The Americanized Dominican Republic

carlosbra

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Aug 1, 2011
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Dominican loves USA.

They celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. :)
But no Carnival or make a party for Duarte.

They use costumes at Halloween but not in Carnival.

I love the country but I'm still trying to understanding this fascination for the USA.

Why American Events are most important that the local / traditional party ?

I hope don't see a party at DR in Fourth of July. :)
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Think of the USA as the promised land for some Dominicans ( my wife is not included in that group).
People at one time risked their lives in great numbers to reach Neuva York by Yola. I think those numbers are down, but the magic of "Living in the USA" in Boston or Manhattan is still a major Dominican Dream that persists.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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Also Cabral, Barahona, Montecristi, Cotui, Santiago, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Romana, San Pedro, San Francisco, Bonao...
 
Feb 7, 2007
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besides the costumes/carnaval, the OP wrote what it really is like in the DR

Huge americanization (at uber-US prices) and wanna-be-like-americans and less rooting for what's really "Dominican" - be it culture, history, values, etc.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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america is a role model for many countries :)
i think a bit of americanization ain't that bad, shame that it only extends to making more excuses to get sloshed (see: american holidays) and less to, say, customer service :)
and it never ever seem to have anything to do with low prices. quite the opposite, anything american is uuuuuu and has uuuuuu price. mind you, i am not saying everything in USA is cheap but it pi**es me off big time when i see stores in POP with american clothes (medium and lower shelf) bought at sales for 5-10-15 dollars and then proudly sold at 50-100. what a f**king joke!
even english has wormed its way into dominican spanish. my clients pay "cach", need lottery "tike", drink "wiki" and greet me (!) with "bye bye ladi".
 

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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That's not a Dominican phenomenon. As a matter of fact I would say The DR still maintains a stronger identity than a lot of other countries I've visited. For instance in Mexico there's a huge segment of the population that just loooves American music and doesn't care for the local music, loooves American football, and would rather go to a Chili's than a true Mexican restaurant. It's like that all over (i.e. Puerto Ricans have pretty much lost their identity). In the US a lot of people feel anything European is better and I'm sure the opposite is true in Europe. People don't usually appreciate what they have...you know "The grass is greener on the other side"
 

keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
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OP you need to travel to different regions of the country, you will see that Dominicans are very proud of their heritage and YES costumes are a very big part of that. At Carnival and even some Patronales (not sure of the spelling but local celebrations). More people seem to (try) speak a bit more english in recent years and yes some celebrate American holidays but this is to be exepcted. Times have changed and they have more access to the US and the culture in the US. Dominicans living in the US have a big influence on this also. For example, my neice and nephew think their life will not be complete until they can spend at least 1 Christmas in the US so they can experience what I call the " Santa Claus frenzy". When my son was young and was in the US he could not wait for Halloween, I mean the thought of being able to go door to door and get candy was just unbelievable for him. Don't be mistaken though, Dominicans very much indeed celebrate their culture and heritage and are very proud of that.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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santa claus frenzy? man, christmas decorations have flooded la sirena more than a month ago. but still not as bad as the UK. every year i waited to see how ridiculously early they can pay "last christmas" on the radio. 6th of f**king september, man, 6th!
 

keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
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I never could understand why the need for putting out Christmas decorations after the 4th of July. I guess that is why some people dread the thought of Christmas after having it shoved down their throats since late summer..Funny thing, when my son was little maybe about 2 or 3 he really believed that Santa Claus only brought gifts to children in the US. So I asked him why he thought Santa Claus didn't come to the Dominican Republic and his reply was " people drink too much rum here and Santa does not like that". The mind of a child LOL!!!!:laugh:
 

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
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I never could understand why the need for putting out Christmas decorations after the 4th of July.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o6hCQbQ4ehA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

jrjrth

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Mar 24, 2011
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~Good Ole Jerry Carroll~ I know its off the topic...I could not help myself....Merry

BB just brought back memories, and you know you were so used to seeing and hearing the commercials, and then they were gone...I always wondered what had happened to Crazy Eddies.....wellllllllllllllllllllllll....all good things must come to an end........someone is always trying to Cook the Books....Read what happened to the Chain and founders...

If you grew up around the Tri-State area, then the guy on the right needs no introduction. For well over ten years, he was the spokesman for electronics chain Crazy Eddie. His name is Jerry Carroll, and his persona while reading the Crazy Eddie ads was...well, crazy. His stare was maniacal, his voice boomed, he flailed his arms about, and we loved it! This image personified the Crazy Eddie name just as the Antar family duo (father Sam and son Eddie) had intended. These tv spots were a hallmark of New York City area television throughout the late '70s and well into the '80s.


The store chain began with a modest shop in the Coney Island section of New York. The Antar business enjoyed success there, and opened more shops through the '70s, eventually spreading into Manhattan, the outer boroughs, Long Island and New Jersey. Despite the success, we saw little change in what we feel were the keys to success-- terrific audio and video products and these unique advertisements. When the home computer market exploded, Crazy Eddie was there, selling several top makes: Texas Instruments, Commodore and Atari, Timex-Sinclair. Department stores of the day provided one or two if you were lucky.

Jerry Carroll endured as a true-life incaranation of Crazy Eddie--armed with a turtleneck and sport jacket, he guaranteed that prices were the lowest anywhere, truly in-saaaane!


Crazy Eddie even delved into the music business, going toe to toe with record store giants like Musicland, Sam Goody and downtown Manhattan hallmark J&R Music World. The commercial below is one for the seemingly huge Crazy Eddie Record and Tape Asylum, promoting the "Nice Price" albums.


So what happened? Good question, we'd like to know, too! It was all so sudden, but nearly all of the stores closed around as the '90s began. We noticed other local electronics chains like Tokyo-Shapiro and Newmark and Lewis endure hard times, also. Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps it was a change in the market, we're not sure. But, this failure paled in comparison to the legal trouble that became public in the mid-1990. The owner, Eddie Antar was investigated by the SEC for suspicion of manipulation of financial books and earnings. Antar fled and lived as a fugitive for a while, during which time the government issued a $73 million judgement against him. He surfaced in Israel, and was extradited to the US in 1992. Eddie Antar finally pled guilty in 1996 for conspiracy and racketeering and spent seven years in prison.

The Crazy Eddie name is not forgotten, let's hope they re-open some of those magical stores someday!
 

Seamonkey

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Oct 6, 2009
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Dominicans aren't fascinated with the USA, they are fascinated with New York, which to them is its own country.
 

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Yep unfortunately most Dominicans in The US live in the ghetto due to being first or second generation, so they grow up exposed to everything the ghetto has (Good or bad). This is why we now have gangs such as The Latin Kings in The DR. Probably won't be too long before we start seeing some MS-13's down there as well if not already. Also expect meth to become an epidemic down there in the not so distant future...To be honest I'm surprised it hasn't already given how lax regulations are to buy pharmaceuticals down there.

I wish we imported some of the good stuff as well (i.e. Not littering, paying your bills on time, standing in line without trying to jump it, driving like normal people do, yielding to pedestrians, etc...)
 

jrjrth

Bronze
Mar 24, 2011
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If you grew up around the Tri-State area,
Pardon me, but I know at least four areas which call themselves the tristate area. Which en?


the only tri-state that matters......New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.....lol
 

calverde

New member
Dec 22, 2009
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por que? proximity, miami is just couple hrs by plane. baseball, los grande ligas, take that away and gone are the gorras. sueno con mucho dinero, robbie cano, nelson cruz, a.pujols, d.ortiz, raf.furcal, NBA, etc
 

flyingfox

New member
Sep 10, 2008
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British take on this...

Uncle Sam is close here. It?s influence reaches easily?and there was the Occupation?and plenty of fraternizing I?m sure.
In the UK we grew up idolizing everything American, much to the annoyance of parents. We had Black and white and then colour TV earlier than my Dominican wife ever did?so were exposed to the Hollywood dream sooner.
It?s not all bad, but having visited three times it?s a different world through an adult?s eyes.
I now like Michael Moore?s books so I?m aware of his perceived faults of the American dream?but I now drive an old American car?so part of my dream endures.
But here I see some of the nuisances attributable to the USA?such as..
This is the DOMINICAN Republic so it bugs me when people quote things in Dollars to me. ?This is YOUR country and it?s Pesos? I say!
The sales routine in shops is straight out of the American business model?the sales person catches you?gets you to give the buying signal then abandons you to a cashier behind a screen. I?m not in Sales but I believe there is still a point to the sales person ?hanging around? until you?re out of the door?.how many times in England I have been about to put my wallet away when an accessory for the thing I?ve just bought comes to mind at the till.
US Customer service is debatable?with short refund periods etc?I?m not sure it?s the same here but I know enough to take with a pinch of salt any guarantee (warranty) offered.
Being a full-time employee here I see the infiltration of typical American attitudes to employer/employee relationships?.and it?s not good. There ARE really terrible managers in the UK but they usually go against the normal business ethic?whereas here you really are only as good as your last whatever?not an attitude I like much.
Holidays short, working hours expected to be long?.?Dress-down Fridays!!??(Who really likes a blurring of the work into the weekend?come on one or the other please?)
Mind you it?s a shame we don?t get paid American wages. In the UK your most valuable asset is your staff and pay tends to follow reasonably well?..[it?s just rent/mortgage / bills etc which kill you].
On the plus side?instead of unfathomable cricket, we have unfathomable baseball, Shopping malls, (If you can afford to shop in them) and Pizza.
As to celebrating Thanksgiving?not me but I used to like Harvest suppers in England?but then the year goes like this in the UK?
31.10. (Oh and we put Day/month not Month/Day?.and we don?t get confused with commas and full-stops [sorry Periods] in numbers?.but some Europeans cock that up as well)?Halloween?but when I was young no trick or treating?that was definitely American?.as daft as Grandad?s day etc.
On to 5.11?Guy Fawkes or Bonfire night?then AFTER this we started thinking about Christmas. Here you go straight from Michaelmas to Christmas I think! But it IS less commercial here?.but I miss Christmas in England and hope to be visiting there this year.
Maybe the roads will be good enough one day for a Harley?