Hello! Since we are in the month of the independence, and I love to read (my username exposes me!) I thought it was a good idea to bring you a list of books by Dominican authors to share. Unfortunately, in our country reading is not appreciated, even when we have incredible authors. I hope that someone is encouraged to read a book on the list or even add more in the comments 😊. By the way, they are not in any order, they all seem excellent to me and that is why I include them.
• Historical novel
I think it is one of the most recurrent themes in Dominican literature, and it makes sense, our history is complex and interesting to analyze. (If any of you want to find out more about Dominican history and don't know where to start, I recommend El Manual de Historia Dominicana written by Frank Moya Pons).
Over by Ramón Marrero Aristy. Novel about the sugar mills during the Trujillo dictatorship. Excellent to understand a little more life during the regime.
La Sangre by Tulio M. Cestero. This novel is also focused on daily life during a dictatorship, but in this case by Lilís. Reading this novel, I felt in a field in Cibao, it is full of Dominicanisms and references to our culture.
Mis 500 locos by Antonio Zagul. My favorite in this category. It is an almost autobiographical novel by Zagul, director of the mental hospital popularly known as el 28. It is a simple novel in writing, but very strong due to the explicit abuses that are described, tears came to me reading the mistreatment that was committed in that place. Highly recommended.
El Montero by Pedro Francisco Bonó. Bonó is the father of Dominican sociology and this book shows it, it captures very well the essence of Dominican country life. It is also very short, about 100 pages.
La Mañosa by Juan Bosch. Honestly is not my favorite reading, but you can't take credit for how well it captures the era of our country's revolutions. Something I should mention is that it has a somewhat old Dominican slang, so you may not understand all the words and have to go to Google, I used to ask my dad or my grandparents, a beautiful way to create a link with the older listening to them talk about the island.
Yo y mis condiscípulos by Joaquín Balaguer. Balaguer is by far one of my favorite people, yet his writing ability cannot be questioned. I like to read his works to better understand his mind, and this has been one of the works that I have enjoyed the most.
El olor del olvido by Freddy Aguasvivas. This reading had me very immersed in its moment, ironically it talks about the years of Balaguer's presidency, and tells the story of the kidnapping of a United States diplomat in the country. Very interesting.
• Anthologies of short stories and poems
I made this category especially for those who do not have the habit of reading and want to start doing it, because in my opinion, stories and poems are an excellent way to get a taste of reading.
Poemas completes by Salomé Ureña. Salomé is an excellent poet, her verses are precious and one of my favorites while I was growing up.
Una escalera para Electra and Una Mujer está Sola by Aida Cartagena Portalatín. Another incredible Dominican poet and writer. I recommend everything she has ever written because she is worth it.
De niños, hombres y fantasmas by Virgilio Díaz Grullón. My favorite short story anthology without a doubt. It is divided into three parts named after each element of the title, so there is something for everyone. (By the way, in the 'children' part it does not mean that they are for children, but that the protagonists are children, however they deal with adult issues, such as death or abandonment for example).
Cuentos escritos en el exilio y Cuentos Inovidables by Juan Bosch. These two are my favorite Juan Bosch anthologies, just as I mentioned in his novel, the slang is somewhat difficult to understand so it is a good idea to have Google handy when reading.
• Romance
In this list I will only put two because it is not a genre that I usually read, so I do not know a lot. Hopefully, someone in the comments can add more.
Nada by Gabriela Montilla. It is a toxic teenage romance novel, but contrary to what is usually seen in that kind of novels, the ending is more encouraging. I liked it because it relates to a certain extent the reality of many young people in our country, it is set between a neighborhood of La Romana and the Capital.
2. La Otra Penelope by Andrés L. Mateo. This novel el Premio de la Literatura a couple of years ago and it is more than deserved. Highly recommended.
• Books by Dominican-American authors.
I have read very little about authors of Dominican descent, so I will only add three, and in the same way I hope that in the comments someone can recommend more.
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I was going to put it in a historical novel because it is about the dictatorship and the Mirabal sisters, however, I ended up putting it here so that this category does not feel so alone and because I think it was originally written in English.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. A beautiful novel that explores the lives of two girls, both Dominican, but one living on the island and the other in the United States. I started reading it because of the title because it seemed funny to me, everyone who has traveled to the Dominican Republic knows why.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. A story that catches you from the first line. Highly recommended too.
I hope you have enjoyed the post and hopefully you will be encouraged to comment on what you think of these books if you have read them or if you know others that you recommend. Thank you very much for reading, in the comments I will put the Spanish version. English is not my first language so there may be mistakes and I'm sorry for that 😊.
A not-so-brief rundown of the letter ‘S’ in Jeffrey Epstein's 'Little Black Book'
Below is a rundown of the letter ‘S’ under Epstein's contacts. Last year, I wrote about letters A-C. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/cpis3n/a_brief_rundown_of_the_first_ten_pages_of_jeffrey/). I also wrote about letters D-F on July 5, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hlrba8/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_df_in_jeffrey/). I posted letters G-I on July 13, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hqko0y/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_gi_in_jeffrey/). I posted letters J-L on July 15, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hrq9bg/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_jl_of_jeffrey/). I posted letter M on July 20, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/huw0yt/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letter_m_in_jeffrey/). I posted letters N-Q on July 27, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hyudbz/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letters_nq_in_jeffrey/). There are some misspelled names. Epstein entered their names like this. I posted letter R on July 29, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/i0aqxd/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letter_r_in_jeffrey/) I have bolded some of the more interesting connections and information, but there could be much more that I overlooked. I hope something here strikes an interest in someone and maybe we can get more investigations out of this. Please, if you know anything more about any of these people than what is presented here, post below. I am working off of the unredacted black book found here: https://www.coreysdigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Jeffrey-Epsteins-Little-Black-Book-unredacted.pdf S Sacco, Amy: Nightclub mastermind behind Bungalow 8 and many other clubs. Listing her list of connections would take too long because her clubs are always hot spots for celebrities and the elite. The NY Times wrote a decent article (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/fashion/the-empress-is-in-amy-sacco-holds-court-at-another-new-york-nightspot.html) about Sacco’s clubs and clientele. Sacco has been photographed with Ghislaine, India Hicks, and Sophie Dahl, all of whom appear in Epstein’s black book (https://www.patrickmcmullan.com/photo/1563479). Sachs, Jeffrey: Naming all of his titles would be an endeavor in itself. Sachs is a very influential figure who is best known for being an economist, an adviser to the United Nations, and a University Professor at Columbia University. Sachs serves on the Council on Foreign Relations, where Epstein served from 1995-2009. It is unclear whether he was there at the same time as Epstein, although given his popularity and influence, especially in the early 2000s, I would be surprised if he wasn’t around then. Saffra, Edmund: Billionaire banker and alleged money launderer with tons of enemies who died under very mysterious circumstances in 1999. The official story was that one of his nurses - in an attempt to gain favor with Safra by saving him from danger - intentionally started a small fire in Safra’s home, which soon spiraled out of control, causing Safra to lock himself in the bathroom and suffocate to death. This article (https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/12/dunne200012) does a good job of pointing out that Safra had many enemies, was a shady character, and was absolutely obsessed with security for himself and his family. It seems odd that Safra would allow his security detail (Mossad vets) to leave his home that night. This article (https://www.theguardian.com/theobserve2000/oct/29/features.magazine47) from The Guardian includes a statement from Ted Maher’s (the nurse who was convicted of starting the fire) wife, stating that he was coerced into signing a confession. Elie Wiesel, the author ofNightwho is also listed in Epstein’s contacts, was a good friend of Safra’s. Safro, Wayne: Financial advisor. Said, Wafic: Financier and businessman. Said is the Chairman of a children’s charity called the Said Foundation, where Prince Charles’s former private secretary, Sir Michael Peat GVCO, serves on the board of trustees (https://www.saidfoundation.org/pages/33-trustees-and-staff). The charity helps underprivileged children from the Middle East. Said has also contributed a lot of money to Prince Charles’s The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, which, among other things, is dedicated to helping children. Sainsbury, Mr Jamie: Descendant of the founder of the Sainsbury grocery chain. Old friend of Ghislaine Maxwell (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8466853/What-girls-frolicked-Bullingdon-boys-Oxfords-brightest-young-women-rose-top.html). James’s sister, Camilla, was married to British MP, Shaun Woodward, for 28 years. Camilla and Shaun are Trustees of The Woodward Charitable Trust, which helps disadvantaged children, women, and families (http://woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk/portfolio/about_us/). Salama, Eric: Former CEO of Kantar consulting firm. Also served as a Trustee for the British Museum (2000-2008). Survived a carjacking after getting stabbed last year (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6618395/Government-adviser-stabbed-carjacking-reveals-fine-punctured-lung.html). Saltzman, Elizabeth: Contributing editor to Vanity Fair and Vogue, two of the three publications (along with Tatler) that continuously show up among Epstein’s contacts. Saltzman is also a celebrity fashion stylist with clients such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Saoirse Ronan, Stella McCartney, and Uma Thurman, the ex-wife of Arpad Busson, who is possibly one of the key players in this pedophile ring (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/cl34ju/arpad_busson_billionaire_businessman_or_possible/). Andre Balazs, the hotelier who also seems to be embroiled in this whole fiasco held a party in 1995. Those in attendance included Ghislaine Maxwell, Katie Ford, and Elizabeth Saltzman (https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/taming-liz-fortensky-rumors-article-1.686445), all of whom appear in Epstein’s black book. In fact, Saltzman is a long-time friend of Ghislaine (https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Mysterious-business-of-the-queen-of-NY-Lon-1.pdf). This article also reveals that Ghislaine was introduced to Prince Andrew by the Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson), and, even more telling, that Epstein was suspected of having Mossad ties when the article was written in 2000. In addition to all this, Saltzman is the ex-wife of hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin (https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/14/style/miss-saltzman-editor-is-wed-to-glenn-dubin.html), one of the most heavily implicated people in Epstein’s pedophilia and child trafficking ring. I implore you to read more about Dubin (and his wife) in my D-F black book thread (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hlrba8/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_df_in_jeffrey/). Saltzman can also be seen here, sitting next to Prince Andrew in 2010 (https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/world/4780114-Britains-Prince-Andrew-is-stepping-back-from-public-duties-after-Epstein-controversy). The lists of celebrities and well-known figures that Saltzman has been photographed with is unending. Samuels, Mia: Actually Maia Samuel, former Producer of ABC Primetime (1989-1994). Went on to work for NBC, Bloomberg, and CNBC in various producer roles over the years. Now works as Director, Content Studios for Reuters (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maia-samuel-92172a10). Epstein has quite a few television ties, most notably to ABC news programs. Sandelman, Jon & Corrie: Jonathan is a hedge fund manager and former Managing Director of Bank of America Securities. Corrie is his wife. Sangster, Guy & Fi: Son of racing tycoon Robert Sangster, Guy is Managing Director at Sangster Group, which is involved in the Horse Racing industry. He also works as an investment adviser with Hambro Perks, a venture capitalist company. Prince Andrew is a close friend of Guy and his wife, Fiona. Prince Andrew even attended Sangster’s 40th birthday party (https://www.the-sun.com/news/136709/prince-andrews-pals-claims-witness-who-saw-him-with-sex-slave-is-confused-as-he-was-in-club-3-days-late). Sangster, Mr Ben: Guy Sangster’s brother and fellow racing heir. Long-time acquaintance/friend(?) of the Royal Family. According to this article, the Sangsters are “one of the most high profile society families in London and often hang out with the royals (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5008073/Robert-Sangster-s-son-marries-Princess-Eugenie-s-friend.html). Santo Domingo, Julio Mario: Unsure if this is the father or the son. Either way, this is a billionaire Colombian businessman whose company has controlling stock in Bavaria Brewery and is the 2nd highest stockholder of Anheuser Busch (15%). The senior Julio Mario Santo Domingo died in 2011. His son died from cancer in 2009. Santo, Mr & Mrs M Espirito: Likely the former owners (or high-ranking family) of the Espirito Santo banking dynasty., which was forced to shutter due to charges of fraud, money laundering, and falsifying documents (https://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/30/how-a-portuguese-banking-mess-took-down-a-dynasty.html). Banco Espirito Santo was Portugal’s second-largest bank. Saud Prince Solman: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was a close friend of Epstein’s and met with him many times. Epstein even had a photograph of bin Salman hanging on his wall. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has been linked to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and subsequently killed. The Crown Prince, said to have ordered the murder, and those who were physically involved with the murder, ultimately went unpunished. According to this article (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jeffrey-epstein-what-we-know-about-paedophile-businessmans-ties-middle-east), the numbers listed likely belong to the Crown Prince’s father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Epstein’s Austrian passport had a fake name and Saudi address. This passport was to have been given to him by “a friend.” In November 2016, one day before the election, Epstein flew to Riyadh. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos were in Riyadh at the same time, leading some to believe that the three may have met up (https://www.insider.com/epstein-riyadh-saudi-arabia-private-jet-2019-9). Scerbo, Randall: A female (despite the name) fashion stylist and costume designer who eventually went into consulting. Randall also has credits as a producer and content creator for the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants. Schiatti, Gianmarco: Creative director who helped several fashion companies (Gucci, Chanel, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Prada, etc.) with rebranding. Schifter, Helen & Tim: Helen is a former arbitrage trader on Wall Street, as well as a socialite and a former editor at Hearst and Conde Nast (publisher of Tatler and Vogue), making this the 9000th Epstein-Conde Nast connection. Helen’s father is a businessman and has served as a consultant for the Du Pont Company. She runs in the same circles as Ghislaine Maxwell and has been at several of the same parties (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/helen-lee-schifter-ghislaine-maxwell-teddy-wong-and-news-photo/1169681659). Tim is CEO of LeSportsac, the luggage and tote bag manufacturer. Tim can be seen attending a Private Screening with Ghislaine Maxwell here (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tim-schifter-and-ghislaine-maxwell-attend-private-screening-news-photo/590659962). Sebag Montefiore Simon & Santa: Simon Montefiore is a British historian, television presenter, and author of history books and novels. Ghislaine attended the launch of Montefiore’s book, “The Court of the Red Tsar” (https://deepclips.com/clip/3225/exclusive-i-fear-i-saw-virginia-roberts-inside-jeffrey-epstein-s-creepy-new-mexico-ranch-contractor-claims). Santa is his wife and sister of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who died of an ulcer in 2017. The Palmer-Tomkinson family is so close with the Royal Family that Prince Charles was named Tara’s godfather. As such, Simon and Santa are good friends of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4721868/The-lit-girl.html). Simon’s great-great-uncle was an international financier who worked for the Rothschilds in the 1800s. Siimon and his family are still close to the Rothschilds to this day (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/montefiore200801). Seitern, Christine: Architect. Sejournet, Isabel de: Belgian arts consultant and wife of French Count Eric d’Hauteville. Isabelle was photographed at an annual charity dinner hosted by The AEM Association Children of the World for Rwanda (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/isabelle-de-sejournet-and-caroline-sarkozy-attend-the-news-photo/157832558). Shabtai, Benny: Israeli businessman who specializes in watches and telecommunications. Served as Chair for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) and has helped raise millions for the charity (https://electronicintifada.net/content/manhattans-friends-israel-defense-forces/5526). Epstein toured Israeli military bases with Shabtai in 2008 after being convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution (https://pagesix.com/2008/04/24/just-visiting/). Shabtai also served three years in the Israeli army and is a former bodyguard for the Israeli ambassador in Paris, France. Shad, Brenda: Lingerie model who has known Epstein since the ‘90s (https://www.reddit.com/EpsteinAndFriends/comments/hbiwye/epstein_with_lingerie_model_brenda_schad_in_1997/). Almost married Robert Hanson (listed in my Epstein G-H thread) in 1996, the billionaire financier who was accused of raping Anouska de Georgiou when she was a teenager. She first met him when he was dating Naomi Campbell. Pictured with Maxwell here in 2005 (https://www.the-sun.com/news/103520/is-jeffrey-epsteins-unholy-alliance-with-the-victorias-secret-boss-the-real-reason-the-show-was-scrapped/). Shearer Andre & Angie: Andre is a South African wine importer through his business, Cape Classics. Angie is his wife. Shore Chris and Maura: Chris is a bankruptcy litigator. Mara is his wife, a licensed lawyer. Shriver, Bobby: Nephew of JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy. His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special Olympics. Bobby now serves on the Board of Directors for the Special Olympics (https://www.specialolympics.org/about/board-of-directors/bobby-shriver). Epstein has several phone numbers listed for Shriver’s Special Olympics office in California. Shriver, Maria: Bobby Shriver’s sister and niece of JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy. TV journalist and former ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Shuster, Susie: Suzy is a sportscaster who is married to long-time ESPN and NFL Network anchor, Rich Eisen. Siegal, Peggy: Famous NYC publicist and close friend of Epstein who helped him out by continuously getting him into elite parties even after he was convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution in 2008 (https://nymag.com/intelligence2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-high-society-contacts.html). Her career in Hollywood has been obliterated, although many still secretly think she has been a scapegoat (https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-powea29643007/peggy-siegal-jeffrey-epstein-connection/), which once again proves the depravity of Hollywood. Siegel, William (Bill): President of Chris-Craft Industries (1996-2001), a broadcasting company that owned several television channels across the U.S. Chris-Craft was eventually purchased by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $5.3 billion. Sieghart, William: British entrepreneur and publisher. In 1986, he co-founded Forward Publishing with partner Neil Mendoza, who serves on the board of several children’s charities and is the current Provost of Oriel College. Mendoza appeared earlier in Epstein’s black book. Check out the letter ‘M’ thread for more information. Silver, Ron: Silver (1946-2009), was a famous actor who also served on the Council on Foreign Relations. Co-founder of pro-Israeli organization, One Jerusalem, which organized a rally in 2001 to protest Palestinian sovereignty. Flipped political affiliations to vote for George W. Bush post-9/11. As a result, Bush appointed him to several posts, including one in which he worked under Scooter Libby, adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. Silverman, Nancy & Henry: Henry is an entrepreneur and private equity investor. Henry helped build Cendant Corporation, which specializes in car rentals, travel reservations, and real estate brokerage services. Nancy and Henry divorced in 2012 after 30 years of marriage. They literally lived around the block from Jeffrey Epstein. Simon, Bren: Bren was the President of MBS Associates, a property management company. She and her husband (now deceased), support many children’s charities. Bren directs the Mel and Bren Simon Charitable Trust, which works closely with the Clinton Foundation (Haiti), the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Clinton School of Public Service (https://brensimon.com/our-work/). Bren is co-founder of The Family Support Center, a 24-hour child abuse care center. She also serves on the board of advisers for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. In 1998, Bren began working with the Mission International Rescue Foundation (MIR), which serves the children and young women of La Romana, Dominican Republic. Bren also created the Centro de Promocion Rural Max Simon, an orphanage that provides a safe environment for boys who have been abandoned, abused, or are living in extreme poverty. She also created the Bren Simon MIR Foundation Girls’ Vocational School (https://cancer.iu.edu/giving/simon/bren-bio.php). Bren Simon used to be a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Bill Clinton read a eulogy at her husband’s funeral (https://www.ibj.com/articles/67913-simon-sisters-among-top-political-donors-nationwide). Simpson (Caruth), Sophie: Former literary agent at William Morris Agency. Serves as a Trustee for Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Sindi, Rena & Sami: Rena is a socialite and daughter of Nemar A. Kirdar, who founded Investcorp bank in the ‘80s with Arab oil money (https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/27/style/put-on-your-toga-bring-castanets-rena-sindi-is-giving-a-party.html). In 2007, Rena attended a party for Allegra Hicks at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house (https://medium.com/@the_war_economy/investigation-jeffrey-epstein-d2ad68e2e845). Her husband, Sami, is a venture capitalist. Slayton, Bobby: Actocomedian who admits to seeing Epstein in West Palm Beach a few times over the years. Slayton says that “they weren’t friends,” although he once went to Epstein’s Manhattan mansion for coffee (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article234312632.html). Smith Osborne: Not enough info. Smith Peterson, Noona: Public relations officer and consultant who has worked for Tom Ford, Armani, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Tod’s. She now has her own PR agency. In 2015, Forbes named her one of the 12 women who have changed Italian fashion (https://www.forbes.com/sites/declaneytan/2015/02/06/the-12-women-whove-changed-italian-fashion/#553827046f86). Noona is married to Enrico Erba, who is a client manager for Giorgio Armani. Smith, James: Co-founder and CEO of Aegis Trust, an organization focused at stopping genocide in Rwanda. Aegis “enables students, professionals, decision-makers and a wider public to meet survivors and learn from their experiences” (https://www.aegistrust.org/what-we-do/). Snyder, Maria: Model, designer, artist, and entrepreneur who has worked for the likes of Armani, Versace, Valentino, Calvin Klein, and Karl Lagerfield. Snyder attended a ‘Free the Slaves’ benefit in 2010 where she was photographed with hotelier Andre Balazs, who is mired in Epstein/Maxwell stink, and Brenda Schad, who appears just above (last name incorrectly spelled ‘Shad’). Soames, Rupert & Milly: Rupert is a British businessman and CEO of Serco, a government contractor that provides health, transport, justice, immigration, defense, and citizen services. Soames and his company is heavily involved in many aspects of government (he is very close with former British Prime Minister David Cameron), and as such, has a huge impact on the public. For example, Serco has been contracted to work on a Coronavirus track-and-trace system for the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/04/nhs-track-and-trace-system-not-expected-to-be-operating-fully-until-september-coronavirus). Soames’s family is very close with the Royal Family (https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/photo-gallery/44913948/image/44914915/Camilla-Dunne-Honorable-Rupert-Soames-1988). Prince William served as a pageboy at Rupert and Camilla’s wedding in 1988. Soames is the grandson of Winston Churchill and his brother, Nicholas Soames, served as a British MP from 1983-2019. Nicholas has been accused of being sexist and making inappropriate remarks by several female MPs. Nicholas is also a very close friend of Prince Charles (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/profile-charless-biggest-buddy-nicholas-soames-royalist-minister-for-food-1466703.html). Milly (Camilla) is Rupert’s wife and High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire. Milly is a Patron/Trustee for Pace Centre, a children’s charity dedicated to providing education for children with sensory motor disorders (https://thepacecentre.org/about-pace/mission-values-vision/), Heart of Bucks (https://heartofbucks.org/committees-patrons/), an all-purpose charity that divvies up money to many causes, several of which involve children (https://heartofbucks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/hob-annual-report-2018-2019-web.pdf), Action4Youth (https://www.action4youth.org/trustees/), which “partners with government, schools, youth clubs, businesses, trusts and foundations, and others (https://www.action4youth.org/about-action4youth/vision-mission-values/). Camilla is also the daughter of Sir Thomas Raymond Dunne, who served as a Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire. Her brother, Phillip, has been a British Conservative MP since 2005. Sobrino, Esperanza: Director of Acquavella art gallery. Solomon, Andrew: Writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. Member of Council on Foreign Relations where Epstein once served. Soros Peter: Nephew of George Soros. Works as an investment banker. Soros’s name is circled in Epstein’s black book. It turns out that Epstein’s former house manager circled the names of all material witnesses before he died in 2014 (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-black-book-nick-bryant). Soros, Peter: Same as above. Soto, Fernando de: Real estate consultant. Soto, Jaime & Marina de: No info found. South, Hamilton: Founder of HL Group, a large marketing firm. Former Chief Marketing Officer for Ralph Lauren. South was a good friend of Carolyn Besette Kennedy (wife of JFK Jr) before she died. He was also a good friend of Lee Radziwill, mother-in-law of Carole Radziwill, listed earlier in Epstein’s book (check out the letter ‘R’ thread), before Lee’s passing. Souza, Carlos: Works in public relations for Valentino. Spacey, Kevin: Famous actor who has been accused of sexual assault by actor Anthony Rapp and 14 others (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/11/07/kevin-spacey-scandal-complete-list-13-accusers/835739001/). He was on the infamous Epstein Africa flight with Clinton and Chris Tucker. Spacey also made this chilling video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZveA-NAIDI), which many think was a direct threat to the Royal Family. As a lot of you know, Spacey was close with the Royal Family and Ghislaine Maxwell. Just last month, a picture surfaced of Spacey and Ghislaine sitting on the British throne (https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/04/uk/maxwell-spacey-throne-gbr-intl/index.html). Squire, Hugo: See Hugo Swire below. St. Bris, Edward: International license manager at Pierre Cardin. Stanburry, Caroline: Reality TV star from the show Ladies of London. Stanbury has also worked in public relations and as a stylist. Ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew (after his divorce from the Duchess of York) and actor Hugh Grant. Stark, Koo: Famous photographer who dated Prince Andrew for nearly two years in the early ‘80s. Stark eventually married (and divorced) Tim Jefferies, who was listed earlier in Epstein’s book (check the J-L thread). Stark went on to have a daughter with someone else. Prince Andrew is the godfather. Starzewski Thomas: Famous British fashion designer whose clothes have been worn by the Royal Family. Steenkamp, Chris: Not enough info. Possibly the artist responsible for these lovely drawings (https://www.instagram.com/christophersteenkamp.art/?hl=en), but I cannot confirm. Steiner, Jeffrey: Not enough info. Probably the co-managing partner of MWE real estate group. I could be wrong, though. Steinkampf, Chris & Nina: No info found. Stengel, Andrew: Former director of acquisitions for Miramax. Former aide to Governor Mario Cuomo (father of Andrew and Chris). Stengel, Rick & Mary: Richard is an editor, author, and government official (Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs) under Barack Obama. Richard is now a Senior Advisor at Snapchat and serves on the board of CARE, a charity that caters to women and children (https://care.org/about-us/leadership/richard-stengel/). Mary is his South African wife. Nelson Mandela was the godfather to their son, Gabriel. Stern, Allison & Leonard: Allison (nee Maher) is a former model and TV producer. Her husband, Leonard, is a billionaire businessman involved in real estate. Leonard founded Homes for the Homeless, a charity that aims to help the financially disadvantaged. A large focus of the charity is children and youth (https://www.hfhnyc.org/). Leonard is also quite the heartless bastard. He announced that he was selling a Homes for the Homeless apartment building in midtown Manhattan, forcing its inhabitants to move out (https://thejewishvoice.com/2019/12/billionaires-nyc-homeless-facility-boots-out-elderly-tenants-before-holidays/). Just to show an example of how all these wealthy people truly do know each other, here is a link with pictures of Malcolm Forbes’s 70th birthday party in Morocco in 1989. Forbes flew out 800 guests (https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/this-was-then-malcolm-forbes-70th-birthday-part-i/), including Leonard and Allison Stern, Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine’s father), Rupert Murdoch, Ronald Perelman, Barbara Walters, Robert and Blaine Trump, Diane von Furstenberg, King Constantine, Henry Kissinger, James Goldsmith, Hamish Bowles, Gianni Agnelli, Kay Graham, Elizabeth Taylor, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Walter Cronkite, Ann Getty, Fran Lebowitz, and more. Not only are these people rich, famous, and powerful, but many of them also appear in Epstein’s black book. Stevens Michael: Not enough info. Stopford-Sackville, Charlie &: Charles works in finance and securities. Owner of Drayton House (https://www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/organisation/drayton/) in Northamptonshire, England. Married to Shona McKinney, who I am guessing is the name that got cut off in Epstein’s black book. Shona is a good friend of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-317052/Marks-married-maiden.html, who is a key figure in this whole Jeffrey Epstein saga. Stracher Kate: Kate is an artist who went to Oxford with Ghislaine, but claims that she hasn’t seen her since then. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365733/How-Prince-Andrew-shared-room-Epsteins-Caribbean-hideaway-busty-blonde-claimed-brain-surgeon.html). Sundlun, Stuart: Managing director of BMB Advisors, a private equity firm. Son of Governor Bruce Sundlun of Rhode Island (1991-1995). Stuart’s father also served as director of the National Security Education Board (NSEB) for four years under Clinton. Bruce is a great friend of Clinton right hand man (and multiple-time passenger on Epstein’s flight log), Ira Magaziner. Magaziner also appeared in Epstein’s black book (check out the ‘M’ thread for more info). Sunley, Mr James & Amanda: James is CEO of Sunley Holdings, an investment company. Sutherland, Harry: Likely refers to the investment banker who is Chairman of CrossInvest, an offshore corporate service company. Svenlinson, Peter: Venture capitalist and founder of The Column Group. Served as Chairman for several pharmaceutical companies (Aragon, which was sold to Johnson & Johnson and Seragon, until it was solid to Genentech/Roche). Swire, Sophie: English fashion entrepreneur who established a school for jewelers and gem-cutters in Afghanistan at Prince Charles’s request (https://adventurersclub.org/archives/calendanov2015.php). Co-founder of Learning for Life, an educational charity. She was a Trustee and Chairperson from 1995-2000. Learning for Life has established over 250 schools for girls in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Swire, Hugo: Swire is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2001-2019. Son of Roger, director of Sotheby’s. Swire, Jenny: Former Miss South Africa. Fashion director for Wedding Magazine and TV personality. Contributing editor for Tatler, a publication which has appeared more than ten times amongst Epstein’s contacts. Swire, Mark: Involved in real estate. Sykes, Lucy Ewen: Entrepreneur, fashion executive, and socialite. Fashion director of Marie Claire magazine. Former consultant for Ralph Lauren, T. J. Maxx, and Tommy Hilfiger. Good friend of nightclub guru Amy Sacco, who is one of the contacts listed earlier in this thread. Lucy and her husband attended a dinner for Prince Andrew at Epstein’s house in the early 2000s (https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/ghislaine-maxwell-the-socialite-on-jeffrey-epsteins-arm.html). Lucy’s husband, Euan Rellie, has been a friend of Ghislaine Maxwell’s for years.
This entire project, what the Dominican Republic and Haiti have been working towards, is, at its core, about connection. Every day, more people of the island are brought together, and this violation weakens the partition. Our progress can be seen on its surface: Cracks in its murky shell are widening, it sways with the wind more and more, and the whole construct regularly shudders with stress. When will it topple? Soon. What will topple it? Who knows. But it probably won’t be infrastructure development.
Railroad Time
The Dominican Republic and Haiti are establishing the State Rail and Track Corporation. Fifty percent ownership will go to the Dominican government, fifty percent to Haiti’s. It will be responsible for the construction, maintenance, and, eventually, the every-day operation of the island’s future rail infrastructure, with the exception of metros, trams, and other light rail (the SRTC might provide equipment and manage those efforts in cooperation with local governments, however). The first part of the plan will involve the construction of a two hundred mile long overhead electric passenger line between Santo Domingo and Port-Au-Prince (with a Jacmel station in between). This is expected to take around a year, as the SRTC has to assemble its workers from the Labour Battalions and purchase the necessary equipment. It’s expected that the actual rail-laying would take less than one hundred fifty days. It’ll run along the same path as the coastal highway, with deviations here and there if terrain isn’t up to par. Upon its completion, the Dominican Republic will run a midnight celebratory party train on a round trip from Santo Domingo to Port-Au-Prince and back again, which will take approximately four hours. From there the line is expected to run three round trips a day, every day, barring exceptional circumstances. The second part of the plan is less direct, pardon the pun. From the newly established Santo Domingo and Port-Au-Prince terminals, numerous passenger lines will spring out. From the former, a line to Santiago de Los Caballeros through La Vega, and a line to La Romana through San Pedro de Madoris. From the latter, a line to Cap-Haitien through Saint-Marc and Gonaives, and a line to Miragoane through Carrefour. To top it all off, a line from Cap-Haitien to Santiago de Los Caballeros will also be laid. All of this amounts to approximately five hundred miles of rail, which will be laid over the course of two and a half years, costing around two hundred million dollars every year. The passenger line will be marketed towards the working-class, middle-class, and tourists, mostly. For the working-class, advertisements will focus on the sheer mobility, unrivalled in both speed and cost. They’ll be able to go anywhere they need for the price of a ticket, instead of driving along perilous sideroads of sideroads to bypass a highway wrought with rock slides. For the middle-class, it’ll be spun as a stylish empowerment of the businesspeople: The economy is booming, and you can take a piece if you just go. Tourists will simply see the convenience and ease, and perhaps its novelty if they haven’t been to many other countries, and will use it just on that. The third, final part of the new island rail project is a freight line from Santo Domingo to Port-Au-Prince, constructed around the same time as the second part of the plan is going on. Diesel-electric trains will transport goods to and fro, and the island’s fleet of eighteen wheelers will manage the rest of the economic logistics from there. It’s expected to take about a year and about a hundred million dollars less than the first part of the plan, at one hundred fifty million USD. That’s the bilateral (soon to be national) rail system done, but what about local projects? Well, after the bulk of the work is done on the above projects and the STRC isn’t building much more rail, it can begin working with cities across the island (probably mostly the ones already connected by rail because they’re the largest) to build underground metros and tram systems where applicable. Specifically, the largest project will be centred in Port-Au-Prince, bringing the city closer to the world-class status it deserves. An all-new metro service will sprawl from the city centre like a spiderweb, and trams will daintily crawl along every road. In Santo Domingo, the already-existing metro will simply be greatly expanded. Renewable energy is great, but it has one simple problem: Its inconsistent. Batteries have advanced pretty far, but there are still gaps and inadequacies. Those gaps are where the STRC will step in. They will build rail batteries! Trains loaded with weight will be taken up a short track, powered by solar panels or wind turbines, until they’re on top of a small hill, with a lot of potential energy. When that energy needs to be extracted, the train can be pushed off the hill, and some of that energy can be taken back. Map (black is passenger, blue is freight)
Thoughts on my application statement? I'm 75 characters over too, ideas on what sentences to trim?
((I wrote the 1st draft of this about a week ago, used this time to ruminate and just returned and edited, making this the 2nd draft. I cut about 425 characters from the 1st draft and better aligned/focused the statement toward the prompt, though I'm still 75 over. Any and all criticism/suggestions would be appreciated! For some context I'm 25 and graduating undergrad with an English grammar degree next spring, applying for english education volunteer, specifically eastern Europe but also anywhere (with 2 semesters in college of Arabic as my foreign language, obviously not fluent but getting there ha).)) Throughout my life I've encountered many challenges. Some I've been able to overcome through effort and tenacity; others I've had to use ingenuity to approach in a different way than usual. One example of a challenge I've overcome is losing weight and getting fit. To do that required facing myself in the metaphorical mirror to address the emotional aspect of why I was overweight, and then finding new healthier ways to deal with stress. It required educating myself from ground zero about how diet and exercise worked, and then crafting a unique plan that would work for me. Lastly it required persistent discipline for over a year to lose about 100lbs, and then continued discipline over the years since then to stay fit. At the start of this challenge overcoming it felt like an impossibility, like a mountain too high to climb. But I did the research, I put the work in, I found a support network as well as an inner strength I didn't know I even had, and the change within me was lasting, and it wasn't just weight. I found confidence, resourcefulness, determination that I didn't have before. I've faced other challenges, from navigating the complicated world of university as a first generation college student to processing difficult feelings after heartbreak and losing loved ones. I've stumbled sometimes on these climbs. I've scraped my knees and gotten lost and even thought about turning back. But I've found a way every time to keep moving forward and every time I emerge the better for it. I plan to overcome the unique Peace Corps challenges by leaning on the wisdom and strength as well as the specific skills I’ve gained from overcoming challenges in my life before. Strategies I’ve learned while in the classroom, at work, volunteering etc. I don’t know right now what exact situations I’ll be in, but because of how I’ve overcome many disparate challenges before, I’ve learned adaptability and I’m confident I’ll be able to do the same in the Peace Corps. Oftentimes overcoming these challenges has been possible because of a helper I've had. That's come in the form of a mentor or a trusted friend, a caring relative or a well educated peer. Someone whose lived experience was different from my own and who had a heart to share their experience with me to help me tackle my challenge. As I've grown older and been on the receiving end of this kind of help several times I've felt a strong desire to be that helper for others. I've always been empathetic, but now I believe that to truly care for someone else means to sacrificially serve them. This last February I had my first experience doing this in another country. Although it was only for a week, serving in La Romana and the Bateyes in the Dominican Republic made me realize for the first time at a heart level, not just a head level, how folks around the world need that kind of helper. At the end of the week I didn't want to go back home - I wanted to stay because I could see that longer term commitment could prove even more fruitful. To truly immerse into a different culture is how one can best serve people. In the DR I also saw the transformational effect of learning English on individuals, their families, and their communities. My time in the DR really lit a fire within me and sparked an idea - that I could use the rest of my life for serving others in that kind of way, abroad. After talking with my academic advisor and some other professors, I've decided to pursue a PhD in linguistics so that I can serve as a translator, living abroad. Serving in the Peace Corps will provide experience immersing myself into a culture, learning the language and teaching English, things my career will include. As well, I feel that I am well qualified with my background to be a good English education volunteer as well as a good helper in any circumstance. The Peace Corps’s ideals are ones I’ve held in esteem my whole life, and I would love so much to contribute back to my fellow citizens of my country and our world by serving with the PC now, before moving onto further schooling and career.
On a cruise ship currently docking in La Romana, Dominican Republic. We don't have an excursion booked and figured we would just wander around. What is the best/cheapest way to get to Altos de Chavon from the cruise port if you aren't on a tour? Also, any other suggestions for places to explore and eat would be most appreciated! Just FYI, rainy day today, so probably won't spend much time on the beach :(
[FIGHT THREAD] Errol Spence Jr. vs. Lamont Peterson, Robert Easter Jr. vs. Javier Fortuna, Marcus Browne vs. Francy Ntetu, Adam Kownacki vs. Iago Kiladze
DATE: Saturday, January 20th, 2018 LOCATION: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA TELEVISION: Showtime in the US, BoxNation in the UK, TSN3 in Canada, and various outlets internationally. TIME: 9:00 PM EST, 6:00 PM PST, 2:00 AM GMT
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Lamont Peterson
12 Rounds
Welterweight Division - 147 lb. limit
IBF World Welterweight Title
Errol Spence Jr.
vs
Lamont Peterson
22(19)-0
RECORD
35(17)-3-1
28
AGE
33
5' 9.5”
HEIGHT
5' 9”
72”
REACH
72”
147 lbs
WEIGHT
146.75 lbs
Southpaw
STANCE
Orthodox
Desoto, Texas, USA
RESIDENCE
Washington D.C., USA
Long Island, New York, USA
HOMETOWN
Washington D.C., USA
5(5)-0
LAST FIVE
4(1)-1
Robert Easter Jr. vs. Javier Fortuna
10 Rounds
Lightweight Division - 135 lb. limit
IBF World Welterweight Title (At stake for Easter only as Fortuna failed to make weight)
Robert Easter Jr.
vs
Javier Fortuna
20(14)-0
RECORD
33(23)-1-1
26
AGE
28
5' 11”
HEIGHT
5' 6”
76”
REACH
68.5"
134.5 lbs
WEIGHT
136.4 lbs
Orthodox
STANCE
Southpaw
Toledo, Ohio, USA
RESIDENCE
Braintree, Massachusetts, USA
Toledo, Ohio, USA
HOMETOWN
La Romana, Dominican Republic
5(2)-0
LAST FIVE
5(2)-1
Marcus Browner Jr. vs. Francy Ntetu
10 Rounds
Light Heavyweight Division - 175 lb, limit
Marcus Browne
vs
Francy Ntetu
20(15)-0
RECORD
17(4)-1
27
AGE
35
6' 1.5”
HEIGHT
5' 11”
75.5”
REACH
???
175.8 lbs
WEIGHT
174.4 lbs
Southpaw
STANCE
Orthodox
Staten Island, New York, USA
RESIDENCE
Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
Staten Island, New York, USA
HOMETOWN
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Of The Congo
5(4)-0
LAST FIVE
4(1)-1
Adam Kownacki vs. Iago Kiladze
10 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
Adam Kownacki
vs
Iago Kiladze
16(13)-0
RECORD
26(18)-1
28
AGE
31
6' 3”
HEIGHT
6' 3.5”
76”
REACH
???
260 lbs
WEIGHT
220.6 lbs
Orthodox
STANCE
Orthodox
Brooklyn, New York, USA
RESIDENCE
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Lomza, Poland, New York, USA
HOMETOWN
Sachkere, Georgia
5(3)-0
LAST FIVE
5(4)-0
Join the live /boxing Discord voice and text chat https://discord.gg/BYt5UTe. RESULTS Marcus Browne KO1 Francy Ntetu : https://www.reddit.com/Boxing/comments/7rtl5j/fight_thread_errol_spence_jr_vs_lamont_peterson/dszp6w9/ Robert Easter Jr. by Split Decision by scores of 114-113 Easter, 114-113 Fortuna, 115-112 Easter : https://www.reddit.com/Boxing/comments/7rtl5j/fight_thread_errol_spence_jr_vs_lamont_peterson/dszujpe/ ROUND BY ROUND COVERAGE starts at 9:00pm EST Errol Spence Jr. vs. Lamont Peterson Round 1 A lot of people wondered what gameplan Peterson would bring into this, and he spent the first round boxing. It didn't work out too well for him. Spence was able to land a number of solid blows from that distance with Peterson landing essentially nothing in return. That said, peterson limited Spence's offense somewhat and he didn't get seriously hurt in the round. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total: 10-9 Spence Round 2 The second played out like the first but with both fighters being more aggressive. Peterson landed a few blows (which is more than he could say coming out of the first round), but Spence was even more effective in this stanza. Peterson seemed to be buzzed at the 1 minute mark and Spence landed a very nice body shot in the closing seconds. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total 20-18 Spence Round 3 Round 3 played out much like round 2, with both landing but Spence being more effective. This round was definitely closer in Peterson's favor with a few very clean shots. Still, the edge in power gives it to Spence. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total: 30-27 Spence Round 4 Spence really turned it up this round, but Peterson got in a few shots. Peterson again appeared to be hurt in spots and it looks like he might only be able to last a couple more rounds to my eyes. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total: 40-36 Spence Round 5 knockdown / bad wifi Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 8 Total: 50-44 Spence Round 6 Spence looked to hurt Peterson early, then he seemed to pace himself after exerting himself going for the stoppage in round 5. Clear dominant Spence round. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total: 60-53 Spence Round 7 Spence landed some nice offense, working from a posture of intelligent pressure. Peterson is using every veteran trick in his toolkit to continue to survive. Spence is going to have to use his boxing brain to produce a stoppage. Errol Spence: 10 Lamont Peterson: 9 Total: 70-62 Spence And that's it folks. It's stopped between rounds 7-8. Errol Spence TKO8 Lamont Peterson
First timer- RCI Oasis of Seas vs. Carnival Horizon - Advice Please!
My husband and I are looking to book a cruise in January of 2020. We are in our late twenties and have a 3 y/o who will be 4 by the time of sailing. We have done enough research to know that we want a newer ship with plenty to do onboard as well as a great kids center, and play area. I have priced out a few different options and we have it narrowed down to 2 different options at about the same price, but with very different itineraries/room options. RCI: Oasis of the Seas- 7 night Western Caribbean with Ocean View Balcony -Miami, FL / Cruising / Labadee, Haiti / Falmouth, Jamaica / Cruising / Cozumel, Mexico / Cruising / Miami, FL Carnival: Horizon- 8 night Southern Caribbean- Interior Room Miami, FL / Cruising / Grand Turk / La Romana, Dominican Republic / Curacao / Aruba / Cruising / Cruising/ Miami, FL I know a lot of it boils down to what we want to get out of our cruise, but as first timers, we honestly don’t know which is the better choice. I know there isn’t really a bad option. We will have an absolute blast either way, but are hoping for a little bit of input/advice to help us make our final decision. Is it worth it to have an extra stop/day but interior room, or is the balcony/bigger ship that much cooler? Also, will I get a better price booking with a TA vs. direct? Thanks!!
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could share any information about the Dominican Republic with me. I have applied for a teaching job in La Romana but I don’t know much about the area! I am 25 female and was wondering if there is an expat community or many other non natives living there as I want to know what the social life is like. Also any information about the safety of the area would be greatly appreciated too. Thanks!
Americans: Beware Of Vacationing In the Dominican Republic
Update: NINTH Deaths Reported in Dominican Republic
Recently there has been disturbing news coming out of the Dominican Republic. With the recent attack of an American woman and the mysterious deaths and illnesses of several American tourists, everyone needs to know the dangers before they plan their next vacation! Below are just some of the reports making headlines. •Tammy Lawrence-Daley from Wilmington, Delaware, recounted what she described as a vicious 8-hour beating that happened in January at the Majestic Elegance Resort in Punta Cana. •On May 25, Miranda Schaup-Werner, a 41-year-old from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, died at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville Resort which is also in the Dominican Republic. She and her husband were celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary. •On May 30, Maryland couple Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day were found dead inside their hotel at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana, an adjacent hotel on the same Bahia Principe property where Schaup-Werner died. •Elda Shepherd, from Ohio says at around 2a.m. on June 6th, she woke up to a man, who had earlier fixed the hot tub in her room, standing over her as she laid naked in her hotel room at the Breathless Punta Cana Resort and Spa in the Dominican Republic. The man didn't speak English so he used the translator on his phone to ask her, “Why are you alone, you don’t want company?” It seems Shepherd’s adrenaline was kicked into gear after this because she jumped up from the bed and he ran from the room. She filed a Police report and was able to pick the man out of a line-up which resulted in her would-be attacker being jailed. •In April, the bodies of New York City couple Orlando Moore, 40, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, were found after being reported missing for weeks. Dominican authorities confirmed that the couple died in a car crash in Santo Domingo. The car was found at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, and could not be recovered. A woman, who was later confirmed to be Ravenelle, was found at the site of the crash near the Las Americas highway in the city of Santo Domingo East. She was in grave condition and without any documents or identification. She was taken to a nearby hospital via ambulance and on April 4th, after six days in intensive care, she died from her injuries. Police found the body of a man, later confirmed to be Moore, on March 31 in an advanced state of decomposition. He was found about 13 miles from where the vehicle was located. Both bodies were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Pathology for autopsies and official identification, according to a statement from national police. It was not until the American media raised concerns over the two being missing that the Dominican Officials connected the dots. •Annette Wedington is searching for answers following the death of her son Terrence Richmond in September 2018. Authorities told Wedington that her son died as a result of an heart attack and accidential fall. She believes he was involved in a stuggle as there were trauma injuries his knuckles. Wedington said, according to the autopsy she obtained from Dominican Republic officials, he also had fluid in his lungs and a cracked skull. He also had bruising on his back like he had been kicked. According to his mother, Terrance was in good health. She says that "she knows they’re lying" and she just wants closure. •A Maryland woman is looking for answers following her husband’s death during a 2018 visit to Punta Cana. David Harrison, Dawn McCoy, and their son were vacationing at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where Dawn said her husband became violently ill and died a short time later. His death was ruled a heart attack and pulmonary edema. She recalled Harrison waking up from his sleep apparently disoriented and covered in sweat, noting that “all he could do was mumble.” Despite contacting medical staff at the resort, he died a short time later. •51-year-old Yvette Monique Sport, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, died in June of 2018. According to her death certificate, a heart attack is also listed as the cause. According to family, she had a drink from the mini bar inside her hotel room, went to bed and never woke up. In addition to the deaths and allegations of assault, more people are coming forward with stories of extreme illnesses while visiting Dominican Republic. •On June 7, 2019, Awilda Montes, 43, from Brooklyn, New York, grabbed a soda bottle from the minibar at her hotel and took a big sip of what was supposed to be 7up. It was instead bleach. She only swallowed a bit before she spit it out to find she was bleeding from the mouth. She would also suffer vomiting and stomach pains in addition to the chemical burns during her stay at the Bahia Principe Resort Complex. She believes that she was poisoned and she still does not have sensation in her tongue. •Myroslav Sparavalo, a 58-year-old in New York, said he also experienced a medical scare just over a month ago at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville. Three days into the trip with his wife, he began feeling sick at dinner. Hours later, he experienced a hypertensive crisis, or a sever increase in blood pressure. He visited the hotel medical staff, who immediately told him to go to the hospital. He was taken by paramedics to a hospital in Santo Domingo, where he remained in intensive care for 24 hours. There, a doctor noted he had "noisy lungs," typical of a smoker, even though Sparavalo does not smoke. The doctor also noted that he had fluid in his lungs •A Colorado couple, Kaylynn Knull and her boyfriend, Tom Schwander, began experiencing mysterious symptoms at the Grand Bahia Principe resort in La Romana on their vacation in 2018. The couple asked the resort staff to switch rooms but their health only took a turn for the worse which caused them to immediately book flights home. Once back in the US, the couple visited a doctor who diagnosed them with poisoning from organophosphate, which is a chemical found in insecticide. •Susie Lauterborn, 38, and her husband, Doug Hand, 40, were also mysteriously sick during a trip to the Grand Bahia Principe in January 2018. Update: In April 2019, Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California, suddenly became ill after drinking scotch whiskey at a minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana. He started feeling very sick, he had blood in his urine and stool right afterwards. The U.S. Department of State confirmed it is looking into the man’s death. No additional Americans need to die or get sick from visiting the Dominican Republic. PLEASE STAY SAFE AND BEWARE OF THE DANGERS!
Update: 9th Death In Dominican Republic Leyla Cox, 53, died June 102019 in her hotel room, Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana! link bottom
Update: Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, found dead in his hotel room at Terra Linda in Sosua on the morning of June 13
Update: Up to 70 people have reported being sick since March! The FBI is now involved!
I might get a bit off topic at times, and I apologize if I seem to be falling into the 'new user, bunch of threads' trend. I promise not to. Quick background: I have a friend in Venezuela who sells Venezuelan cigars and has been looking to expand the business, either by offering it to more international markets or by getting more international brands to sell locally. In doing so, he recently visited the Dominican Republic and made many contacts. So when I made plans to visit DR, I asked him to give me some of those contacts. In my short smoking experience, it's been Dominican cigars the ones that have surprised me the most. While I enjoy the myriad of pepper types available in Nicaraguan cigars and have enjoyed many habanos (even some of the fakes), it's the Dominican cigars that I've found to have more unexpected and different flavors. My first surprise was that many of the best known brands are really expensive there. I'm talking $40 for an Opus X, $18 for a la Flor Dominicana La Nox, $23 for a Romeo y Julieta - Romeo, and so on. This happens because most of the big name factories sell almost all of their production to the US, leaving very little to the local market, so most Dominican big brands found in DR are actually imported products from the US. Naturally, they try to import the ones where the can get a higher gain margin and that's why you'll see many Opus X and very little $5 cigars. Yet, the DR has its healthy amount of local, smaller and rising stars in tobacco, with brands like Chogüí, Edolara, Musa, Caminos and others. My visit was kind of short and there aren't huge highways in DR, so going from where I was (Punta Cana) to the tobacco capital (Tamboril) is about a 5 hour drive in semi-rural roads... not something I was looking to do, especially since I had a wife and my parents to tag along (non smokers) and I already had a recommendation to visit a factor in La Romana (90 minutes away). This recommendation was Cornelio Cigars, property of Martin Cornelio, a really down-to-earth guy I contacted via Facebook and who told me to drop by whenever I wanted. I was quite sure it'd be the typical "yeah, this is a store, buy anything and good-bye" type of deal, but as I entered the store/factor, Cornelio was actually waiting for me. I made it clear from the start I was neither a distributor or a corporate buyer, I was just a regular smoker looking to buy some smokes. Cornelio led me to his storeroom and asked me what type of cigars I liked. I said strong-flavored coronas and he gave me one and said "try this one" and he just gave me a cigar. As soon as I lighted it up, Cornelio pointed to a chair and said "You can enjoy the smoke there", right in the middle of the store. I sat down and in the next minute, Cornelio sat and also lighted a cigar. We sat there smoking for about 10 minutes and having a great chat about Dominican cigars, the best leaves, why he doesn't sell habanos (too many fakes, not worth the risk) and his other projects. About 15 minutes later he asked me what I though of the cigar; it was really good. I was halfway through and there were different nuances along the smoke, smokey flavors, raisins, fruity like melon, and more. Cornelio just got up and came back with a torpedo. He said "Light this one, you'll notice it's a bit different, maybe you'll like it more". The torpedo was a bit softer, less intense, so after about 20 minutes of that he gets up and offers me a robusto. "Maybe you'll like this one better". I got there at around 10:00am and before noon I had already smoked 4 cigars and had a line of about 3 more to try... all before lunch! He also asked me if I liked VegaFina, which I confessed I never tried before. So he told me he's working with a blender form there to produce their own blend (called Tiranos, which isn't available yet) and let me try one of the test cigars. I ended up buying about 4 mazos (2 of torpedos, 1 coronas, 1 robustos), plus a few other cigars he sold, including a La Flor Dominicana - Conga 1994, which he said is the best LFD cigar and a Dominican H. Upmann. I also left the store quite happy to have met a cigar producer and have him tell me so much about the industry and without so much as my insistence on the subject. I've actually managed to gauge some local interest here and will probably visit the island soon to get some more cigars as well as visit other factories. At one time two guys entered the store with a few cigar boxes and started showing them to him, trying to sell them. The cigars were called Don Andres, which I had never heard of. One of the boxes was red, another was black and two of them were wood colored (not painted). Cornelio looked at them for a while and asked "Are these maduros, naturals or what?" The two guys looked at each other and one said "The ones in the red box are maduros, and the ones in the black box are... maduros as well... the ones in the wooden box I think are Connecticut". So after about 5 minutes of just looking them over, Cornelio gives them back and says "no thanks". After they left I mention I never heard of Don Andres cigars before, and Cornelio says "neither have I". Then he said, "these guys will try to sell these in a couple of other stores. If they can't sell them, they'll go back home, slap a Cohiba band on them and go hunting for tourists". The fake Cubans market in DR is incredible. I saw many decent looking stores that had Cohibas for $55 each and you could see the open boxes where each cigars was a different shade. Before leaving the DR, I also visited a store in the airport called Cabinet, where I know they sell good stuff and got me some much-needed habanos and some Dominican goodies. Next time I visit I will try to go into more emerging factories and maybe even venture the 5-hour drive to Tamboril.
2019 •Jerry Curran, 78, from Ohio, checked into the Dreams resort in Punta Cana. He died three days later January 26, 2019, his death was attributed to pulmonary edema, which was the diagnosis of multiple other people who have recently been found dead at their Dominican resorts. • Robert Bell Wallace, 67, of California, suddenly became ill after drinking scotch whiskey at a minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana. He started feeling very sick, he had blood in his urine and stool right afterwards. He died the next day April 14, 2019. The U.S. Department of State confirmed it is looking into the man’s death. • John Corcoran, 60, was vacationing in the Dominican Republic on what he called his “annual trip” when he passed away. He passed away at the end of April 2019 in the DR from what is believed to be natural causes. • Miranda Schaup-Werner, a 41-year-old from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, died at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville Resort on May 25. She and her husband were celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary. • Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day, May 30, Maryland couple were found dead inside their hotel at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana. Police said they died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs. • Leyla Cox, 53, Staten Island, New York, died June 10, in her hotel room, Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana! Her death was ruled a heart attack but RUMC, where Leyla Cox worked for years in the radiology department, will be absorbing the entirety of the cost to do a toxicology test on a blood sample being sent back to the States. • Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, found dead in his hotel room at Terra Linda in Sosua on the morning of June 13. Allen's son, Amir Allen, was en route at the time of his death to spend Father's Day with his dad. He landed to news of his father's death. • Terrence Richmond 56, collapsed, fell, and died, during a hike near Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, on August 29, 2019. Authorities told his mother that her son died as a result of an heart attack and accidential fall. She believes he was involved in a stuggle as there were trauma injuries his knuckles. According to the autopsy she obtained from Dominican Republic officials, he also had fluid in his lungs and a cracked skull. He also had bruising on his back like he had been kicked. According to his mother, Terrance was in good health. She says that "she knows they’re lying" and she just wants closure. 2018 • Yvette Monique Sport, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, died in June of 2018 at Bahia Principe Bouganville Hotel. According to her death certificate, a heart attack is also listed as the cause. According to family, she had a drink from the mini bar inside her hotel room, went to bed and never woke up. • David Harrison, died at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in May 2018. His death was ruled a heart attack and pulmonary edema. His wife recalled Harrison waking up from his sleep apparently disoriented and covered in sweat, noting that “all he could do was mumble.” Despite contacting medical staff at the resort, he died a short time later.
“The old bastard Trujillo has been dead for 68 years, yet his mark was left on this country and persists to this day. The people to the west, their culture, their language, we despise it. It’s in our blood. We chant it under our breaths, every time we see anyone who even looks Haitian: ‘They cross into our country, steal our jobs, and don’t integrate into society. They keep their primitive beliefs and traditions, and pollute the country with idiocy and their poverty. We have enough homeless. We don’t need more. We don’t want them. They can grovel in their dirt huts in their own country.’ We believe these things. It has infected our minds. Trujillo has his voice in your’s, he lives on. What we say goes further than here, the scope is far larger. The people in the Congress, they parrot it, because they were children too, and they watched the news and heard the talk. We can escape. We all can escape, and we can be children again. Innocent, uncorrupted, loving children. We can see past our societal cataracts, our lense of racism, and look to the west for what it is. An uncontrolled, tantrum-throwing child with some of the worst growing pains imaginable, which have held her back from ever progressing past the state we left long ago. A childhood friend who became our vicious enemy, and who now sits on their half of the island, sad and alone. We stand there, in the east, gawking, looking down on them. We say nothing, we only stare, when we could offer a hand, and allow them to begin getting past the point they’ve been stuck on for decades. We can guide them into the 21st century and beyond. All it takes is reconsideration of the past, forgiveness. Our rejection will not be forgotten by them easily, but all we can do is be patient and kind, cooperating with what we can. All that’s needed for a start is a sorry for actions we did not commit, but remain on our collective conscience. We have things to say sorry for, but for those who stand by what we say yet are hesitant to accept this, we are the adult here, and it falls on us to begin reconciliation.”
Martin Vincent continued to talk on a small pedestal, into a microphone set up by a small group of youths. His movement was small, but all that they needed was a big break. Their words were contagious, grappling ahold of a mind and its prejudice like a boa constrictor and its prey. They made the listener consider what they’ve thought, and suspect themselves guilty of subconscious hate. Vincent was nothing if not an ideologue, and this showed in every speech he’d made at his small pedestal in the middle of a large town on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. Whatever shape his new thought took was his own decision. Despite having a small group of people committed to what he spoke, they were not independent thinkers. They followed what he said well, and believed it with all their heart, even those who saw the many changes the new thought took to get to the place it is now.
The New Influence
The middle of winter, the dry season, was still busy as ever, and Vincent continued to speak on his small pedestal. It had been a while since one of his speeches, and the ideology, which, in the meantime, he had finally named "Dividido Nunca Más" (little did he know this name would come to mean much more in the future than just reconciliation). During the day, his usual crowd of onlookers which, while staying the same, usually had different faces every hour or so, was different. There was a single person, in a suit, holding a briefcase, who had been there for almost 40 minutes, just listening to Vincent. He sat on his briefcase, which held his small frame easily, just looking on, with an expression confessing complete immersion. It made Vincent nervous at first, to have what could be a new recruit within his grasp, but he steeled himself, and began to get a lot more vehement, building to a point where he could win this man over most definitely. This build-up to a finale took around 15 minutes, and once completed, had the man at a standing ovation. Vincent coughed, and slugged down some water.
“That’s all for today, my loyal onlookers. I hope all of you have a great day, and I hope you take what I’ve said to heart.”
The majority of the crowd dispersed. Except for the man. He got his suitcase, and he walked up to Mr. Vincent. His voice was gravelly, and he wasn’t the most pleasing man to look at up close. “I really thought a lot of what you’ve said, and it makes me intrigued. I’d like to know so much more. Can you show me?” Vincent acted as though he was surprised. He responded in a soft, appealing voice.
“Haha, all in good time. We’re not even acquainted, though. Don’t you know how to greet a new friend?”
The man cleared his throat. “Ah, of course. I’m Oscar, Oscar Dengra.” Dengra reached his hand out, and Vincent shook his hand.
“I’m Martin, Martin Vincent. It’s so nice to meet you. Now, I’m very tired from the long oration, so can we talk somewhere else? I know of a great coffee shop if you’re not busy at the moment.”
Oscar looked happy with this idea, but then turned a ghastly shade of pale. “Mr. Vincent, I’d love to talk at the moment, but I was heading to my job before you took me in. If I don’t show up at all they’ll probably fire me when I walk in next morning.”
“I can offer you a ride. I have a car parked in a nearby lot.”
“Could you? A thousand thanks, Mr. Vincent. I’m not usually so keen to take rides with strangers, but this is an emergency, you see.” Vincent began to stride towards a parking lot, speaking whilst guiding Dengra to his car.
“Eh, we’re not strangers anymore, Dengra! We’re not on a first name basis yet, but I see a great future for our relationship.”
Vincent dropped Dengra off at his job, outside a news station. The light bulb appeared over his head in an instant. He saw exactly where this would go. They had exchanged emails before departing, and the first one sent was quite simple. Vincent wanted to meet at the coffee shop he planned to go to before, on a day they were both free. That day would be a week and a half after their first encounter.
The Alteration
Dengra saw Vincent sitting alone in a booth, and steadily approached. Vincent lit up when he saw him, and waved a waiter over to the booth just as Dengra sat down. Dengra took some straight black coffee, and Vincent had his with milk and sugar. Vincent proceeded to drone on about what he thought Dividido Nunca Mas was to him, and to him it was quite simple and short. It hadn’t become as politicised as it would become. It was simple at its core:
A rejection of the hatred that divided Hispaniola, which was created by xenophobia and Trujillo’s influence from beyond the grave.
A focus on "becoming children, devoid of prejudice", once again.
A reconciliation of the Dominican Republic and its people and culture with Haiti’s people and culture, and an intermingling of these cultures to create what would become a united Hispaniolan culture.
In a different scope, the Dominican Republic assisting Haiti’s development, citing an obligation to help a childhood friend turned enemy.
Acceptance of the Haitian state’s past mistakes, and apologising for the Dominican Republic’s past mistakes.
Haiti is still but a child, whereas the Dominican Republic has progressed so much farther. Therefore, the Dominican Republic cannot expect Haiti to apologise, but the Dominican Republic is more mature, and can reconcile through apologising, and being the better man. Apologies would come when Haiti can stand on its own two feet.
(Haiti as a state is viewed a childish, immature, tantrum-throwing brat. It’s a bit condescending, and professes the Dominican Republic as most assuredly superior politically, despite citing the goal of equality in the future.)
Religiously, there is no set preference besides Christianity. The practice of combining Vodou with Roman Catholicism isn’t condemned, but not necessarily encouraged.
Dengra, after listening to Vincent for God knows how long and taking the majority to heart, expressed some of his thoughts over what could be changed.
“First, I’d like to assure you that this is something I believe in, and I want to help you. I’m sure you’re aware that I work at the news station Telemicro Canal 5, so I’ll inform you of my specific job. I’m a writer, and I assure you I’m going to try my damndest to get our ideology on television. Second, to be completely forthright, I think some of your ideas need to be challenged. I’m a fan of the majority, but because you haven’t met someone truly interested in debating, it hasn’t been honed down to something that can be wielded for the better. Once you’re on television, you’re going to be getting a lot more debate, but I would like to nitpick some of the less strong areas. Religiously, change is needed. Religion is one of the largest aspects of life, as we both know. It will be the hardest to change, and the most important to change. If left untouched, it will ensure the existence of a syncretic Hispaniolan culture never comes to pass. We need to decide what will be there, or we need to drop it completely, and incorporate it into just cultural intermingling until we’re large enough to be able to afford a polarised populace by mentioning a specific goal on that area.”
Vincent was taken aback for the first time in a good while. He had never truly encountered someone who wanted to affect his ideology. It was solely his to change, and only harboured one person to think about what it meant. With this new addition, there would be two people to affect what this was. He accepted it, realising it didn’t matter if he did or not. Once more people subscribed to this channel of thought there would be change no matter what. It would need to be controlled as it expanded, but alterations were unavoidable. “Yes, I agree. Let’s drop it.” And so the start of Dividido Nunca Mas as a constantly changing thought was brought. What else would change in time was unknown, but all that could be hoped for was that at its core, the intentions were the same.
The Interview
Telemicro Canal 5 News, Program “Lo Ultimo” (basically evening news)
“In local news, La Romana’s Martin Vincent and a group of loyal followers have begun aggressively pursuing the spread of their ideology “Dividido Nunca Mas”, a belief in reconciliation of the Dominican Republic with Haiti, which would involve the Dominican Republic assisting Haiti with development, and encouraging Haitian and Dominican cultural intermingling. We have Vincent on tonight for an interview in order to give us an inside look into this ideology. Vincent?” The camera pans over to a somewhat sweaty but calm Vincent in a black pinstriped suit sitting on a couch, accompanied by another man sitting across from him in a chair. The man holds a clipboard, presumably full of questions.
“Hey Rafael, thank you for inviting me onto the show. I’m glad to give insight into what I view as a great future for all of Hispaniola…”
The interviewer begins his interrogation. “Mr. Vincent, how did you come up with your new train of thought that very well might sweep the nation in time?”
“Well, when I was in college, I majored in sociology and had a minor in political science. The first draft of my thought came from my thesis, in which I used my previous intrigue in Haiti that i’ve possessed since I was a child. It made me come to wonder how much Haiti was hated by the Dominican Republic, and realised that I wanted to do whatever I could to change it.”
“How has your ideology changed since its inception?”
“Oh, that’s a very broad question. I think the main change has been its evolution from just love of our western neighbor. Now it has become realised to such a greater extent, with ambition of development and cultural intermingling.”
“What’s your occupation, besides sidewalk orator?”
“I’m a political analyst and freelance writer, although recently I’ve been receiving donations which allow me to focus more on my work as one who spreads Dividido Nunca Mas. I make enough money to sustain myself, but not enough to ensure whoever I marry doesn’t have to work, sadly.”
“I’m sure that after your exposure you’ll be getting a lot more donations. Do you believe that you’ll be open to running for office at any point?”
“No, no, we have people with ambitions like that, but personally, I see my future as someone who will be devoted to speaking my mind on any level, fully committed to that cause, but not someone who will be putting it into action. Our thought already has subscribers which will do that, they don’t need me.”
“Will there be a political party devoted solely to your ideology formed?”
“Probably not, but I won’t leave out the possibility. I imagine the main goal will just be converting parties which already hold office. Our thought isn’t completely incompatible with parties already in congress.”
“In what ways will the Dominican Republic contribute to Haiti’s development in the case of a full realisation of your ideology?”
“Economic cooperation and investment, corruption elimination, family planning, disaster assistance, lesser restriction on Haitian emigration, and trade on a local scale, just to name a few.”
“Big question, could you summarise some of the major events in your life that made you who you are right now?”
“Well, when I was just a kid my father, a drunkardandagambler,leftmylife.Myrelianceonmymotherincreasedbutoverall....... ”
The interview went well, and now a massive portion of the country knew about Dividido Nunca Mas. A website going into what the ideology really meant, set up by one of Vincent’s tech-savvy friends, had an explosion of traffic over the next few days. Debate and criticism of the ideology was abound. The future looked bright for Vincent, and his hope of reconciliation. TL;DR: A new ideology, representing Haitian reconciliation, is present and well-known in the Dominican Republic. It will only go up from here.
[Weekly Community Knowledge Drop] : Tobacco in the Dominican Republic
Tobacco Growing Regions of the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is the leading producer of premium handmade cigars in the world, exporting over 150 million cigars a year. The main tobacco growing region of the country is a 150 square mile area bounded on the north by the Cordillera Septentrional mountains, on the south by the Cordillera Central mountains, the Yaque river in the west, and the city of Santiago in the east, known as the Cibao Valley. The northern part of Cibao features deep, rich soils, with ample drainage and plentiful sunlight. The breezes coming off the northern mountains provide heat relief for the delicate tobacco plants, and contributes to the diverse and unique micro-climates within the region. These factors make the northern Cibao much more conducive to tobacco growing than the south, and the tobacco regions of the northern Cibao are among the most famous in the world:
Villa Gonzalez: Also known as La Canela, this region northwest of Santiago is thought of as the Pinar del Rio (the Cuban region, not the cigar), of the Dominican Republic. VG features a tropical climate with rich, dark soil, and accounts for 15% of the Cibao Valley's tobacco crop. This area is the main growing region for Olor Dominicano tobacco.
Jacagua: Southeast of Villa Gonzalez, Jacagua features milder temperatures, and the most fertile soils in the Cibao. A majority of farms in this region are 2-3 acre family plots, that are privately managed. Due to the different processes the families use, tobaccos from Jacagua are unique not just from the other growing regions, but from plot to plot within the region as well.
Navarette: The hub of the northwest Cibao, Navarette, also known as Buisono, features an arid climate with sandy soil perfect for growing Piloto Cubano tobacco. Crisscrossed with irrigation canals, Navarette is home to large commercial farms of up to 1,000 acres a piece, employing farm hands from across the Cibao region.
Mao: This westernmost region of Cibao is relatively small, at just 1,200 acres. Mao features rich, red, Cuban-esque soil that produces Piloto Cubano of unique flavors and aromas from the rest of the Cibao Valley.
Southern Cibao: The majority of the tobacco grown in this region is shade-grown Connecticut seed wrapper, often used for candela shade wrappers. The famous Fuente Opus wrapper is grown here at the El Caribe farm. The nature of the Dominican soil and climate make growing wrapper tobacco notoriously difficult, though it is becoming more common throughout the industry, and thus it is still rare to find many Dominican puros available on the market. A partial list of Dominican puros appears at the end of this post.
Tobaccos of the Dominican Republic The micro-climates mentioned above create an extraordinary environment for a wide variety of tobaccos. While Corojo, Criollo, Habano, and Connecticut shade are cultivated in small amounts in the Dominican Republic, there are two particular tobaccos that the DR is known for: Piloto Cubano and Olor Dominicano. Piloto Cubano arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1962, after the nationalization of the Cuban tobacco industry. Primarily a filler tobacco, Piloto Cubano is planted in October to maximize sun exposure, while avoiding the dry season. It is a peppery, spicy tobacco, with a fuller body and richer flavor than many equate with Dominican tobacco. Several hybrid tobacco varietals are offshoots of the Piloto Cubano seed due in large part to the favorable strength and flavor of the tobacco it yields. At a factory training this past October I had the opportunity to try a Piloto puro tester to help understand the flavor characteristics of the tobacco, and I was incredibly surprised. The Piloto offered a medium plus body, and an extremely spicy flavor. It was somewhat intense as a puro, but it gave a great appreciation for what Piloto brings to the blending of a cigar. Olor Dominicano is native to the Dominican Republic, with a name meaning, literally, aroma. The physical characteristics of this tobacco, a thin, small leaf with an excellent burn, lends itself ideally for binders, though it also is used in filler as well. The tobacco features a salty, neutral taste that is extremely mild, but offers an intense floral aroma. Due to its flavor characteristics, Olor tobacco tends to dry out the mouth when smoked, and this, paired with its thin leaf, makes it unsuitable for use as a wrapper. The Olor puro I sampled at the aforementioned factory training was one of the least pleasant cigar experiences of my life. It was extremely arid and devoid of nearly any pleasant flavor, however the aroma was wonderful. All things considered, if you are ever offered the experience, I recommend taking a pass. Top Factories of the Dominican Republic While there are (obviously) many more factories in the Dominican Republic than listed here, these are the highlights of the lot, with the location of the facilities and a fun fact about each included:
Davidoff; Villa Gonzalez; Three separate manufacturing facilities on one campus, Cigars Davidoff (CiDav), producing the famed White Label products, O.K. Cigars, producing Avo and Zino, and Occidental, producing contracted brands such and Hammer & Sickle.
General Cigar Dominicana S.A.S.; Santiago; A 70,000 square foot facility, employing over 4,000 rollers.
Pinar del Rio; Tamboril; Produces approximately 5 million cigars a year, with a nearly 50/50 split between PDR and contract products.
Tabacalera A. Fuente; Santiago; Produces more that 30 million cigars a year, including Ashton and J.C. Newman products.
Tabacalera de Garcia; La Romana; 270K square feet, processes 50K-60K pounds of tobacco a week, and produces over 60 million cigars a year.
Tabacalera La Flor S.A.; Villa Gonzalez; Vertically integrated facility, producing over 4 million cigars a year.
Dominican Puros For your sampling pleasure, here is a (very) partial list of Dominican puros. Please feel free to suggest edits; if I've missed something you enjoy, let me know, and I'll make sure to add it to the list:
Opus X by A. Fuente
RoMeO Aging Room by Altadis
LG Series by La Flor Dominicana
Puro d'Oro by Davidoff
La Aurora
Cusano
Edit: Wanted to add the Chogui Dos77 to the Dominican Puro list. H/t to FUHNAHTIK for pointing out my oversight.
Welcome to this edition of the (we’re back on the road so these tend to get sent out on random days) Sunday Summary. This Week We’ve spent this past week in the Dominican Republic creating content for PADI which was a bit of a dream come true for us. For those of you who aren’t familiar, PADI is the organization who certifies the majority of divers worldwide. So having the opportunity to work with them was a big deal for us. We did a total of 6 dives this week. Most of them were spent exploring the beautiful coral reefs off the coast of La Romana, but the highlight was definitely diving the St. George Wreck. St. George is a cargo ship that was built in 1962 to carry grain between Norway and the Americas. It was eventually abandoned in the Dominican Republic, and in 1999 it was purposefully sank to create an artificial reef. After we finished our week of work with PADI, we decided to do something we hadn’t done in almost 3 years. We booked one night at an all-inclusive resort and took a 24 hour vacation from electronics. For the last 24 hours we've been completely disconnected with a pen and notebook. We reflected on 2018 and made big plans for the future. :) For the first time ever, we actually have a few ideas about what’s going to happen after we visit our 100th country… Next Week I’m currently writing you this email from our first of three flights en route from the Dominican Republic to Mexico. Somehow the cheapest flight between Santo Domingo and Cancun included 2 stops in the U.S. Once we arrive in Cancun, we’ll catch a bus for a 2 hour ride south to the town of Tulum where we’ll be spending the next 3 weeks before flying home for Christmas. Our time in Tulum is going to be spent “workationing.” Definition of Workation [noun]: A “vacation" from traveling to “work” on our computers. You may be thinking, "Wait… Didn’t y’all just spend 5 weeks workationing in Thailand?" Yes we did, but we’re still not caught up on editing all of the videos we’ve already filmed this year. Our goal is to get caught up by the end of the year so we can start fresh in 2019! This means we’ll spend most of our time over the next few weeks behind our computers, but we’ll build in plenty of break time for going to the beach and consuming WAY too many street tacos! 400k Giveaway Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to enter the 400k Giveaway! We wish we could give each and every one of you a prize, but unfortunately there are times in life where winners and losers must be determined, and this is one of those times. We have randomly selected a winner with the software we used to host the giveaway..... Congratulations to Robert Price from Virginia, USA! We’ll be reaching out shortly to find out your favorite colors and where to send the bags! Thanks again to everyone who entered, and be sure to keep an eye out for our 500k Giveaway which will hopefully be coming up soon ;) Half a million is a big milestone, so we’re going to try to plan an equally big giveaway! Canada Van Life We tried out a new style of traveling in Canada! If you want to see how #vanlife is working out for us, check out the videos here. Cheers from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Nate
The Dominican political sphere, after first being introduced to Dividido Nunca Mas, is finally being irrevocably altered. The establishment of the ideology as a consistent and legitimate thought instead of a fad has yet to be completed, yet there are already politicians and a large amount of civilians who, whether or not they believe in it, legitimise it through debate and speech. Admittedly, its explosion from a small-town idea to one a lot of Dominicans have on their mind through a media interview may not have been the best idea to make people believe Vincent was serious. Despite a rough start, numerous variables have contributed to its legitimation. First of all, a large amount of people within the Congress have already expressed opinions about Dividido Nunca Mas. Although the majority are obviously denouncing it, there are a few who have expressed support in one way or another. Some probably do it in order to simply appeal to what they believe is a fad, and don’t think that any Dividido Nunca Mas legislation will even grace the committee, but a small, small amount, maybe 1 or 2 politicians, have truly taken it to heart. It’s a start. Second of all, Lo Ultimo has continued coverage of Dividido Nunca Mas instead of completely abandoning it. The show has become the main source of information about the movement, but that’s not to say that other media has not picked up the story on its own. Whether accurate or inaccurate, it has contributed to ensuring the presence of Dividido Nunca Mas in the people’s collective consciousness. Finally, the expansion of the thought’s promotion on the street instead of its complete movement into media has shown the commitment of Vincent and his new speakers to the grassroots that originally represented the ideology, when it was just Vincent and a small group speaking in La Romana. Thousands of people from on the southern peninsula, from Santo Domingo to Punta Cana, hear speakers dedicated to the cause speak about their just plight in order to assist the Westerly Brothers. These things have sustained Dividido Nunca Mas as an ideology, ensuring that people who hear of it take it seriously, and making it a contender for actual governmental policy. How long it will take to reach the legislature is unknown, but many are already confident in the possibility.
Grassroots Promotion Expansions
Vincent, as well as his new right-hand man, Dengra, have been discussing the possibility of using their massive influx of new believers and donations to go further than just the southern peninsula of the Dominican Republic. Through the establishment of an official non-government organisation, they could begin to pay wages for speakers, ensure that they are the central voice in the evolution of the ideology, and also further legitimise the group. Vincent thought that although it would certainly take a bit away from the “grassroots” part, he thought it was an affordable sacrifice. The organisation, named the “Hispaniolan Unity Group”, soon had an expansive employee base. Dengra was placed at the helm of finances and miscellaneous things of importance, while Vincent was in charge of promotion. Soon every major city in the country had speakers, clubs, and passionate followers of Dividido Nunca Mas. A small amount, but enough to show that this wasn’t just going to go away. Dividido Nunca Mas was here to stay, and influence the future of the country in way’s everyone could only imagine. As support rose, criticism and debate rose too. Controversy struck, and controversy breeds popular news. The most fervent in their expressions of distaste were, of course, hardcore racists. Most disguised this motive, but of course, there were a few to reveal the ulterior motives. This was a good case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. While not necessarily correct, the labelling of the anti-DNM as racists was common. That’s not to say it was the most common response, but the fact that a lot of people just aren’t good at debate led them to take this cop-out. It worked well enough, with a large amount of arguments just ending with nothing accomplished except for making both sides angry, instead of blowout victories for anti-DNM people. Vincent expressed some distaste for this strategy, saying that although the majority of hatred for the movement was indeed derived from some sort of subconscious racism, to claim that every single anti-DNM person was a racist was a bit extreme. So he made a pamphlet for DNM supporters, better explaining common arguments, counter-arguments, and logical fallacies to avoid when arguing with an anti-DNM person. After the first edition of the official DNM pamphlet went into publication, Vincent began to work on making it a more all-encompassing pamphlet, with what the DNM stands for, and other things important to the cause. When the second edition went into publication, it was widely spread and was distributed to speakers in order to give out to passerby so that they could learn from a more articulate source than they. Burnings of the DNM pamphlets were common in western border towns, and in general the pamphlets eventually became synonymous with the DNM. Every DNM supporter had a pamphlet, and got an updated version when one was released. They were all for free, of course, so there wasn’t much difficulty in updating it. After a few editions were created with gradual improvements, Vincent realised his want for more. He was going to write a book. This book would inspire others to write books, and reports, and analyses showing how the DNM would see reality through governmental policy.
The Book
Vincent didn’t write the whole book. He had a slight bit of burnout, and several people, including Dengra, volunteered to ghost write sections for him. Vincent refused. He said every author would have their names on it. Dividido Nunca Mas wasn’t just Vincent, it was all of them. There was no reason, in Vincent’s mind, to turn this into anything of a personality cult. DNM should have an idea, not a person, basis. The book was titled “Innocence Renewed: Hispaniola’s Past & Future”. It was split into 3 parts. The first part was the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, from their birth as colonies, to the failed development of Haiti, to the rise of Trujillo, to modern times. The second part was about the ideology itself. It featured the symbolic analogy of child countries and the DR’s growth and eventual surpassing of Haiti, and the divide that growed greater due to a loss of innocence in the transition from a child to an adult, which is expressed in the mutual hatred. It mentions the possibility of a united Hispaniolan culture, and a small chapter in the book mentions greater political integration, which was not written by Vincent, but Dengra, to Vincent’s curiosity. The third part was about the realistic. How would it be implemented, what could be done, how could cultural syncretism be encouraged, how could the DR contribute to Haiti’s development past its current state, and, again, a small (but slightly larger than the previous) chapter on political integration possibilities. It seems that Dengra had some amount of interest in furthering the DNM to somewhere it never would’ve went before. The book’s release was in mid-2031, to critical acclaim. It further pushed the expansion of DNM, and was basically a must-read for everyone who could afford it, which was basically everyone, because it was sold at a subsidised price.
The Books
The publishing of Innocence Renewed resulted in a true explosion of analyses published around Dividido Nunca Mas. Criticisms of Part 3 were the most common, and while some focused on destroying the claims, the majority actually offered constructive criticism which allowed for the DNM to rework some of their newly found political base. The political integration aspect addressed in the book was looked upon controversially, and caused the formation of a relatively small but still present divide between the DNM supporters. Who would triumph in the future was unknown, but currently it was not a large enough concern for it to be a focal point. Overall, it fostered a new range of debates in the political sphere of the Dominican Republic. True, academic debates, featuring evidence, reputable people, and a serious audience who was not just there because they had nothing else they do. It fostered a range of publications, both criticising and praising DNM and the book. It fostered the next battleground where the war for the institution of the DNM’s beliefs would be fought, where the DNM would face the grinder, and be forced to adapt or die. It would develop into something that could face the big leagues, and appeal to more people across the country. Dividido Nunca Mas has already come so far. It has developed a tint of diversity, and, although small, has devoted supporters throughout the Dominican Republic. What will come next is, once again, anybody’s guess. [m] if anybody’s guess was the annexation of haiti by the dominican republic in order to form hispaniola. [/m]
“The old bastard Trujillo has been dead for 68 years, yet his mark was left on this country and persists to this day. The people to the west, their culture, their language, we despise it. It’s in our blood. We chant it under our breaths, every time we see anyone who even looks Haitian: ‘They cross into our country, steal our jobs, and don’t integrate into society. They keep their primitive beliefs and traditions, and pollute the country with idiocy and their poverty. We have enough homeless. We don’t need more. We don’t want them. They can grovel in their dirt huts in their own country.’ We believe these things. It has infected our minds. Trujillo has his voice in your’s, he lives on. What we say goes further than here, the scope is far larger. The people in the Congress, they parrot it, because they were children too, and they watched the news and heard the talk. We can escape. We all can escape, and we can be children again. Innocent, uncorrupted, loving children. We can see past our societal cataracts, our lense of racism, and look to the west for what it is. An uncontrolled, tantrum-throwing child with some of the worst growing pains imaginable, which have held her back from ever progressing past the state we left long ago. A childhood friend who became our vicious enemy, and who now sits on their half of the island, sad and alone. We stand there, in the east, gawking, looking down on them. We say nothing, we only stare, when we could offer a hand, and allow them to begin getting past the point they’ve been stuck on for decades. We can guide them into the 21st century and beyond. All it takes is reconsideration of the past, forgiveness. Our rejection will not be forgotten by them easily, but all we can do is be patient and kind, cooperating with what we can. All that’s needed for a start is a sorry for actions we did not commit, but remain on our collective conscience. We have things to say sorry for, but for those who stand by what we say yet are hesitant to accept this, we are the adult here, and it falls on us to begin reconciliation.”
Martin Vincent continued to talk on a small pedestal, into a microphone set up by a small group of youths. His movement was small, but all that they needed was a big break. Their words were contagious, grappling ahold of a mind and its prejudice like a boa constrictor and its prey. They made the listener consider what they’ve thought, and suspect themselves guilty of subconscious hate. Vincent was nothing if not an ideologue, and this showed in every speech he’d made at his small pedestal in the middle of a large town on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. Whatever shape his new thought took was his own decision. Despite having a small group of people committed to what he spoke, they were not independent thinkers. They followed what he said well, and believed it with all their heart, even those who saw the many changes the new thought took to get to the place it is now.
The New Influence
The middle of winter, the dry season, was still busy as ever, and Vincent continued to speak on his small pedestal. It had been a while since one of his speeches, and the ideology, which, in the meantime, he had finally named "Dividido Nunca Más" (little did he know this name would come to mean much more in the future than just reconciliation). During the day, his usual crowd of onlookers which, while staying the same, usually had different faces every hour or so, was different. There was a single person, in a suit, holding a briefcase, who had been there for almost 40 minutes, just listening to Vincent. He sat on his briefcase, which held his small frame easily, just looking on, with an expression confessing complete immersion. It made Vincent nervous at first, to have what could be a new recruit within his grasp, but he steeled himself, and began to get a lot more vehement, building to a point where he could win this man over most definitely. This build-up to a finale took around 15 minutes, and once completed, had the man at a standing ovation. Vincent coughed, and slugged down some water.
“That’s all for today, my loyal onlookers. I hope all of you have a great day, and I hope you take what I’ve said to heart.”
The majority of the crowd dispersed. Except for the man. He got his suitcase, and he walked up to Mr. Vincent. His voice was gravelly, and he wasn’t the most pleasing man to look at up close. “I really thought a lot of what you’ve said, and it makes me intrigued. I’d like to know so much more. Can you show me?” Vincent acted as though he was surprised. He responded in a soft, appealing voice.
“Haha, all in good time. We’re not even acquainted, though. Don’t you know how to greet a new friend?”
The man cleared his throat. “Ah, of course. I’m Oscar, Oscar Dengra.” Dengra reached his hand out, and Vincent shook his hand.
“I’m Martin, Martin Vincent. It’s so nice to meet you. Now, I’m very tired from the long oration, so can we talk somewhere else? I know of a great coffee shop if you’re not busy at the moment.”
Oscar looked happy with this idea, but then turned a ghastly shade of pale. “Mr. Vincent, I’d love to talk at the moment, but I was heading to my job before you took me in. If I don’t show up at all they’ll probably fire me when I walk in next morning.”
“I can offer you a ride. I have a car parked in a nearby lot.”
“Could you? A thousand thanks, Mr. Vincent. I’m not usually so keen to take rides with strangers, but this is an emergency, you see.” Vincent began to stride towards a parking lot, speaking whilst guiding Dengra to his car.
“Eh, we’re not strangers anymore, Dengra! We’re not on a first name basis yet, but I see a great future for our relationship.”
Vincent dropped Dengra off at his job, outside a news station. The light bulb appeared over his head in an instant. He saw exactly where this would go. They had exchanged emails before departing, and the first one sent was quite simple. Vincent wanted to meet at the coffee shop he planned to go to before, on a day they were both free. That day would be a week and a half after their first encounter.*
The Alteration
Dengra saw Vincent sitting alone in a booth, and steadily approached. Vincent lit up when he saw him, and waved a waiter over to the booth just as Dengra sat down. Dengra took some straight black coffee, and Vincent had his with milk and sugar. Vincent proceeded to drone on about what he thought Dividido Nunca Mas was to him, and to him it was quite simple and short. It hadn’t become as politicised as it would become. It was simple at its core:
A rejection of the hatred that divided Hispaniola, which was created by xenophobia and Trujillo’s influence from beyond the grave.
A focus on "becoming children, devoid of prejudice", once again.
A reconciliation of the Dominican Republic and its people and culture with Haiti’s people and culture, and an intermingling of these cultures to create what would become a united Hispaniolan culture.
In a different scope, the Dominican Republic assisting Haiti’s development, citing an obligation to help a childhood friend turned enemy.
Acceptance of the Haitian state’s past mistakes, and apologising for the Dominican Republic’s past mistakes.
Haiti is still but a child, whereas the Dominican Republic has progressed so much farther. Therefore, the Dominican Republic cannot expect Haiti to apologise, but the Dominican Republic is more mature, and can reconcile through apologising, and being the better man. Apologies would come when Haiti can stand on its own two feet.
(Haiti as a state is viewed a childish, immature, tantrum-throwing brat. It’s a bit condescending, and professes the Dominican Republic as most assuredly superior politically, despite citing the goal of equality in the future.)
Religiously, there is no set preference besides Christianity. The practice of combining Vodou with Roman Catholicism isn’t condemned, but not necessarily encouraged.
Dengra, after listening to Vincent for God knows how long and taking the majority to heart, expressed some of his thoughts over what could be changed.
“First, I’d like to assure you that this is something I believe in, and I want to help you. I’m sure you’re aware that I work at the news station Telemicro Canal 5, so I’ll inform you of my specific job. I’m a writer, and I assure you I’m going to try my damndest to get our ideology on television. Second, to be completely forthright, I think some of your ideas need to be challenged. I’m a fan of the majority, but because you haven’t met someone truly interested in debating, it hasn’t been honed down to something that can be wielded for the better. Once you’re on television, you’re going to be getting a lot more debate, but I would like to nitpick some of the less strong areas. Religiously, change is needed. Religion is one of the largest aspects of life, as we both know. It will be the hardest to change, and the most important to change. If left untouched, it will ensure the existence of a syncretic Hispaniolan culture never comes to pass. We need to decide what will be there, or we need to drop it completely, and incorporate it into just cultural intermingling until we’re large enough to be able to afford a polarised populace by mentioning a specific goal on that area.”
Vincent was taken aback for the first time in a good while. He had never truly encountered someone who wanted to affect his ideology. It was solely his to change, and only harboured one person to think about what it meant. With this new addition, there would be two people to affect what this was. He accepted it, realising it didn’t matter if he did or not. Once more people subscribed to this channel of thought there would be change no matter what. It would need to be controlled as it expanded, but alterations were unavoidable. “Yes, I agree. Let’s drop it.” And so the start of Dividido Nunca Mas as a constantly changing thought was brought. What else would change in time was unknown, but all that could be hoped for was that at its core, the intentions were the same.
The Interview
Telemicro Canal 5 News, Program “Lo Ultimo” (basically evening news)
“In local news, La Romana’s Martin Vincent and a group of loyal followers have begun aggressively pursuing the spread of their ideology “Dividido Nunca Mas”, a belief in reconciliation of the Dominican Republic with Haiti, which would involve the Dominican Republic assisting Haiti with development, and encouraging Haitian and Dominican cultural intermingling. We have Vincent on tonight for an interview in order to give us an inside look into this ideology. Vincent?” The camera pans over to a somewhat sweaty but calm Vincent in a black pinstriped suit sitting on a couch, accompanied by another man sitting across from him in a chair. The man holds a clipboard, presumably full of questions.
“Hey Rafael, thank you for inviting me onto the show. I’m glad to give insight into what I view as a great future for all of Hispaniola…”
The interviewer begins his interrogation. “Mr. Vincent, how did you come up with your new train of thought that very well might sweep the nation in time?”
“Well, when I was in college, I majored in sociology and had a minor in political science. The first draft of my thought came from my thesis, in which I used my previous intrigue in Haiti that i’ve possessed since I was a child. It made me come to wonder how much Haiti was hated by the Dominican Republic, and realised that I wanted to do whatever I could to change it.”
“How has your ideology changed since its inception?”
“Oh, that’s a very broad question. I think the main change has been its evolution from just love of our western neighbor. Now it has become realised to such a greater extent, with ambition of development and cultural intermingling.”
“What’s your occupation, besides sidewalk orator?”
“I’m a political analyst and freelance writer, although recently I’ve been receiving donations which allow me to focus more on my work as one who spreads Dividido Nunca Mas. I make enough money to sustain myself, but not enough to ensure whoever I marry doesn’t have to work, sadly.”
“I’m sure that after your exposure you’ll be getting a lot more donations. Do you believe that you’ll be open to running for office at any point?”
“No, no, we have people with ambitions like that, but personally, I see my future as someone who will be devoted to speaking my mind on any level, fully committed to that cause, but not someone who will be putting it into action. Our thought already has subscribers which will do that, they don’t need me.”
“Will there be a political party devoted solely to your ideology formed?”
“Probably not, but I won’t leave out the possibility. I imagine the main goal will just be converting parties which already hold office. Our thought isn’t completely incompatible with parties already in congress.”
“In what ways will the Dominican Republic contribute to Haiti’s development in the case of a full realisation of your ideology?”
“Economic cooperation and investment, corruption elimination, family planning, disaster assistance, lesser restriction on Haitian emigration, and trade on a local scale, just to name a few.”
“Big question, could you summarise some of the major events in your life that made you who you are right now?”
“Well, when I was just a kid my father, a drunkardandagambler,leftmylife.Myrelianceonmymotherincreasedbutoverall....... ”
The interview went well, and now a massive portion of the country knew about Dividido Nunca Mas. A website going into what the ideology really meant, set up by one of Vincent’s tech-savvy friends, had an explosion of traffic over the next few days. Debate and criticism of the ideology was abound. The future looked bright for Vincent, and his hope of reconciliation. TL;DR: A new ideology, representing Haitian reconciliation, is present and well-known in the Dominican Republic. It will only go up from here.
The lovely counterfeit, low quality, and/or disgusting cigars I got from a "luxury" DR resort!
I finally got time to really go through the rest of my cigars that I brought back from a recent trip to the Dominican Republic. Fortunately, these were tossed in for free when I was buying other cigars throughout the trip so I'm technically not at a loss. But dissecting these things was still an unpleasant experience on its own... First up, two Don Juan counterfeits. I've admittedly not seen a real Don Juan cigar but the pictures on Google show it as having what appears to be a holographic foil band instead of the low-quality paper bands above. I opened them up to find a paper wrapper of some sort. Here's a closeup. Then there are these embarrassingly shitty...things. Left - chocolate infused. Right - "natural" tobacco. Both have packaging and bands that look like they were printed on a home printer and the natural sticker was definitely made with a handheld label printer. And it seems that these are made with leftovers or just shit-quality tobacco. I sifted through it all for a minute and they were nothing like the Don Juans. And then there's this VegaFina that I'm honestly not sure about. It and the others were in a section with the rest of the "known good" cigars but the packaging quality seems low... Pic 2 | Pic 3. Anyway, if anybody visits the Dreams La Romana resort, I'd suggest paying close attention or simply avoiding the cigar store there. Edit The formatting with this post is a wreck with RES. I'll maybe clean it up later...
My time in a university literally built on a Taino indian burial ground.
If you don't feel like reading the long-ish back-story then skip to the stories in the comments. I recently graduated from Altos de Chavón School of Design in Dominican Republic last year. I spent the 2 most interesting years of my life there. The small school (125 students) is hidden inside a very popular tourist site in La Romana, Dominican Republic, if any of you have ever taken a trip down to the DR, you may have heard of it or even visited Chavón. The school was built in the 80's by an Italian architect to resemble a 17th century italian village. Here's an aerial view of the plateau it's built on. It's common knowledge down on the island that Chavón was built on the remains of Taino villages (sickeningly stereotypical kind of place for paranormal activity, I know), there's even a museum in the center of the grounds that displays the artifacts and several skeletons of natives that were discovered in and around the area while the place was being constructed. It's also common knowledge to the students and staff that Chavón is a hotbed for paranormal activity. Anyways, on to the interesting parts. I've got a couple things to share, so I'll probably be writing some down in the comments later tonight or right after I finish writing this one. The first thing I wanna share doesn't even have to do with the history behind Chavón (at least I don't think so), but more with a well covered up event that happened a couple years prior to my enrollment at the school. Unlike living here in the states, it's very easy for things to be covered up from the media, especially in a place like Chavón run by filthy rich people with quite a bit of influence. There had always been rumors about a few suicides that happened in the school within the last few years. It wasn't till my second and last year studying there that the rumors were confirmed. The residence we lived in always had a supervisor (sorry if thats not the right word for it, I'm using the direct translation of the word). The lady was in charge of keeping order and also being the resident nurse. Anyways, the current librarian used to be the old supervisor a few years back, she was a really quiet lady and usually kept to herself. After spending a lot of time in the library researching for projects I decided to ask her if the suicide rumors were true, she told me they were, and that it really pained her to remember those days. I apologized for bringing it up, and went to go ask one of my teachers about it, she was younger and we had become good friends during my time at the school. She told me the same that the librarian did, and in more detail. Apparently one suicide had been a girl, a really quiet, depressed girl who had come to the school from the states. She apparently hung herself from the support beams of the wooden ceiling of her room. The second suicide was a guy, who turns out lived in room #8, which was my room. He went up to the third floor and jumped head first onto the stones in front of what was my room. Here's a visual aid. -continued in the comments- Many of my friends also have stories of experiences that happened to them in that school, I'll be sharing those in the comments, along with other experiences of mine while in Chavón.
Questions about staying near La Romana, Dominican Republic
We are two couples looking to stay near La Romana in the Dominican Republic this January. More specifically, we are looking to stay in the Bayahibe and Dominicus areas. Any suggestions about where to stay? We are not doing all-inclusive, but hoping to book our own place so we can cook. Wondering about the accessibility of the nearby towns and where we could find groceries and booze. Some places seem to say are close to shops, but that doesn't necessarily mean groceries. Also just wanting to know what there is to do there besides lie on the beach (hikes, day-trips, snorkling, fishing, attractions?). Thanks!
Set upon a pristine, eco-friendly beach, Hilton La Romana Dominican Republic all-inclusive resort offers true beachfront luxury for couples and families. About La Romana. The ideal destination for families, honeymooners, divers and golfers alike, La Romana is home to the famous Casa de Campo resort, internationally renowned golf courses, a world-class marina and Altos de Chavón, a beautiful replica of a 16th-century artisan village. Nearby, the Bayahibe area offers picturesque beaches, chic La Romana is a coastal city on the Caribbean coast of the Dominican Republic. This fascinating tourist getaway features beach resorts, the best Airbnbs and the spectacular Chavon River. On the off chance that you are in La Romana, visit the 16th-century Altos de Chavón Mediterranean village, the wrecked ship of pirate William Kidd, artist Playa Bayahibe Section B, La Romana, 23000, Dominican Republic TEL: +809-2218880 FAX: +809-221881 Email us. skip form. Where do you want to go? City, Airport, Address, Attraction, Hotel No search results found. results were found. Press up and down key to select. Arrival Open calendar La Romana is a city at the southeast end of the Dominican Republic.The area along the coast is mostly taken up with various resorts, most notably Casa De Campo Resort. Cruise ships also port here.. Understand []. La Romana is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country because of the beautiful beaches and the tourism infrastructure that has been put in place. An adults-only retreat in the Dominican Republic. Our adults-only hotel overlooks Playa Bayahibe and the Caribbean Sea. We have a variety of activities available on site such as windsurfing, snorkeling, volleyball, and merengue lessons. Enjoy waiter service by our pool and on the beach, with room service also available. Located in the southeastern part of the Dominican Republic, La Romana is the seventh largest city in the country and is inDOeasingly becoming a major tourist destination. There are approximately 215,000 people living within the metropolitan area of La Romana. La Romana is the gateway to Saona and Catalina Islands, which are part of the Cotubanamá National Park, and the most visited natural attractions in the country. One wouldn’t expect any less from the only location in the DR and the world where the rare Bayahíbe Rose originates—a soft pink-colored cactus-shrub named National Flower of the DR in 2011 and featured on the Dominican currency. La Romana, city and port, southeastern Dominican Republic, on the Caribbean Sea opposite Catalina Island.Founded near the end of the 19th century, La Romana grew rapidly after the establishment of a large sugar mill there in 1911. In addition to sugarcane, the surrounding region produces coffee, tobacco, beeswax, cattle, and hides. Luxurious La Romana offers over 800 hotel rooms, as well as world-renowned golf courses. Nearby, the Bayahíbe and Dominicus area, a charming fishing hub, boasts large all-inclusive beachfront resorts with more than 4,000 hotel rooms–perfect for medium-sized events.
Vacation at Dreams La-Romana, Dominican Republic - YouTube
This is our fourth day aboard the Carnival Vista and it packed with fun. Today we port in La Romana and head out for an exciting RTV adventure. Then I will t... Top 10 Beachfront Hotels & Resorts in La Romana, Dominican Republic, Caribbean If you like my videos, please subscribe! https://goo.gl/AuK9gR Catalonia Roy... La Romana, Dominican Republic has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country because of the beautiful beaches and the tourism infrast... Damarys & Luis said I do at the beautiful Dreams la Romana resort in Bayahibe.It was a rainy day in Dominican Republic and the weather cleared up for this am... This is the real look at the Sosua that many others don't want you to see. Make sure you Subscribe, Like, Comment, & Share! Follow Major Lyfestyle on Insta... Landing in La Romana, Dominican Republic @ LRM on American Eagle Seated in from MIA "C". However if you are seated in "A" you are likely to see some fantasti... Hotel reviewhttps://vk.com/marianna_travelhttp://mariannatravel.ru/https://www.instagram.com/mariannatravel I spent vacation on May, 2014 at Dreams La-Romana, Dominican Republic.It was great time, beautiful beach, excellent food & entertainment. Southern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Vista -- Excursion to Private Resort with Beautiful Beach
