What country do you guys live in?
DR has two different nations within. One is the chopo world. The other one is the Dominican elite. Both exist under the same sky, but in different realities. Both realities are in-excapable. Just to give you an example...In my visit to the Acropolis this Sunday I saw something very unusual- incredible long lines for a movie. It was the line for Perico Ripiao. The Acropolis movie house has two sections destined for this movie because of the high demand for seats. The Acropolis is not known for many chopos visiting the mall, since the place is not yet ready for chopos and the shops are quite expensive and stuffy for chopos' tastes.
Yet almost 98% of the people in line to see Perico Ripiao were chopos(mostly dark skin, pelo malos, and imitation jevitos from the oriental zone). I could not identify any upper class people in the lines, and I know most of them by sight. I know the schools they go to, the clothes they wear, etc. There were a few people who looked like upper class. But they must be people from the oriental zone who look like it, but are not. The Dominican elite is not buying Perico Ripiao tickets. They would be ashamed to be seen in that line, and would not under any circumstances share the experience with the rift raft.
Not that we are against anything Dominican. We just have class. We are different. We behave differently. We are still Dominicans. Certain things Dominican just don't make it. I love our beaches, our food, our family traditions. We have our own neighborhoods. I love "my" weather", our freestyle of doing things. Just because I think merengue stinks, bachata is for second class and chopos belong somewhere else does not make me anti-Dominican.
I do not agree with apartheid. Or the recent refusal by Club Praia to allow Vickiana's daughter into this exclusive high class, all white club. She is beautiful enough with her tanned dark skin. But I prefer exclusive clubs without chopos, and to avoid the suckers, I just go to very expensive joints with demanding attire rules. Chopos cannot handle many rules. They rather stay in their colmadones. I agree with them.
By the way, Nueva Yol is just as bad. Balbuena is the ultimate Dominican-York chopo, a species I rather avoid. I never lived in a Dominican community while in the USA. My enclaves were Chatham, N.J., the Gold Coast in Chicago and 38th. St. in the lower East Side, NY. No chopos there. I never went to a chopo school and the schools I attended in DR did not allow chopos. Sorry this is DR. True!!!
TW