Dominicans sometimes refer to their country as Quisqueya, a common name used by indigenous Taino people for the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic is located on the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, which borders Haiti on the east. Hispaniola is the second-largest of the Greater Antilles, lying west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica.
The Taino Amerindians were a branch of the South American Arawaks. The people left behind cultural signs in their cave paintings around the country, which have become tourist attractions and national symbols of the Dominicans Republic. Words from the Taino language has infused themselves worldwide, such as hurrakan (hurricane) and tabakko (tobacco).
Water Sports
The country has breathtaking mountain ranges: The Central Mountains, the Septentrional Mountains, and the Eastern Mountains. There are also the Sierra Bahoruco and the Sierra Neyba in the southwest. Navigable rivers are abundant throughout these mountains.
While some shores are rough and rocky, the Dominican Republic offers a paradise of reef diving. The water is warm, rich with marine life and happily littered with wrecks and caverns to explore. Snorkeling and diving equipment may be readily obtained at the coast and small sailing craft are typically available for rent at most hotels and resorts along the coastline.
Island Diversity
As a Hispanic country, its culture is heavily infused with Spanish cultural heritage and also blended with African traditions, and in a small way, with indigenous Amerindian elements. Musical expressions and a carnival atmosphere make the Dominican Republic vibrate with life. Near the border between Haiti, some people practice voodoo. Catholicism and spiritism is commonly blended in Santeria’s séances and “saint” parties.
Activities
The Dominican Republic is home to two main genres of popular music. Most known throughout the world is the unique Merengue, popular for its sexually charged syncopated beats and use of Latin percussion, brass, bass and electric guitars. Also popular is Bachata, traditionally a slow, romantic, folk music, driven by Spanish guitars. Bachata’s rhythm can be sped to the same syncopation as Merengue, and is called bacharengue.
A lovely vacation trip to the Dominican Republic would be richly filled with music and cultural exploration, hiking and mountain climbing and river navigating.
