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Discover the vibrant beauty of the New World’s oldest city! by Larry Rohter
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s the oldest European city in the New World, Santo Domingo, founded by Christopher Columbus’s brother Bartolomeo in 1496, has enjoyed a long and distinguished history. Now, with the recent accession of a new government, in which an 89-year-old president gave way to a successor less than half his age, the capital of the Dominican Republic seems to have embarked on a process of renewal and rejuvenation. Government buildings are being spruced up, efforts are being made to expand cultural offerings and tourist attractions, and even the natural effervescence of Santo Domingo’s two million residents appears to have gone up a notch. For a city that normally moves at the same hectic tempo of the merengue music that blares from its storefronts and car radios, that is saying something. The next few months, however, offer an opportunity to savor Santo Domingo at a slightly less frenetic pace. The traditional Independence and Carnival celebrations have just ended, allowing the city a chance to catch its breath before the annual Merengue Festival at the end of July.
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September 2010
That does not mean that Dominicans entirely abandon their vocation for pleasure during Lent. Holy Week, which this year begins March 23, is one of the most important festivals for Dominicans, a time when the city that claims to be the largest in the Caribbean returns to its roots. Many neighborhoods, especially in outlying areas, organize spirited folk dances and processions from the local parish church. Then, on Saturday, the festivities end with the ceremonial beating and burning of the image of Judas, accompanied by much amiable raucousness. Meanwhile, those who can afford to do so will head straight for the beaches east of town just beyond the airport, in Boca Chica and Juan Dolio.
Photograph by Lebawit Lily Girma