Festivals and Events
The Dominican Republic is a Hispanic country, therefore, as with all Hispanic countries in the Americas, its culture has many elements which originated in Spain, however it is entwined with elements of African and indigenious cultural elements. Castilian Spanish is the National language, but other languages such as English, French, German and Italian are present. African cultural elements are most prominent in musical expressions such as Vive Carnival, a testimony to the rich African heritage that existed before and after slavery, but was not allowed to be practiced during it. Taino cultural elements exist mostly in foods such as Casabe (a type of tortilla but made using Casava instead of corn) and language. The word "taino" itself means "gentle" or "noble" and was given to the native people by Christopher Columbus on his first visit to the island. Another past time of the Dominican people and by far the most popular of all sports is baseball. Dominicans love their baseball and no matter where you travel throughout the Dominican Republic you are sure to find a baseball park close by. This country is a goldmine of baseball stars with more than 400 Dominican players that have made their way to the major leagues. Some of the more famous American League players are Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martínez, David Ortiz, Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, and Manny Ramirez. The Dominican Republic also has its own baseball league which runs from October to January. Many MLB players and minor leaguers play in this six-team league during off-season. As such, the Dominican winter league serves as an important "training ground" for the MLB. Be sure to catch a game if you are in the country during the official season. Dominican Holidays January 1 New Year's Day |