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 …

Running Away with the Circus: Part 1 — Backstage

Above: My friends from The Circus of Dreams Friday we took the Expreso Bavaro bus to Higuey to visit my friends from The Circus of Dreams The manager, who is from England, and I had become good girlfriends online and even though she started as my client (I designed numerous things for them over 3 …

Signs of Progress

  Signs of progress: trash improvement in Ozama As always, when I come here, I look for signs of progress, of change, and rarely find anything significant. It’s discouraging because in many ways I want this country to be better, I want to be proud of it, to be able to brag about it. I …