La Capital

That´s how most Dominicans seem to refer to Santo Domingo, the largest city, the center of government, arts, education, and commerce for the nation, and at the same time a fascinating city with a rich history in its own right. This is actually my third visit to the city, and I have to say that each time this unique location reveals to me yet another dimension.

Today I visited the Plaza de la Cultura, which I thought was going to be an aggomeration of big (possibly ugly) modern buildings facing a cement plaza. Far from it. The Plaza de la Cultura is actually an enormous park-like enclosure, housing a number of museums, plus the national theatre as well as various study centers. A variety of palms and flowering shrubs have been planted around the grounds, and there are numerous scuptures, not only of busts of national heroes and artists, but also modern constructions and classical statuary depicting philosophical ideas like the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water). Unfortunatley much of the landscaping is beginning to look a bit seedy and overgrown, although the overall effect is still quite striking.

There are four major museums: Modern Art, History and Geography, The Museum of the Dominican Man (sic), and The Museum of Natural History. Of the four, History and Geography is closed for renovations, and has been for some time, and no target date for the completion of the project has been set. Museum of the Dominican man was closed today due to a power outage of some sort. So that left El Museo de Arte Moderno, and El Museo de Historia Natural for me to visit. Although the options were limited, I was not disappointed.

I am not very knowledgeable at all about modern art, but even from my limited perspective I could tell that I was viewing some very high quality material. There were two levels exhibiting brand new works -- not only painting and sculpture, but also photography, mixed media, and video. There was another level devoted to the permanent collection of 20th century Dominican art. What impressed me most was, as I say, the high quality of the material. This is due to the fact that every two years a competition is held, and the best artists in the nation compete for the honor of being named the grand prize winner. I´m assuming there is some kind of cash prize, but the greater honor seems to be the name recognition and place in the national museum that the winner gains.

I have to admit that I wasn´t exactly thrilled to be visiting the Natural History Museum, until I realized that I could have my own personal guide to the museum, for free. Instant Conversational Spanish lesson -- I was happy! And I was very pleased that I caught most of the content of the explanations that the guide gave. Ivan, who looked to be a about the age of a graduate student, was very well versed in every aspect of the museums collection -- and it is quite a large collection. It includes an exhibit devoted to indigenous marine life of the Dominican Republic, including two enormous whale skeletons. There is also an exhibit of astronomy, which features live video feed from the hubble telescope (if I understood the commentary here) plus the only planetarium in all of Latin America. Another section is devoted to geology, the science of earthquakes, and fossils and minerals. Yet another floor is devoted to the differing ecological zones of the the country, from the pine forest of the central mountain range (I saw that!) to the desert Southeast, to lagoons and marshes and tropical oceanfront. The themes that the guide stressed repeatedly were biodiversity, the need to preserve for the future, and the uniqueness of Dominican ecosystem.

After lunch in the Colonial Zone, I took in a few sights that I had missed the last time I was here, including the ruins of the Franciscan monastery, and the Church of Las Mercedes. I promise to upload photos as soon as I can find the gizmo that I plug the memory card into.

I am left with the very distinct impression that Santo Domingo is a seriously underrated city. The colonial Zone is a UNESCO world heritage site, and within its 16 square blocks are the remains of the first and largest urban European settlement in the Americas. Within the Zona Colonial can be found many firsts of this hemisphere: the first paved street, cathedral , hospital, palace, and university to name a few. Remeber the old poem that began in fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...Well, when he landed this is where he first made a land claim for the King and Queen of Spain. One of the Palaces in the Colonial portion of the city was built between 1510 and 1512 for son of Christopher Columbus, who was appointed Viceroy of the Indies by the Spanish Crown. (Remember that Jamestown wasn´t settled until nearly a century later, and the Mayflower and the Pilgrims were more than ten years after that. So this place is OLD.) Considering the enormous historical district, plus the museums, and the beaches, and more -- I think this is a truly great city, significant for many, many reasons.

Tomorrow after Church I am hoping to visit the Alcázar de Colón, the Columbus palace. I may check out a gift shop or two as well.