Line #4 UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic


1	[[quoteright:328:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr-map_1049.gif]]
2
3	The Dominican Republic ('''Spanish''': ''República Dominicana'') occupies the other half (well two-thirds really) of the island of Hispaniola and one of the few countries with "Republic" on its colloquial name.
4
5	Since UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus arrived on the island in search of gold and Asian trade routes in 1492, the island has been constantly changing hands between all kinds of powers. It started as a Spanish colony until the end of the 18th century, when it became a French colony. After the success of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} Haitian Revolution]] in 1804 drove the French out of western Hispaniola, the French managed to hold onto the eastern part of the island, before the Spanish drove the French out altogether in 1808. The Dominicans experienced a period of relative autonomy, due to the decline of the Spanish Empire after UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, before being invaded by neighboring Haiti in 1822.
6
7	The Haitian occupation was initially popular, but by 1844 the Dominicans became disillusioned by Haitian rule and successfully revolted. In a curious turn of events, in 1861 they asked UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} to be taken as a colony ''again''. The move was highly unpopular and resulted in a [[RevolvingDoorRevolution civil war]] which resulted in the Spanish leaving ''again''. A period of chaotic political scene and economic mismanagement followed that war, and ended with an invasion by the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates in 1916. The chaotic American occupation lasted until 1922. The new president, Horacio Vasquez, presided over the only period of stable governance and healthy economic growth in Dominican history until that point.
8
9	If you thought the situation was bad, you can believe things went worse. Rafael Trujillo, generally considered one of the worst tyrants in Latin American history and the inspiration for TheGeneralissimo trope, assumed power in 1930 after years of plotting against President Vasquez, [[{{Egopolis}} indulging in a cult of personality worthy of Stalin or Saddam Hussein]]. He stole almost all the money from international aid, ordered the killings of all kinds of opponents and the Haitians living on the Dominican side of the frontier (using a TrustPassword to identify them). Trujillo also waged other bizarre, crazy acts, like an assassination attempt on Venezuela's well-respected President Betancourt and the kidnapping and execution of Dominican dissident and US citizen, Jesus Galindez, in UsefulNotes/NewYorkState and in broad daylight. He maintained himself and his loyal puppets in power and ensured the country would be ruled with an iron fist. His detractors started to compare him to a rabid dog until the U.S., initially their supporters, got alienated enough with Trujillo's fascistic rule to order a UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} plot to kill him in 1961. The new president, Juan Bosch, was eventually seen as too left-wing for the US and Dominican conservatives' tastes, and a civil war broke out in 1965, followed by a US invasion against Bosch and a second occupation until 1966.
10
11	After the Trujillo era, the country still had its time of military government and strongmen politicians, but now it’s a functioning democracy. However, the constant turmoil of its history has left its marks in the form of corruption, unemployment and problems with the electric distribution network. Also, the relations with Haiti keep being lukewarm at best (the continuing immigration of Haitians doesn’t help either). The country is well-known for its telecommunication system, however. In the most recent years, it has finally--''finally''--found its place, being the fastest-growing economy in UsefulNotes/TheCaribbean (if not the Americas) since about 2000, spurred in part by the success of the government's plan to make the country a center of textile manufacturing for the Western Hemisphere (if you're Americas-based and have underwear, there's a decent chance it was made in the DR), in part by the country's excellent tourism industry, and in part by the entirely fortuitous discovery of literal gold and silver mines in the country in [[TheNewTens the early 2010s]]. (Columbus must be rolling in his grave at that last one.)
12
13	Don't confuse the country with the (arguably) less well-known UsefulNotes/{{Dominica}}, which is also a sovereign country located in the Caribbean, but is a part of the Lesser Antilles instead of the Greater Antilles in which the DR belong (the former encompasses all those small islands scattered to the north of UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}, while the latter includes the "larger" countries, such as the DR, UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}, UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}}, and the US territory of UsefulNotes/PuertoRico). It's not helped by the fact that Dominica also has the same cross symbol in its flag, though colored green, or the fact that the demonyms of both countries are "Dominicans" in English.[[note]]They are pronounced differently. For people from the DR, the emphasis is on the first syllable, while the word for people from Dominica is on the third syllable.[[/note]]
14
15	!! Notable Dominicans and people of Dominican descent:
16
17	* Creator/RafaelCampos was born in the DR but moved to the U.S. at the age of 13.
18	* Creator/RoseAbdoo (''Series/GilmoreGirls'', ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'').
19	* Creator/EdBoon, creator of the ultra-violent ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series and current head of Creator/NetherrealmStudios.
20	* Creator/MiguelANunezJr, African-American actor of Dominican descent.
21	* Creator/JudyReyes was born in New York to Dominican immigrants.
22	* Writer Creator/JunotDiaz, best known for winning a Pulitzer Prize for his novel ''Literature/TheBriefWondrousLifeOfOscarWao''.
23	* Creator/WilsonJermaineHeredia grew up in a Dominican household. He won a Tony Award in 1996 for his role in ''Theatre/{{Rent}}''.
24	* Creator/LourdesBenedicto, American actress of Dominican and Filipino descent.
25	* Creator/MerlinSantana, American actor, known for starring in a bunch of black sitcoms in Creator/{{CBS}} and Creator/TheWB.
26	* Creator/MichelleRodriguez was born to a Puerto Rican father and Dominican mother. She recalls that her father's family had difficulty accepting her mother because she's a Dominican (who is stereotyped, to varying degrees of correctness, of having darker skin than Puerto Ricans).
27	* Creator/ZoeSaldana is three-quarters Dominican, and grew up in the Republic before her family were forced to emigrate to New York because of a political unrest.
28	* Creator/DaniaRamirez (''Series/{{Heroes}}'', ''Series/TheSopranos'').
29	* Creator/HoseaChanchez, best known for his leading role in ''Series/{{The Game\|2006}}''.
30	* Creator/DaschaPolanco. Born in the DR but moved to the United States as a child.
31	* Creator/FrancisCapra (''Series/VeronicaMars'', etc.)
32	* Creator/JudyMarte
33	* Creator/JackieCruz (''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack''). She grew up in a bilingual English-Spanish household in New York.
34	* Creator/MonicaRaymund, born to an American Jewish father and a Dominican mother (she grew up Jewish). Appeared in ''Series/LieToMe'' and ''Series/TheGoodWife''.
35	* Actress Creator/AimeeCarrero, known for voicing the titular character of ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor''. She was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Dominican mother.
36	* R&B singer Music/JheneAiko is of partial Dominican descent on her mother's side. Her sister Mila J is also a singer.
37	* Creator/TristanWilds is of Afro-Dominican descent on his mother's side.
38	* Music/CardiB (Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar) was born to a Dominican father and a Trinidadian mother in Manhattan, and identifies as an Afro-Latina.
39	* Richard Camacho, member of the Latino boyband Music/{{CNCO}}, is Dominican-American.
40	* Creator/RhenzyFeliz, broke through with his role as Alex Wilder in ''Series/{{Runaways\|2017}}''.
41	* Singer Creator/LeslieGrace, starred in the film adaptation of ''Film/InTheHeights''.
42	* Singer-songwriter Music/MelanieMartinez.
43	* Creator/JharrelJerome, American actor of Afro-Dominican descent (his mother is Haitian). He is the first Afro-Latino to win an Emmy.
44	* Music/IceSpice (Isis Naija Gaston) was born to a Dominican mother.
45
46	!! The Dominican Republic in fiction:
47
48	* ''Literature/TheBriefWondrousLifeOfOscarWao''
49	* ''Literature/TheFeastOfTheGoat'' by Mario Vargas Llosa is set during the late parts of the infamous dictatorship era under Rafael Trujillo's government.
50	* The book ''Literature/InTheTimeOfTheButterflies'' is based on the assassination of the Mirabal sisters by Trujillo’s government.
51	* Carla from ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' is Dominican.
52	* ''Film/TheSerpentAndTheRainbow'' supposedly takes place in Haiti, but the filming [[CaliforniaDoubling was moved to the Dominican Republic]].
53	* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series features the country twice in important plot points. The fourth film, ''Fast & Furious'', opens with Dom's gang raiding a truck in the countryside, and the country is also the last place where Dom saw Letty before [[spoiler: her apparent death]]. The seventh film, ''Furious 7'', revisits it again as a safe refuge for Mia and her children while the gang confronts the BigBad, and later on, it is revealed that sometime before the truck raid in the fourth film, [[spoiler: Dom and Letty got married in the country.]]
54	* Rumor had it that the titular Jackal of ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'' was behind the assassination of Trujillo, but of course no one will ever be sure.
55	* ''VideoGame/Killer7'' has one of its chapters (namely the fifth, titled Alter Ego) set in Santo Domingo. The Smiths travel to this destination to look for a group of [[{{Supervillain}} supervillains]] known as the Handsome Men.
56	----
57	[[AC:The Dominican flag]]
58	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dominican_republic_flag_596.png
59	->The flag shows red and blue quarters divided by a white cross, designed by the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Trinitaria La Trinitaria]], the country's anti-Haitian LaResistance [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin led by three men]]. Red, blue and white symbolize sacrifice, liberty and salvation, respectively. At the center is the coat-of-arms, depicting a shield in the national colors, before which are six flags flanking Literature/TheBible, supposedly opened at John 8:32, which reads "And the truth shall make you free". Supporting the arms are laurel and palm leaves. Above the shield is a scroll with La Trinitaria's keyword "Dios, Patria, Libertad" ("God, Country, Freedom"), and below is the country's name in Spanish.
60	----
61	[[AC:The Dominican national anthem]]
62
63	->Quisqueyanos valientes, alcemos
64	->Nuestro canto con viva emoción,
65	->Y del mundo a la faz ostentemos
66	->Nuestro invicto glorioso pendón.
67
68	->¡Salve! el pueblo que, intrépido y fuerte,
69	->A la guerra a morir se lanzó,
70	->Cuando en bélico reto de muerte
71	->Sus cadenas de esclavo rompió.
72
73	->Ningún pueblo ser libre merece
74	->Si es esclavo indolente y servil;
75	->Si en su pecho la llama no crece
76	->Que templó el heroísmo viril,
77
78	->Mas Quisqueya la indómita y brava
79	->Siempre altiva la frente alzará;
80	->Que si fuere mil veces esclava
81	->Otras tantas ser libre sabrá.
82
83	->Que si dolo y ardid la expusieron
84	->De un intruso señor al desdén,
85	->¡Las Carreras! ¡Beller!, campos fueron
86	->Que cubiertos de gloria se ven.
87
88	->Que en la cima de heroíco baluarte
89	->De los libres el verbo encarnó,
90	->Donde el genio de Sánchez y Duarte
91	->A ser libre o morir enseñó.
92
93	->Y si pudo inconsulto caudillo
94	->De esas glorias el brillo empañar,
95	->De la guerra se vio en Capotillo
96	->La bandera de fuego ondear.
97
98	->Y el incendio que atónito deja
99	->De Castilla al soberbio león,
100	->De las playas gloriosas le aleja
101	->Donde flota el cruzado pendón.
102
103	->Compatriotas, mostremos erguida
104	->Nuestra frente, orgullosos de hoy más;
105	->Que Quisqueya será destruida
106	->Pero sierva de nuevo, ¡jamás!
107
108	->Que es santuario de amor cada pecho
109	->Do la patria se siente vivir;
110	->Y es su escudo invencible el derecho;
111	->Y es su lema ser libre o morir.
112
113	->¡Libertad! que aún se yergue serena
114	->La Victoria en su carro triunfal,
115	->Y el clarín de la guerra aún resuena
116	->Pregonando su gloria inmortal.
117
118	->¡Libertad! Que los ecos se agiten
119	->Mientras llenos de noble ansiedad
120	->Nuestros campos de gloria repiten
121	->¡Libertad! ¡Libertad! ¡Libertad!
122
123	--
124
125	->Brave Quisqueyans,
126	->Let’s raise our song with vivid emotion,
127	->From the world to the face of the earth
128	->Show our unconquered glorious banner.
129
130	->Hail, the nation who strong and intrepid,
131	->Into war launched itself set to die
132	->When in a warring challenge to the death
133	->Its chains of slavery still it cut off.
134
135	->No people deserves to be free
136	->If it’s an indolent slave and servile;
137	->If in its chest doesn't grow the flame
138	->that forged virile heroism.
139
140	->But Quisqueya the brave and indomitable
141	->Always proudly her forehead will raise
142	->For if she were a thousand times a slave
143	->This many times it will be free.
144
145	->And if fraud and cunning exposed her
146	->To disdain of an intrusive man,
147	->Las Carreras! Beler!...were fields
148	->Which covered in glory were seen.
149
150	->At the top of our heroic bastion,
151	->Word of the free was materialized,
152	->Where the genius of Sanchez and Duarte
153	->Taught us to be free or to die.
154
155	->And if could inconsiderate leader
156	->Reduce the luster of these glories,
157	->Of the war seen in Capotillo
158	->The banner of fire waves on.
159
160	->And the fire that leaves shocked
161	->The arrogant lion from Castile,
162	->Removes it from glorious beaches to
163	->Where floats the banner that’s crossed.
164
165	->Compatriots, let’s show erect our
166	->Forehead, proud of today for;
167	->Quisqueya will be destroyed
168	->But it will never be again enslaved.
169
170	->That every chest is of love a sanctuary
171	->Where one feels the homeland lives;
172	->It is the law her invincible shield;
173	->It is her motto be free or die.
174
175	->Liberty that still serenely lifts up
176	->Victory in her triumphal carriage.
177	->The trumpet of war still resounds
178	->Proclaiming her immortal glory
179
180	->Freedom! Let the echoes agitate
181	->While full of noble anxiety
182	->Our battlefields of glory reverb these words -
183	->Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
184	----
185	[[AC:Government]]
186	* Unitary presidental republic
187	** President: Luis Abinader
188	** Vice President: Raquel Peña de Antuña
189	----
190	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
191	* '''Capital and largest city:''' Santo Domingo
192	* '''Population:''' 10,878,246
193	* '''Area:''' 48,671 sq km (18,792 sq mi) (128th)
194	* '''Currency''': Dominican peso (RD$) (DOP)
195	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' DO
196	* '''Country calling code:''' [[UsefulNotes/NorthAmericanNumberingPlan 1]] (area codes 809, 829, and 849)
197	* '''Highest point:''' Pico Duarte (3098 m/10,164 ft) (56th)

Context UsefulNotes / DominicanRepublic