Cultural Diversity In The Dominican Culture

Eye dimelo mani which means, "hey what's up" are a few of the Spanish phrases used in the Dominican culture dialect. All the members of my family were born in the Dominican Republic, a small island in the center of the Caribbean Ocean which shares its borders with Haiti and to its sides stand Puerto Rico and Cuba. The first person of my family that started the voyage to the U.S. was my father. At the time, my father came to the U.S. it was the late 80's, and the Dominicanos (Dominicans) in the island who got the privilege to get a visa; all dream of coming to New York City, "the city that doesn't sleep".

When it was my time to go to the U.S., I was eight years old, fluently only in Spanish with a Dominican accent. You see there is Spanish but then there's Dominican Spanish, and from there

arose many other challenges that as many other immigrants before I had to overcome to be able to learn the English language. Something very common in the Dominican culture is to called everything vaina. Let me put this to perspective, my mom would tell me "muchacho (boy) pass me the vaina which is on top of the dresser in my room," not only was there a million other things on top of her dresser, if you didn't bring back the vaina she told you to bring back, you better prepare yourself for una (one) vaina of ass whooping. Many other Dominicans can relate to this in a very similar way.
New York City most dense and populated area filled with Dominicans is Washington Heights. When you arrive in Washington Heights, is like you have magically teleported yourself to the capital Santo Domingo. One of the first things you'll see besides the vast amount of Dominican women walking by is a million food carts all over the place. Chimichurri which is similar to a hamburger in the United States is the most common among the carts. These vainas are freaking awesome. They consist of cabbage, mayonnaise, ketchup, onions and meat. Once you eat one of these bad boys, you'll probably re-think your ethnicity.
When you are in Washington Heights you can immediately tell that Dominican man are very flirty with the women that walk by. You can hear all multiple times man calling out, "Oye mami pero tu ta Buena" or "Mami dame tu Whatsapp," are few of the phrases in Spanish that you'll encounter while walking the streets. Jose a friend of mine, who in various times I have asked why he resorts to that type of "trifle" and he simply says, "It's what I've been doing for years even before I came here. There's no reason why I should stop now that I'm here. Besides here las mujeres (women) are in perfect shape," he said with a smile of mischief in his face. But although Dominicans might act in such ways around women in the streets, when men are together is a totally different story. Dominican men who weren't born in the states have a very different mindset than those where. When you enter a Bodega in Washington heights most of their owners are Dominican, and from the start if there's a TV in the Bodega is most likely going to be showing either Dominican News or Cockfights. From the moment you enter, everyone calls each other primo (cousin), as a way of introducing themselves to each other. Pats on the back and laughter are very common within the bodegas and places of interactions. Besides the name calling and handshaking, Bodegas are well known for their music. The music is loud and native. From Bachata to Merengue Tipico (Type of music Genre) they play it all. The music seems to act as a sort of antidote to the nostalgia some of the bodegeros (Bodega owner) tell me and the sacrifices some of them have made to be in the place they are today. The Bodegas in the Dominican culture are seen as a save heaven, where everyone knows each other and where differences are left behind, at the end of the day they all relate to the common conversation of one day returning back to the homeland.
Alberto a well-known man in Washington Heights Who owns a Bodega at 183th Ave once told me a story about his past that almost made me cry. "I came to this country in 1983, back them everything was very different from now. Drugs, sex, and money were offered like pamphlets on the streets. You see, alla (phrase for Homeland in Spanish) I was very poor. My parent had a house made out of wood and palm leaves and when it would rain everything would get wet. I first found out of New York when my friend Martin came back in 1980 with flashy clothes and gold watches and how could I forget, he had the only Mercedes for miles on end, I was like pero Nueva York hace cosas (New York does things). I saw New York as a way of escaping poverty and allowing my family to live a better lifestyle. I made myself a bet and that was to get to New York as soon as possible. I thought to myself if he got money so fast, money must be easy to get. Two years later I got my visa and with the little money that I had, bought a ticket and came to the Estados Unidos (United States). Muchacho, what a difference from what I've had expected. The first night I had to sleep in a cart board box in the streets because I had no relatives living up here yet. I just couldn't believe how Martin had made it so easy here. Thank the lord I landed here in Washington Heights, the next day a Dominican woman named Getrudes brought me to her apartment and there I lived for 3 months until I found a stable job. Martin only made it to 30, I found out that he had been killed by a drug dispute in Queens where he was dealing heavy with the substance," he said with a face of awkwardness that reflected in his shaking hands. But Alberto is not the only Dominican whose eyes had been filled with false dreams back in the homeland. Drug lords who migrate to the homeland are seen as icons and people to emulate for the plane reason of monetary status.
In Washington Heights is not common to see a group of Dominican teenagers walking down the street at 10 am in the morning on a Monday. Education in the Dominican culture wasn't something that was valued until recent years. In the past, parents who migrated from the Dominican Republic had very little educational value and only view the United States as a place to make money one way or the other. Until this day, it's very common to hear elder people say, "When I came here I was 23, and had three mouths to feed back home" with a sense of pride that is widely taken with honor with the culture. Those kinds of habits, however, have led to still, some parents allowing their children to opt for education as a second choice.
In recent years, however, Washington heights and many other districts within the City have seen an increase in the graduation rate of Hispanics.

This new cultural change is mostly being prompted by the cultural diversity within schools. Cultural diversification has allowed more and more people within the culture to realize that other cultures have very different views on the topic of education. This new cultural change can be clearly seen in Washington Heights by its leadership. Many Dominicans who have managed to go to college and earn a degree are joining the NYPD. New York finest over the years has seen a rapid increase in the numbers of Dominican applicants who would like to attend its academy. One of the many Dominicans who today are making a difference is Capt. Fausto Pichardo. Capt. Fausto Pichardo is the first Dominican commander and chief of the 33rd precinct in Washington heights. In an article by Cabrera, Nuñez a member of the community in Washington Height said, "' "I'm excited about it."'. He continues by saying, "I think it's extremely important to have someone who was born and raised here and grew up like myself and could relate to your family and

culture."
One day as I was walking down Saint Nicolas Ave, I was encounter by one of the most ancient traditions within the Dominican Culture. One of the most anticipated rituals within the Dominican culture which show the coming of age in a female is the Quinceañera. Quinceañera parties are known in the Dominican culture for their arrays of beautiful dresses and stylish hair styles that are done in the girls. This tradition has been going on in the culture since my Mon can remember she told me with shining eyes. She told me, "When I was growing up, you know mio Hijo (my son) we didn't come from a wealthy family so what my mom did instead because she knew how much this meant to me was to gather the close group of girls I used to hang around the most. With the little money she and papa (father) had they manage to buy me a cake and a few party items. Even though it wasn't much, it meant to me so much. More than if they would of have bought me a car or any other expensive item at the time," she said with almost tears in her eyes.
Not only has cultural diversification changed many of the aspects of culture acclimated with Dominicans in Washington Heights, it has also shaped me to the person I am today. As a prosperous Naval Academy midshipman, I only don't bring pride to my family, but also to the entire Dominican culture in general since as a saying goes by the famous poet Percy Ross, "many drops make a bucket, many buckets make a pond, many ponds make a lake, and many lakes make an ocean." Slowly but steadily our culture is changing into a more capable and educated society where educational values are being reinforced by accomplishments achieved by many others in the culture.