Is Halloween recognized in the DR?

vmhatup

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Aug 18, 2009
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I was thinking of adding a Halloween touch to one of our ads for this week, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I know it's generally not celebrated.

Thanks.
 
May 12, 2005
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I have seen some places (clubs, bars) have ads for adult costumes parties, but I have never seen children trick or treating. Doesn't seem like a big deal in DR.
 

vmhatup

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Aug 18, 2009
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Yeah, I haven't seen much of it either.

Even if it's not celebrated, I assume most people know what Halloween is, right?
 

LaTeacher

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May 2, 2008
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bilingual schools celebrate it as part of their "cultural" education.
other than that, forget about it.
no trick or treats, no jack o lanterns.
sad day.
 

Tamborista

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Apr 4, 2005
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Yeah, I haven't seen much of it either.

Even if it's not celebrated, I assume most people know what Halloween is, right?
Dude, drop a pumpkin picture in there, are we talking about a 25K Peso investment for camera ready art here?
 

vmhatup

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Aug 18, 2009
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It doesn't have anything to do with an investment. I just want to know if Dominicans know what Halloween is.

I know that many of the people I know know what it is, although I'm not sure if they know when it's celebrated.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Yes people know what it is, loads of Halloween stuff about just no trick or treating as it is not practical.

I would imagine it depends on how involved you are with schools or kids as to how much you notice.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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In my experience:
Mid/upscale businesses seem to like Halloween and go overboard decorating their premises.

Some people object on religious grounds, others on nationalistic grounds as it's not considered a traditional Dominican celebration. It's celebrated in bilingual schools with some exceptions for the above reasons.

BTW In the infamous San Juan Shopping Centre, just north of the Coco Loco crossing on Avenida Barcel? in Bavaro, La Altagracia Province, Eastern Dominican Republic (18? 43′ 0″ N, 68? 27′ 0″ W) ;) all the shops are decked out in Halloween decorations.

Kids and parents (mostly Dominican) go trick or treating in Punta Cana Village, where several houses already have their Halloween decorations on display, But of course, we're not the real DR. ;)

In SD some Dominican neighbours went trick or treating within the complex, and I remember some American friends organising a controlled trick or treat outing to pre-arranged houses in the Los Cacicazgos area.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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I think if you are wondering if advertising will be looked at with confusion or people will appreciate it then for sure people will know and appreciate it and find it more fun than not.

If you've got kids then it becomes part of a drawn out excuse where parents end up having as much fun as the kids.

Check the Venue, I'm not sure they get the difference between Halloween and general fancy dress, but hey who cares if people don't know what it is about and dress like a cell phone.

LA FIESTA OFICIAL DE Halloween party, EN VENUE BAR JARABACOA - YouTube

Cabarete Halloween Party 2010

Both are great venues and I expect only examples of what is going on where I have not experienced. And so to say it is not celebrated is not really anywhere close to reality.
 

bob saunders

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Jarabacoa, I believe, has more people coming and going to the USA per capita than the average Dominican town. Dressing up in costumes is very popular but there is no door to door trick or treating. Other Latin countries like Chile and Peru are not that much different than North America.
 

Givadogahome

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More? yes more than some, but where are you comparing it to? it is certainly not what would be called a stay over tourist spot by any means, by all counts it runs very low compared to significant towns/cities.
Depends which towns you would like to include in your survey!
American influence is low in comparrisson to places I would call relevant to such statistics.
 

bob saunders

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More? yes more than some, but where are you comparing it to? it is certainly not what would be called a stay over tourist spot by any means, by all counts it runs very low compared to significant towns/cities.
Depends which towns you would like to include in your survey!
American influence is low in comparrisson to places I would call relevant to such statistics.

There are a large amount of locals (Dominicans) that are either American residents or citizens. The amount of American missionaries...etc for the size of the town is huge.
 

Taino808

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Take it from this Dominican, we all know what Halloween is. That is, unless, your talking/thinking about Dominicans from backwards towns bordering "La Frontera".
 

Givadogahome

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There are a large amount of locals (Dominicans) that are either American residents or citizens. The amount of American missionaries...etc for the size of the town is huge.

There are many Dominicans that are either residents or citizens of the USA, in the Dominican Republic, yes. Do large amounts of them come from Jarabacoa? Not particularly, most of the people of which you speak are not from Jarabacoa, they simply own holiday/weekend homes in the hills directly on or around Jarabacoa, and even on this count the numbers or even the idea of which people may speak are simply wrong as they don't know Jarabacoa behind its reputation, only their friends, which for many foreigners tends to be money and property, there is a real Jarabacoa as well, much larger than the image that you may consider at first thought.
 
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bob saunders

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There are many Dominicans that are either residents or citizens of the USA, in the Dominican Republic, yes. Do large amounts of them come from Jarabacoa? Not particularly, most of the people of which you speak are not from Jarabacoa, they simply own holiday/weekend homes in the hills directly on or around Jarabacoa, and even on this count the numbers or even the idea of which people may speak are simply wrong as they don't know Jarabacoa behind its reputation, only their friends, which for many foreigners tends to be money and property, there is a real Jarabacoa as well, much larger than the image that you may consider at first thought.

Frankly, you are not from Jarabacoa and don't seem to know much about the people that live there. I do. My wife's family has been there for many generations.
 

NALs

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Jan 20, 2003
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Celebrating Halloween is on the iffy side, but passable. The next day is the day of the dead, which is a real Dominican holiday, albeit nothing like American Halloween.

I personally disapprove of Halloween celebrations, but even worst are the people that celebrate Thanksgiving.

What the heck do we have in relation with the Pilgrims??? We eat Turkey on Christmas Eve, alright! Too many Dominicans act as if we don't have our own culture and tradition, copying the Americans. In the mean time, in the US there are no widespread celebrations of Our Lady of Highest Grace (Altagracia) or of Three Kings Day. Of course not, Americans don't really suffer from an inferiority complex.

There are Dominicans that celebrate the 4th of July, can you believe that crap? The celebration of Dominican independence was removed from the White House as soon as Barack Obama went into power (they still celebrate Haitian independence, though) and we reciprocate by celebrating all things Americans.

Complete madness!
 

NALs

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BTW In the infamous San Juan Shopping Centre, just north of the Coco Loco crossing on Avenida Barcel? in Bavaro, La Altagracia Province, Eastern Dominican Republic (18? 43′ 0″ N, 68? 27′ 0″ W) ;) all the shops are decked out in Halloween decorations.
You forgot to mention that if arriving from the south, it will be on the right and vice versa in reverse. :cheeky: