Trujillo, mi padre

Should Angelita Trujillo's book, [I]"Trujillo, mi padre;"[/I] be allowed to circulate

  • Yes

    Votes: 64 88.9%
  • No

    Votes: 8 11.1%

  • Total voters
    72

RonS

Bronze
Oct 18, 2004
1,457
65
48
I would think the best way to 'ban' this book is simply not to purchase the book and leave it on the book shelves to rot. There is a very strange psychology that has been typically demonstrated by oppressed and suppressed peoples towards thier oppressors and it is not uncommon for some of the oppressed to long for the days when the society was controlled and when the people were oppressed. This is not unique to the DR. But to feed into that dysfunction by abrogating basic democratic and human rights principles of freedom of speech and/or rewarding the off-spring of the oppressor by paying for an illusionary tale of revisionistic history does a disservice to those who sacrificed for the fundamental liberties the people of the DR enjoy today.
 

woofsback

Bronze
Dec 20, 2009
706
233
0
ban makes it interesting

if you ban it....it will probably make more people want to find out why and human nature wants to know....curiosity is very potent
it'll only go underground then you have NO control over it...look at all the nazi wannabes even though nazism is banned
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
9,478
410
0
81
www.ginniebedggood.com
The issues are extremely cloudy at best. Unlike the Nazis, Trujillo left few, if any, written records of his misdeeds and crimes. Almost 100% of what we have about him is hearsay and anecdotal. Each and every book about the Trujillo years is prejudiced one way or another, and that is easy to understand.

However, for a historian it is very frustrating to not be able to find solid evidence of what went on inside those offices of his. Maybe they (papers) are there and maybe they are not. Nothing earthshaking has ever turned up.

HB

HB, did you read what Daniel Adriano G?mez writes? 'Por lo que son criterios que f?cilmente pueden ser desentra?ados y mucho m?s, cuando la autora se apoya en documentos oficiales del Estado y en particular los interrogatorios que la fiscal?a trujillista les formulara a Rom?n, Amiama Ti? y Segundo Imbert, documentos que ?misteriosamente? desaparecieron de los archivos nacionales, pero que la autora obviamente dispone de una copia cre?ble y aut?ntica.' (emboldening mine)
Angelita Trujillo. ?General, no se olvide de dejarme ese asunto resuelto? (Balaguer)

Not sure how he arrives at that conclusion, unless of course, he has already read the book and knows about Angelita's copy of the documents. But if she does have documentary evidence, that could be of enormous help to historians.
 

Vacara

I love AZB!
May 5, 2009
710
84
0
Not sure how he arrives at that conclusion, unless of course, he has already read the book and knows about Angelita's copy of the documents. But if she does have documentary evidence, that could be of enormous help to historians.

Those interrogatories were closely monitored by "Ramfis" Trujillo and Johnny Abbes, so I doubt the information obtained from the prisioners could be of any help to historian. How many fingernails they got left before the questioning ended?.
 
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Vacara

I love AZB!
May 5, 2009
710
84
0

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
9,478
410
0
81
www.ginniebedggood.com
Those interrogatories were closely monitored by "Ramfis" Trujillo and Johnny Abbes, so I doubt the information obtained from the prisioners could be of any help to historian. How many fingernails they got left before the questioning ended?.

What if Balaguer had had a private copy of some of Trujillo's papers, the ones which were looted? What did Angelita say 'General, no se olvide de dejarme ese asunto resuelto'.
 

principe

Member
Nov 19, 2002
531
14
18
From what i have read the reason why the Miami book signing went so well was because of heavy security at the location of the event and a more private gathering. Particularly at the end of the even, where there was a private list of people old and not so old Trujillo sympathizers. Basically well organize, perhaps staged. Who knows, what we do know is that yes they are back sort of speak but i wish them the same misery they bestowed on the Dominican people.

Trujillo's grandson gave an interview to Listin and a tv interview as well. He mentioned, i assume sardonically, that the protests to the book in SD were a great thing for the books publicity. Perhaps he is correct. He also mentioned that he is proud of his last name. Perhaps he is correct there too. I wonder how many other dictator kin are proud? Of exactly, we better ask him i suppose. The funny thing is that he mentioned that the proceeds of book sales were to be used for a project.

Thats the nugget of news i want to know, this project. What kind of project Mr. Dominguez Trujillo
 

aarhus

Gold
Jun 10, 2008
4,713
2,164
113
So maybe she wrote the book because they need money for this project. At least it has raised the interest in Dominican history. I for one have been reading more of the Trujillo Era on the internet.
 

simpson Homer

Bronze
Nov 14, 2003
559
6
0
Toilet paper

Give a few days that will end up in the shelf of
so many bathroom meaning that will be cheaper than toilet
paper.

Is like supporting the dictatorship and its false propaganda
just buying the book not intention for apologies on the book.

Close family member mentioned to me about how Truji
sent his people to get the school teacher for a "meeting" that was living
down the road some place in (Villa Consuelo) Ana Valverde Street, the family
still waiting for him..

Desperate for money and pick the Dominican people to buy the book
cono, its a good thing the price because many Dominican wont sacrify their salary for that.


Checked on Amazon - in paperback for $49.00
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
14,085
3,495
113
The Launch - Publicaci?n del libro de la hija de Trujillo

This video covers parts of the Miami event and the one in Santo Domingo.

On the one hand, the antitrujillo's scream that he was an assassin and a horrible man, which is true.

On the other hand, a protrujillo woman says that Trujillo created the base from which the country's development has sprung, which is also true.

Then she takes it further by claiming that Trujillo was the greatest thing to ever happen to the country, even greater than Juan Pablo Duarte. Sorry lady, that's not true at all.

What this dilemma has shown is one very simple fact about Trujillo, his era, and the people that were affected by it, which is every single Dominican, albeit some were affected more and worst than others. Trujillo and his era doesn't leave ample space in the middle for agreement because he was both good and bad. He was extremely good and extremely bad at the same time. Large segments of the population pick a side and want their side to dominate the debate, while a tiny minority see the era for what it was without passion and/or hatred getting the way.

One thing the two extremes have in common is when one side accuses the other of lying and vice versa. I think both sides have their lies embedded, as for what exactly is the lie(s) on each side, I simply don't know. But be sure they are there, because when people that reject to see both of sides of a coin with strong passions stake their claims, the natural 'conflict of interests' will arise and always, without an exception, shape and tilt the results.

My 2 cents.
 

aarhus

Gold
Jun 10, 2008
4,713
2,164
113
The good part maybe being developing infrastructure and agriculture (I am not sure) does not justify the bad part. Just like today Leonel maybe better than the Presidents of the past but that does not justify all the faults of the current administration. Hopefully there will soon be a new generation of politicians representing something even better. In the days of Trujillo they say you could leave your door open and you where safe. But everybody feared Trujillo and his henchmen. Now everybody is afraid of the criminals and has bars on the windows and all other sorts of security.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
14,085
3,495
113
Nals, can you elaborate more on the "Trujillo was extremely good" thing?.
1. During the Trujillo-Hulk treaty, for the first and only time in the history of the Republic (and possibly of any country in the world) the national debt was completely repaid.

2. Constructs (the physical structures and as institutions):
  • The National Palace
  • Banco de Reservas
  • Banco Central de la Rep?blica Dominicana (establishes the Dominican Peso de Oro with an exchange rate of RD$1=US$1, and remained as such for the entire dictatorship - prior to this the Dominican Republic didn't had its own currency but rather used the US Dollar as legal tender).
  • The National Police
  • The Fine Arts Palace and promotes the plastic arts, the national symphony, ballet, etc.
  • Add to this 80% to 90% of government dependencies and institutions, along with their respective structures.

3. The Dominican Armed Forces was a respected institution within and outside the Dominican Republic. Establishes the Air Force and greatly expands the capacity and might of the Navy and Military. Also, Dominican military men were much more serious and took their duty seriously, unlike the many charlatans that currently find themselves in the ranks.

4. In terms of Public Works, the amount of investment was extraordinary. For example, not only did he constructed the buildings that became home to all the institution of the state, but many other vital structures, many of which are still standing. In fact, you can't travel a few kilometers in the DR without being near a structure, a road, a bridge, a monument that was built by Trujillo. One good example are the Art Deco buildings, all of them were built under his regime. Try to find a town that lacks a single Art Deco building, but more importantly, notice what function the most imposing of such buildings were meant to house. The same goes with the parks in the center of most towns, the churches, etc.

Most of the schools, hospitals, and other basic services that to this day are still standing and functioning across the country were built and established during his regime.

The symbols of the Republic were respected, he encouraged Dominicans to be clean (prior to his regime Dominicans rarely bathed or took showers, it was him who taught the populace this hygienic ritual), he even modified the national diet in order to encourage Dominicans to eat foods that were capable of being produced in the country rather than having to import them and with this several national dishes become true national dishes such as rice, bean and meat. Even in religion his mark was made by encouraging the Virgin of Altagracia as the national virgin to which all Dominican Catholics were to show respect towards, even the Cibae?os began to revere the Virgin of Altagracia despite Cibae?os having had the Virgin of las Mercedes as their virgin and the Santo Cerro as their holiest place. La Altagracia became the virgin of all Dominicans under his regime.

5. He cemented and expanded a unitary national identity. This includes rescuing what in the 1920s was a dying music genre, the Merengue; and making it the national dance, a genre that after his death reached global proportions in terms of popularity and representation of the Dominican Republic. He inculcated in the minds of Dominicans a sense of hope and optimism unlike ever before in the history of the country. This is not just documented, but also confirmed by renown individuals like Frank Moya Pons, who once said that Trujillo made Dominicans much more optimistic towards their country to a degree that it ignited the hidden ability of creating a vibrant economy and a vibrant society.

The country was well known for its cleanliness, there were no adult/children beggars, everyone dressed decently in public, people followed the laws, the border was respected, the streets of the country were not filled with hoards of young girls and women selling their bodies, there were no blackouts, and a very ample and long etc.

6. The companies that he established initiated several domestic industries (nails, suits, glass, carton, paint, fire arms, tobacco, insurance, chocolates, footwear, vegetable oil, batteries, cement, electricity, paper, salt mines, real estate, textiles, marble queries, gypsum mines). He even created Dominicana de Aviaci?n.

7. His regime initiated the Dominican environmentalist movement with the creation of the first two National Parks in the Cordillera Central. Prohibited logging and encouraged the replanting of trees to protect the integrity of nature in the Dominican Republic.

Even in some of the most controversial aspects of his regime, such as the importation of Europeans and Japanese, the primary goal was to develop certain sectors of the economy and strengthen the Hispanic, Latin and Catholic character of the Dominican people. For this reason the invitation was not to just any Europeans, he didn't wanted Anglo-Saxons or Germanic people, or even Scandinavians; he didn't wanted Protestants, he didn't wanted vagabonds and people with little to no skills. As can be clearly seen in the laws and arguments made at the time, the requisites were: A. People's of the Latin tradition (Spaniards being the most desirable, and in second place Italians); B. Had to be Catholics, and the most important, C. Had to be experts in certain agricultural activities. With their influx, Dominican agriculture developed and diversified to levels never before seen. He imported the Japanese precisely due to their expertise in growing temperate foods, and that's why he placed them in the Constanza Valley where the weather is most apt for such crops. Until then, Constanza was uninhabited. He even imported Hungarians with a specific purpose, but due to their unruly behavior of which a small crime wave hit the Capital, most were rounded up and deported back to Hungary. However, to this day many Dominicans when their kids are unruly will say "no seas tan h?ngaro" which literally means "Don't be such a hungarian", and that relates back the that case.

You had to be a part of his vision for the country, if not you were eliminated. And that leads to all the dark sides of his regime, which for the most part, deals with Human Rights issues.

As far as the tangible and material progression of the Republic, the establishment of long lasting peace (prior to Trujillo the DR had constant internal guerrilla warfare and prior to that foreign intrusions), the most sustained growth spurt from which an inertia of development was created and continues to this very day are some of the really good things that formed the base for the modern Dominican Republic.

None of this justifies his evil side, but all of this can't simply be brushed under the rug.
 
Last edited:

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
1. During the Trujillo-Hulk treaty, for the first and only time in the history of the Republic (and possibly of any country in the world) the national debt was completely repaid.

2. Constructs (the physical structures and as institutions):
  • The National Palace
  • Banco de Reservas
  • Banco Central de la Rep?blica Dominicana (establishes the Dominican Peso de Oro with an exchange rate of RD$1=US$1, and remained as such for the entire dictatorship - prior to this the Dominican Republic didn't had its own currency but rather used the US Dollar as legal tender).
  • The National Police
  • The Fine Arts Palace and promotes the plastic arts, the national symphony, ballet, etc.
  • Add to this 80% to 90% of government dependencies and institutions, along with their respective structures.

3. The Dominican Armed Forces was a respected institution within and outside the Dominican Republic. Establishes the Air Force and greatly expands the capacity and might of the Navy and Military. Also, Dominican military men were much more serious and took their duty seriously, unlike the many charlatans that currently find themselves in the ranks.

4. In terms of Public Works, the amount of investment was extraordinary. For example, not only did he constructed the buildings that became home to all the institution of the state, but many other vital structures, many of which are still standing. In fact, you can't travel a few kilometers in the DR without being near a structure, a road, a bridge, a monument that was built by Trujillo. One good example are the Art Deco buildings, all of them were built under his regime. Try to find a town that lacks a single Art Deco building, but more importantly, notice what function the most imposing of such buildings were meant to house. The same goes with the parks in the center of most towns, the churches, etc.

Most of the schools, hospitals, and other basic services that to this day are still standing and functioning across the country were built and established during his regime.

The symbols of the Republic were respected, he encouraged Dominicans to be clean (prior to his regime Dominicans rarely bathed or took showers, it was him who taught the populace this hygienic ritual), he even modified the national diet in order to encourage Dominicans to eat foods that were capable of being produced in the country rather than having to import them and with this several national dishes become true national dishes such as rice, bean and meat. Even in religion his mark was made by encouraging the Virgin of Altagracia as the national virgin to which all Dominican Catholics were to show respect towards, even the Cibae?os began to revere the Virgin of Altagracia despite Cibae?os having had the Virgin of las Mercedes as their virgin and the Santo Cerro as their holiest place. La Altagracia became the virgin of all Dominicans under his regime.

5. He cemented and expanded a unitary national identity. This includes rescuing what in the 1920s was a dying music genre, the Merengue; and making it the national dance, a genre that after his death reached global proportions in terms of popularity and representation of the Dominican Republic. He inculcated in the minds of Dominicans a sense of hope and optimism unlike ever before in the history of the country. This is not just documented, but also confirmed by renown individuals like Frank Moya Pons, who once said that Trujillo made Dominicans much more optimistic towards their country to a degree that it ignited the hidden ability of creating a vibrant economy and a vibrant society.

The country was well known for its cleanliness, there were no adult/children beggars, everyone dressed decently in public, people followed the laws, the border was respected, the streets of the country were not filled with hoards of young girls and women selling their bodies, there were no blackouts, and a very ample and long etc.

6. The companies that he established initiated several domestic industries (nails, suits, glass, carton, paint, fire arms, tobacco, insurance, chocolates, footwear, vegetable oil, batteries, cement, electricity, paper, salt mines, real estate, textiles, marble queries, gypsum mines). He even created Dominicana de Aviaci?n.

7. His regime initiated the Dominican environmentalist movement with the creation of the first two National Parks in the Cordillera Central. Prohibited logging and encouraged the replanting of trees to protect the integrity of nature in the Dominican Republic.

Even in some of the most controversial aspects of his regime, such as the importation of Europeans and Japanese, the primary goal was to develop certain sectors of the economy and strengthen the Hispanic, Latin and Catholic character of the Dominican people. For this reason the invitation was not to just any Europeans, he didn't wanted Anglo-Saxons or Germanic people, or even Scandinavians; he didn't wanted Protestants, he didn't wanted vagabonds and people with little to no skills. As can be clearly seen in the laws and arguments made at the time, the requisites were: A. People's of the Latin tradition (Spaniards being the most desirable, and in second place Italians); B. Had to be Catholics, and the most important, C. Had to be experts in certain agricultural activities. With their influx, Dominican agriculture developed and diversified to levels never before seen. He imported the Japanese precisely due to their expertise in growing temperate foods, and that's why he placed them in the Constanza Valley where the weather is most apt for such crops. Until then, Constanza was uninhabited. He even imported Hungarians with a specific purpose, but due to their unruly behavior of which a small crime wave hit the Capital, most were rounded up and deported back to Hungary. However, to this day many Dominicans when their kids are unruly will say "no seas tan h?ngaro" which literally means "Don't be such a hungarian", and that relates back the that case.

You had to be a part of his vision for the country, if not you were eliminated. And that leads to all the dark sides of his regime, which for the most part, deals with Human Rights issues.

As far as the tangible and material progression of the Republic, the establishment of long lasting peace (prior to Trujillo the DR had constant internal guerrilla warfare and prior to that foreign intrusions), the most sustained growth spurt from which an inertia of development was created and continues to this very day are some of the really good things that formed the base for the modern Dominican Republic.

None of this justifies his evil side, but all of this can't simply be brushed under the rug.

Wow Nals, that quite a piece, very informative..Definitely shows the other side that many do not realize,but as you say, does justify the bad.