From Bahia to Brooklyn, Caribbean stories

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, is the place where Columbus first set foot. He thought he had reached the Indies, but he had arrived on a Caribbean Island inhabited by the Taino people. And so began the European domination of the Caribbean and later the whole of America. Along with it came the horrors of colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples, and slavery. While in many other Caribbean countries Nina witnessed how statues of Columbus are now being vandalized and even removed, she is surprised to see that Columbus is still a tourist attraction here. The colonial struggle divided the island into the French-speaking Haiti and the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. One island, two completely different countries and cultures. Nina investigates at the border why these differences between the Spanish-speaking Dominicans and the French-speaking Haitians are currently leading to so much tension. She also delves into merengue, the music style of the country, and questions how African it truly is. During her visit to Haitian youth who have been forced to seek refuge in the Dominican Republic, she witnesses their resilience and determination to achieve something in life, for example, through baseball.

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