bavaro, Jarabacoa, La Vega, Constanza, etc... Maybe after CV19 dies down I will see something that resembles Sosua, but I really doubt it. That one little section on PC really was unique.

Las Terrenas during Semana Santa was like Sosua on Steroids .. nothing compares to that week in Las Terrenas ( actually only Wed through Sunday, tues is still tranquil) .... you have to be mentally prepared for it , its that wild ., but that is only one persons opinion.. Im sure LT will be like that again.. but Sosua may be Dead for good .

 

[windeguy]

Las Terrenas during Semana Santa was like Sosua on Steroids .. nothing compares to that week in Las Terrenas ( actually only Wed through Sunday, tues is still tranquil) .... you have to be mentally prepared for it , its that wild ., but that is only one persons opinion.. Im sure LT will be like that again.. but Sosua may be Dead for good .

You mean that one little section of Pedro Clisante in Sosua might be dead for good. There are about 50,000 people in Sosua.

Semana Santa is certainly the time that almost all of the DR turns into a state of drunken debauchery. I was referring to far more normal day to day life.

 

[Brendan Hubley]

This is a gross overstatement to say the least. The ambiance of clistante is one of a kind. It's why Sosua diehards view the dump as a major % of the national GDP. Hundreds of blocks? All over the country there are carwashes, colmadones, "negocios" like cabarets, etc, but I have yet to see a replica of clistante. Most Dominicans procure on the down low. Clistante is/was a grotesque cesspool

I have to agree - PC, at least a few years back, was the epitome of Sodom and Gomorra. Chicas bussed in from Santiago, streets filled with spandex and old men, Passions, CMP etc. Now it is still gringos - mostly weekend warriors, gangster wannabes and rainmakers. The atmosphere in Sosua is much sleazier than the other barrios I've visited. Even BC is a little further up in Dante's inferno. Just my dos pesos.

 

[windeguy]

I was not trying to challenge you or argue with you
... I was just making a statement in general terms , for people who may be new here and may want to experience it for themselves if they are daring enough one day.

If there is a wilder place than Las Terrenas during that week, I have yet to hear about it ..
it is the DR Wild West
but if you disagree, then ok ..

I cannot disagree regarding Las Terrenas as compared to Sosua, Cabaret, La Vega, etc. . I avoid going out during Semana Santa like there is a Coronavirus plague infecting everyone. I have no interest in being in the midst of that. I do know that La Vega has the largest festival in the DR at that time of the year.

 

[CristoRey]

I believe you both make a strong case, and are not too far apart with the truth.
While there are strips of entertainment districts nationwide, they do not all cater to open air prostitution. This is a huge misconception that gringos tend to make, and this is why they should not venture out all too frequently to parts unknown.

This is not a misconception nor would I
consider it venturing out into parts unknown.
La Joya was my neighborhood for 3 years.
Cambronal, Valerio and Colon all have bars,
discotechs and hotels that are full of prostitutes
who ply their trade out in the open.
Yes, I am comparing these strips to Sosua as I also
lived in there (Charamicos) for over a year.
I could fill this whole page with just the strips
here in Santiago but I do not think I need to do
so to prove my point.

- Sorry for the (somewhat) off-topic post/ response
but it is what it is.

 

[Caonabo]

This is not a misconception nor would I
consider it venturing out into parts unknown.
La Joya was my neighborhood for 3 years.
Cambronal, Valerio and Colon all have bars,
discotechs and hotels that are full of prostitutes
who ply their trade out in the open.
Yes, I am comparing these strips to Sosua as I also
lived in there (Charamicos) for over a year.
I could fill this whole page with just the strips
here in Santiago but I do not think I need to do
so to prove my point.

- Sorry for the (somewhat) off-topic post/ response
but it is what it is.

"parts unknown"
…….was more in reference to foreigners leaving the "comforts" of the 3 or 4 areas/zones of the nation they are currently aware of.
As you have vastly more experience than the typical "visitor" to this nation, of course the same would not apply to you.

 

[m555]

The ambiance of clistante

Where or what is Clistante ?

 

[ctrob]

Where or what is Clistante ?

It is Pedro Clisante, aka PC, a main street in Sosua. Or were you being sarcastic?

 

[JD Jones]

I hear ya, I have always equated bulldozers with road building, mining and clearing. Never have I seen one used for demo especially a brick or concrete structure. I don't even see how a tracked dozer can knock down a brick building w/o damaging the tractor. Dozer blades only raise up a few feet from the ground, add that to the height of the blade and all other materials end up on the hard nose ( hood) of the tractor. Loaders and excavators are used for demo

They used a very large front end loader to demolish the houses Windy was referring to. I drove through there the day they were demolishing them.
Same for when they tore down the houses in the stretch between Cabarete and Rio San Juan.
(Didn't we talk about this before?)

 

[windeguy]

They used a very large front end loader to demolish the houses Windy was referring to. I drove through there the day they were demolishing them.
Same for when they tore down the houses in the stretch between Cabarete and Rio San Juan.
(Didn't we talk about this before?)

Yes we did.

Self proclaimed "Demolition Experts" here on DR1 insist that such a front end loader (aka a bulldozer to the rest of us) could not have been used to take down two story concrete block and rebar reinforced buildings. Indeed it was. And quickly. And it was big, I mean quite large, almost gigantic ...

 

[jd426]

Yes we did.

Self proclaimed "Demolition Experts" here on DR1 insist that such a front end loader (aka a bulldozer to the rest of us) could not have been used to take down two story concrete block and rebar reinforced buildings. Indeed it was. And quickly. And it was big, I mean quite large, almost gigantic ...

a bulldozer aka " Dozer" is a COMPLETELY different piece of heavy equipment from a Front End Loader , with a BUCKET..
If some of you are not familiar with the correct terminology , then perhaps YOU need to use mr Google , and look at the pictures
its as easy as that ..
But a DOZER is for doing streets (paving) , and LEVELING the GROUND.. Not for demolishing .. period
you cant just rename it for " rest of us" ,, lol . it dont work that way .