A Week in the Dominican Republic: Searching for the Pulse of Santo Domingo

Before my trip to the Dominican Republic, I was excited to immerse myself in the rich culture and daily life of Santo Domingo. However, throughout my week-long stay, I uncovered more questions than answers, particularly when it came to the whereabouts of the city’s youth and the influence of bachata.

Food: A Delicious Fusion

Santo Domingo didn’t disappoint when it came to food. The city offered a delectable blend of African and Spanish cuisine. Hearty stews like cocido, mondongo, and sancocho were highlights of my culinary adventure. The taste buds of Santo Domingo seemed to be saturated with flavors reminiscent of both continents, making every meal an adventure in itself. Tomoka and I tried a variety of restaurants, with local favorites being Jalao, and the seaside Adrian Tropical. We were also able to try international cusines, including ramen and hot pot! First pot shabu shabu was so good we went back twice, and maneki neko had impeccable decor and an interesting fusion of Japanese and local ramen.

Dance and Music: Merengue and Frustration

One of my motivations for visiting Santo Domingo was to indulge in the origins of bachata, a globally recognized dance phenomenon. Surprisingly, despite many attempts, I was unable to find live performances of bachata during my trip. Instead, the city’s dance scene seemed to be dominated by merengue—an enjoyable yet comparably basic dance style.

Curiously, I also noticed that locals didn’t seem to intentionally practice dance, even though the Dominican Republic is renowned for being the birthplace of bachata. It made me wonder if a part of the culture was being overlooked or forgotten, much like how David Foster Wallace’s famous essay this is water explored the idea of being desensitized to our surroundings and their inherent significance.

Social Spaces: Where Do the Youth Gather?

Since great cities often provide ample space for young people to gather and foster cultural development, I consistently found myself wondering about the whereabouts of Santo Domingo’s younger residents. Although neighborhood colmados (cantinas) were prevalent, they catered mainly to older patrons. More upscale bars didn’t represent the variety of city dwellers either as they seemed to attract only a certain demographic.

This led me to question where young people in Santo Domingo hang out and how they socialize. Based on my experiences in other cities, easily accessible, densely populated areas usually serve as the pulse of urban life, but in Santo Domingo, finding such a space proved to be a challenge.

Reflecting on the Journey

Throughout my week in the Dominican Republic, I observed the vibrant food culture and experienced the dominance of merengue but was left yearning for a deeper connection to the city’s pulse. The mystery of Santo Domingo’s youth illustrated how, even in the midst of cultural immersion, our experiences can be limited by time and circumstance.

Despite these questions, my experience in the Dominican Republic was unforgettable, and I will carry these insights with me as I continue to explore other places and cultures.

The original text

That’s right, the above was the output of ChatGPT4 after feeding in my original, asking for edits and suggestions, then asking it to perform a rewrite. Here’s the OG:

Too much merengue, zero exhibitions of live bachata despite many attempts to go see it, great food, pleasant if sometimes hot weather. A nice central, old city area, yet was totally unable to get a feel for the culture or the energy of the city.

Santo Domingo felt like island Colombia - the poorly designed urban sprawl of that country, not the intense density where you can feel how vibrant life is. There might’ve been places we’ve missed that captured more of life there, but the similarities were much the same - lots of hearty delicious stews like cocido, mondongo, sancocho to look forward to after a night walking and drinking, a mixture of African and Spanish immigration, constantly nice weather (although it did rain once, enough so that the power went out for a whole night). I would go back with a dance partner and wow locals with our moderate competency. It seemed like nobody intentionally practiced dance there despite it being the origins of the global phenomenon of bachata, and the live bands for some reason only seemed to ever play merengue, which as a dance is the the Latin equivalent of a basic two step.

The feeling of being surrounded by culture yet hardly realizing it reminds me of the essay by David Foster Wallace starting with “How’s the water?” This is water. Am I forgetting about parts of myself or my surroundings because of desensitization (one likely point is the entirety of my Chinese background)

A week was enough in the city, months would mean cars and occasionally checking myself for a pulse. The thing I wondered about most was where did the teens or young adults hang out? What do they do for fun? Great cities give people plenty of gathering space and allow culture to develop and build from there. There were some spaces like the neighborhood colmados (cantinas), but they only ever had old geezers willing to repeat themselves over and over again, and the classier bars only had the fresa types. Where did normal young kids hang out?

It’s always this pulse I feel for in a new city - it’s always finding the scene where new life can feel invited and be welcomed, and it’s usually where the most easily accessible dense areas are. It’s things like impromptu street gatherings, to hitting up a few different spots in a night, to places where you can go without making plans and know you’ll meet up with someone that define a good, easy city life.