13 minute read
Cabarete Guide 2021
CABARETE: THE ADVENTURE CAPITAL OF THE CARIBBEAN
In 1984, French Canadian windsurfer, Jean Laport, embarked on a mission to find the best windy spot in the Dominican Republic. On his search, he just so happened to stop by a roadside stand for a beer on his way to Sosúa. He went to check out the beach and it was blowing an ideal 15 knots! Laport knew immediately that he had found a world class spot with some of the best conditions he could have imagined. Consistent onshore afternoon breeze, combined with the warm, welcoming locals and a carefree vibe, Laport quickly put down roots and opened up Cabarete’s first windsurfing school.
Over the years people got word and the town began to grow, attracting diverse residents from all over the world. The town was a windsurfing mecca by the mid-1990s and entrepreneurs flocked to Cabarete to set up shop. In just a few short years, there were hotels, restaurants, banks, restaurants and an all around great community.
Cabarete is a vibrant beach town known as the adventure capital of the Caribbean. Not only is it one of the top destinations in the world for water sports, but you’ll also find mountain biking, horseback riding, kayaking, surfing, canyoning and so much more. What makes Cabarete so unique and wonderful is that there’s something for everyone!
With perfect conditions for windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing, Cabarete is one of the top destinations in the world for water sports.
Not a water sports enthusiast? There’s something for everyone in Cabarete, you can bike, horseback ride, kayak, go canyoning and take part in so many other adventures, or simply just enjoy lounging on the beautiful beach. What makes Cabarete so unique and wonderful is the local charm combined with a great place to vacation.
Only in Cabarete will you find locals and people from all over the world, and all walks of life, coming together to live, work and play.
• Interesting fact, the town of Cabarete didn’t have a mayor until 2005! Some of Cabarete’s oldest local families are still in the same neighborhood or barrio after all these years. Despite so much change, the best things have stayed the same.
• The first bank in town was a man named Saul, who sat under a coco tree with a big bag of cash, a gun and a smile. He was happy to give you the best rate in town!
• At a town meeting, some business owners were concerned that storefronts opposite the beach side of the road would be hidden from tourists as traffic increased and large trucks began to park frequently in town. It was decided that parking would only be permitted on the beach side of the street so that businesses would be visible on the other side of the road and people would be encouraged to develop the prime real estate. All in all, it was a productive meeting!
• If you get stuck in a tapón or traffic jam, it’s because the main road was never built wide enough to handle constant two way traffic and someone has likely ignored the rule and parked on the wrong side of the road. The
good news – bad parking slows traffic and improves safety as cars can no longer go 50 miles an hour through downtown like it was 1995!
• Did you know that a section of Cabarete Beach is actually called Bozo Beach? Between Bahía de Arena and Ocean Dream is the area where “bozo” windsurfers ended up who got blown downwind.
• Cabarete got its very first stoplight in 2016! Please always proceed with caution.
• The owner of the famous rum company, Don Andres Brugal played Dominoes every Saturday in Cabarete with the old timers for more than 40 years until he was 90 years old.
• The population of Cabarete has exploded from 2,000 to 17,000 in 25 years.
• Cabarete did not have a full time high school until 2019! Students either took night classes or traveled to neighboring towns. 4 public schools and a handful of private schools for the more than 2,000 children. There was only one school in town that went up to 8 th grade until the year 2001.
CABARETE AT NIGHT
Photo by Sebastiano Massimino
Cabarete delivers on epic nights out like no other. From hole in the wall bars to beachside cocktails to all night dance parties, Cabarete is legendary for people who love to party. In addition to the strip of restaurants and bars right on the beach, some of the barrios have their little pockets of fun that are worth exploring for some locally owned bars and low-key lounge spots. Check out the entrance to Callejón de La Loma, a local neighborhood on the east side of town and you’ll find a few hidden gems off the beaten path.
Whether it’s a sunset happy hour with your toes in the sand, an al fresco family dinner on the beach at La Casita, an elegant dining experience at The Beach Club or Bliss, or a fun casual night for Mexican at Gorditos or sushi at Yamazato, Cabarete has it all. From Monday night karaoke at VoyVoy, Thursday night Latin dance party at Lax/Ojo or dancing the night away at Onno’s Bar, you’ll find an eclectic mix of tourists, locals, and expatriates ready to join in on a good time every night of the week!
Photo by Amy S. Martin
Word on the street is that it only takes five days to become a local in Cabarete. You will meet new friends quickly who will be eager to show you how the locals party. Pool halls, gas stations, car washes and little colmados – or corner stores – are often the best parties in town! Sometimes pulling up a plastic chair at a stand on the side of the road and people watching while you sip an ice cold Presidente or a Cuba Libre is all the entertainment you need.
DOMINICAN SUNDAYS
Anyone that has visited the country will tell you that Dominicans LOVE to party and it’s a family affair! Sunday afternoons is when many Dominican families enjoy a relaxing day on the beach or by the river.
The Dominican Republic has some of the friendliest people in the world so don’t be surprised if an invitation is extended to join in on the fun.
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?
Cabarete has a very laid back vibe. Shorts and flip flops are appropriate even in the most expensive restaurants in town! Leave the high heels at home and enjoy a casual and carefree evening out.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
CABARETE’S MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT
On one side of the busy main road, you will find beautiful beaches, luxury hotels and world-class restaurants. On the other side, you will see a different Cabarete, a place where 90% of the local population lives in extreme poverty. With a severely under-resourced education system, poor access to health care and a rapidly growing population, Cabarete is not just a booming tourist destination-- it is also an example of the power of poverty to persist despite tremendous local economic growth.
But there is good news! The Mariposa Center For Girls has developed a solution and it’s working.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
The Mariposa Center for Girls is located just down the road from Kite Beach. Open six days a week, our program takes a holistic approach to make a real difference in the life of girls, providing quality education, health care, job skills training, cultural immersion, social-emotional support and much, much more.
To effectively lift entire families out of generational poverty we must invest in programs designed specifically for girls. If a girl stays in school, remains happy and healthy, and gains skills, she will marry later, have fewer, healthier children, and earn an income that she will invest back into her family. Investing in the economic potential of girls by giving them access to quality education, healthcare, and helping each one feel empowered and in control of her own life is the key to breaking the cycle of generational poverty.
Photo by Nicole Bleck
INVEST IN A GIRL & SHE WILL DO THE REST!
The mariposa (butterfly) is a universal symbol representing transition, freedom and peace. In the Dominican Republic, it was the code name given to our nation’s heroines, the Mirabal sisters, who fought social justice and gave their lives for freedom during the time of Trujillo’s dictatorship.
Photo by Sebastiano Massimino
Mariposa girls are vital stakeholders in their community and are very much involved in beautification efforts around Cabarete. As part of our environmental education, we have dubbed the girls “River Keepers,” young, motivated environmentalists in action, cleaning up our waterways on their stand-up paddling adventures.
Photo by Sebastiano Massimino
We have beautified our downtown as well, with multiple mural projects, one of the most notable being a citywide project entitled “It Takes a Village.”
Photo by Sebastiano Massimino
Venture over to the Callejón De La Loma and see this impressive stretch of art!
Photo by Sebastiano Massimino
HOW WE SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ECONOMY
Photo by Jianca Lazarus
The Mariposa Center For Girls welcomes student groups, volunteers, and visitors to support our mission and work directly with the Mariposa girls. In 2019 alone, we had over 1,000 visitors work with us in the community of Cabarete. And of course this Guide that you are now reading, which we first published in 2012, has helped to promote the amazing businesses that share our vision.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
We have created one of the largest safe spaces for girls on the island of Hispaniola. It is our hope that as we grow as a Foundation, our contribution to the entire town of Cabarete will grow with us. As our mural illustrates, it takes a village.
The Mirabal sisters or “Las Mariposas,” have become not just national heroines, but international symbols. In 1999, the United Nations declared November 25 th , the day the Mirabal sisters were murdered, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In 2009 a small group of committed people who were inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) got together and formed the Mariposa DR Foundation.
THANK YOU CABARETE FOR YOUR GROWING COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL FORCE FOR CHANGE: GIRLS!
CABARETE BARRIOS
The friendly Dominicans and their carefree spirits are the soul of Cabarete, and the reason Cabarete has grown to attract such a diverse crowd of visitors and residents. While there is a lot to see on the beach side of town, you may want to learn more about the local neighborhoods on the other side of the main road!
Photo by Amy S. Martin
“La Ciénega” literally translates to “the swamp” and is a low-lying neighborhood built on top of marshlands. In order to build there, swamplands were filled in and the lagoon of Cabarete still surrounds the neighborhood. This is the westernmost neighborhood of Cabarete, with one large entrance, one small back entrance, and a foot trail to access the deepest part of the neighborhood.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
At the front of La Ciénega in between the two vehicle entrances is a large wall painted with girl empowerment murals and a sign marking the entrance to the Mariposa Center for Girls. Here Dominican and Haitian girls from all of Cabarete’s neighborhoods come together for education and empowerment programs that will allow them to end the generational cycle of poverty. In La Ciénega and the other neighborhoods the signs of extreme poverty are unavoidable. If you would like to do something about it, join us!
“LA CIÉNEGA” LITERALLY TRANSLATES TO “THE SWAMP” AND IS A LOW-LYING NEIGHBORHOOD BUILT ON TOP OF MARSHLANDS.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
CALLEJON DE LA LOMA
The Callejón de la Loma neighborhood is a bustling center of activity near the center of Cabarete, marked by the only stoplight in town. The traffic light was installed there in 2015 because of the huge amount of people, cars, and motorcycles coming in and out at all hours of day and night. At the front of this neighborhood you can find many expatriates and locals living together, as well as many businesses. The farther back you go the fewer foreigners, but not fewer people!
At the back of Callejón de la Loma are foothills and a cave system that are part of a National Park and can be explored through tours. The name of the neighborhood comes from these hills, “loma” translates to hill. “Callejón” means alley, so the road that connects the hills to the main highway gave the neighborhood the name “alley of the hill.” All of the other streets of this neighborhood branch off of that road, and many are conveniently numbered starting with “Calle Uno” (Street One) all the way up to “Calle Doce” (Street Twelve) at the bottom of the hill.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
“CALLEJÓN” MEANS “ALLEY”, SO THE ROAD THAT CONNECTS THE HILLS TO THE MAIN HIGHWAY GAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD THE NAME “ALLEY OF THE HILL.”
Photo by Amy S. Martin
The lagoon of Cabarete also surrounds this neighborhood, as much of the fresh water supplying this body of water comes up from a spring under the hills. In the foothills you can observe rural Dominican life, only minutes from the business of downtown. There you will find traditional houses and families that depend on agriculture sustained by the red-orange dirt. It is also great terrain for mountain biking and hiking!
Photo by Fran Afonso
Photo by Amy S. Martin
EL CENTRO
Photo by Amy S. Martin
The houses behind the storefronts in downtown Cabarete in many ways have preserved the way of life of Cabarete before it became an international tourist destination. Fifty years ago this small cluster of houses WAS Cabarete! The houses are in the traditional Dominican style, made of palm wood and as colorful as the people that live inside them. Here you will find some of the oldest residents of Cabarete. Next time you are downtown, or in “El Centro,” take a peek behind the stores across the street from the beach!
FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS SMALL CLUSTER OF HOUSES WAS CABARETE!
Photo by Amy S. Martin
EL PLAY DE CABARETE
Photo by Amy S. Martin
In Dominican Spanish “El Play” means baseball field. Baseball is central to Dominican culture and to this neighborhood! Past Janet’s Supermarket heading east out of town, you can easily miss the narrow entrance that only one vehicle can squeeze through at a time. The entrance quickly opens up into a baseball field ringed by houses. During baseball season you can see young men pursuing the dream of making it into the big leagues in the US practicing from dawn to dusk. Some of the families in the neighborhood have been there for generations and are baseball families, dedicated to training these boys and working with scouts from all the MLB teams.
Photo by Amy S. Martin
Although there are two other “Plays” in Cabarete that serve as community spaces, one in Callejón de la Loma and one in La Cienega, El Play de Cabarete is for the most serious players. Players that practiced here have been recruited to the Yankees, Mets, and Mariners, among others.
This is one of the smallest neighborhoods in Cabarete, as not far past the baseball field the limits of Cabarete’s lagoon are marked by tall reeds and standing water. Stop by on a Sunday afternoon to watch local youth teams or the recreational women’s softball team play a full game! Watch out for loose balls!
