Life on High-Definition Video

Above: Dominican Republic carnival When I know I’m leaving for Santo Domingo, at first I feel a panic. Of course I’m thrilled to go, but to leave my kids is hard. They are still so young, so fragile, like tissue paper dolls, and they need my guidance, my defense, and the ferocity of my love. …

Sol India

Above: The dressing room at Sol India There is a great store tucked away in the Zona Universitaria called Sol India and they sell Indian clothes, accessories and decorations. Tucked away in the little street that runs off of Maximo Gomez by the Supermercado Nacional, you wouldn’t know it’s there unless you were looking for …

Llegó Papá (Dominican Hipocrisy)

Above: [Translation] Father has arrived! A better country, but for everyone. Next year is election year and one of the candidates is former president Hipolyto Mejia. He was president when I first came to the Dominican Republic in 2003. When I got to Santo Domingo the peso was trading at 25 to 1 dollar. Within …

Chivos Sin Ley (Lawless Goats)

This billboard says in English: “Stop correctly, there are others who want to pass. We cannot live like lawless goats.” But apparently Dominicans can live quite well as ‘lawless goats’…

Running Away with the Circus: Part 2 — Circus Dreams

The best way to describe the show is in pictures but I will say this. From my friends’ house, the equipment, including a portable trapeze, gets loaded onto a long truck. Two trucks are loaded for different shows at two locations. The performers, mostly barrio boys, climb on the back of the trucks. It’s a …