Race and Identity in the Dominican Republic: A Complex Topic

Posted in Anthropology, Articles, Caribbean/Latin America, History, Media Archive on 2013-01-11 05:27Z by Steven

Race and Identity in the Dominican Republic: A Complex Topic

CIEE Santiago, DR Service Learning Blog
CIEE Study Abroad
Council on International Educational Exchange
2012-09-18

Hannah Loppnow
St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wisconsin

One piece of advice that really resonated with me from the first day of orientation was “put yourself out there.” We were also told to step outside of our comfort zone when interacting with Dominicans in Spanish and to carry ourselves confidently.  Having only been in the Dominican Republic for less than twenty-four hours, I was very conscious of my every move and legitimately terrified to show my true colors to the program staff, my classmates, and the Dominican population. What will they think about me? Am I different than what they are used to? What do I think about them? First impressions are nearly impossible to prepare for because you simply can’t know what to expect. Have you ever thought about what your appearance says to others? In our Poverty and Development class, we have been discussing how Dominicans identify themselves and all of the factors that play into their self-identity, placing a strong emphasis on the history of the DR.

It is important to get a better understanding of how people identify themselves and their reasons why. The racial diversity of the Dominican Republic was largely influenced by the colonization of the island in 1492 by Christopher Columbus.  After the colonization of the Island and the mixture of European and African blood with indigenous Taíno blood, the new mulatto, the Spanish word for mixed race, soon became the dominant race of the Dominican Republic, making it a melting pot of light to dark skin tones. Walking around Santiago, the city I currently live in, I can clearly see the diverse mix of races and backgrounds of the Dominican community. Dominican’s have different body types, facial structures, eye colors, hair colors and textures and skin tones. I think their varied skin tones are beautiful, adding even more dimension to their multi-cultural community…

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