Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: The Society and Its Environment
tura. The leading musical group in the Dominican Republic in
the late 1990s, the 4.40 ofJuan Luis Guerra, draws upon the
African roots of Dominican culture and music.
In his 1997 book, Quisqueya la Bella: The Dominican Republic in
Historical and Cultural Perspective, Alan Cambeira includes baseball,
in addition to dance and music, as an integral part of the
popular culture. The Dominicans, who are extremely proud of
their skilled baseball players, learned the game from the
marines during the United States occupation (1916-24). The
United States major leagues began recruiting Dominican players
in the 1950s. In the 1990s, more players are recruited from
the Dominican Republic than from any other Latin American
country. One of them, Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs,
became a national hero during his fall 1998 homerun battle
with Mark McGwire of the St.
Louis Cardinals. For a poor
Dominican young man, baseball serves the same function that
basketball serves for poor African-American youth—it is a possible
path to fame and fortune.
It could be argued that a special Creole culture has emerged
from the "dual societies," operating in the Dominican Republic
in the 1990s (see Modern Migration, this ch.). The common
practice of Dominicans living and working in the United States,
moving back and forth, and then often returning to the
Dominican Republic to live has resulted in the development of
a transnational Creole culture that is an amalgam of Anglo-
Saxon, Spanish, and African practices and values. The current
Dominican president, Leonel Fernandez Reyna (1996-2000),
represents and personifies this Creole culture. He lived for ten
years as a member of the Dominican immigrant community in
New York City, attended elementary and secondary school
there, is fluent in English, and, as a mulatto, is proud of his
African heritage.
Education
Primary and Secondary
Formal education includes primary, secondary, and higher
education levels. The six-year primary cycle is compulsory.
Three years of preschool are offered in a few areas, but not on
a compulsory basis. There are several types of secondary
school; most students (90 percent) attend the six-year liceo,
which awards the bachillerato certificate upon completion and is
geared toward university admission. Other secondary programs
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