Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
war and United States intervention produced an upsurge in
nationalism and pride that spawned two literary movements
made up of young writers. Not only did these writers reject hispanidad
in favor of la cultura criolla, but their concern about
Dominican culture and identity caused them to oppose United
States cultural influences, which they called "northamericanization."
Historical Monuments and Architecture
Once Balaguer was inaugurated in 1966, he reimposed the
official policy of hispanidad. His stress on hispanidad took the
form of a program to restore historical monuments such as
those of colonial Santo Domingo and build new monuments to
glorify the Spanish legacy. This program culminated in the
inauguration of the Columbus Lighthouse (Faro Colon) in
time for the celebration in Santo Domingo of the 500th anniversary
(V Centenario) of the discovery of America in October
1992. This restoration and building program— it was also a
public works program to reduce unemployment—began in the
1970s and was continued when Balaguer returned to office in
1986. The restoration of colonial Santo Domingo and the construction
of the Plaza de la Cultura were completed in the
1970s.
While Balaguer was out of office, the two opposition party
governments of Silvestre Antonio Guzman Fernandez (1978-
82) and Salvador Jorge Blanco (1982-86) supported the acceptance
of Creole culture. When Balaguer returned to office in
1986, his government accepted officially the cultura criolla,
which would now co-exist with hispanidad. The government initiated
a new annual Festival of Culture, which combined statesupported
festivals of popular culture—Creole folk dances and
music, and revival of the Carnival—with "high culture" hispanidad.
Balaguer also speeded up the completion of the Columbus
Lighthouse for the October 1992 anniversary celebration.
Popular Culture: Dance, Music, and Baseball
In addition to the more formal cultural elements of literature
and monuments, the Dominican people enjoy various
aspects of popular culture, such as dance, music, and baseball.
The merengue, the most popular Dominican national dance,
dates from independence and is based on African-Haitian
sources; its roots had made it unacceptable to the Spanish elite.
It was popularized in the post-Trujillo period by Johnny Ven-
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