Dominican Independence Day

     Yesterday was Independence Day and the office was closed, but today they had a celebration which was so fun - this was the first time that they have done this, so we were glad to be a part of it.  

Rob not only was wearing a red and blue tie, but, as you can see,
he was waving the Dominican flag during the singing.

    Juan Pablo Duarte, Matias Ramon Mella, and Francisco Del Rosario Sanchez  are considered the three Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic, and on February 27, 1844, they and their supporters declared the independence from Haiti. The Dominican Republic's first constitution was adopted on November 6, 1844 and was modeled after the US Constitution.  For a number of years afterwards, Haiti kept trying to re-invade them and eventually the country was returned to Spain.  The country suffered many other years of repression including the 31-year rule of the dictator Trujillo. In spite of his repression, terrorist attacks, the command that caused the slaughter of around 35,000 Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border, he was supported by the US as the lesser of two evils.  He was assassinated in 1961.  We are more than a little embarrassed to know that the US supported this tyrant.  

     Now that you've had your history lesson, let us add a couple of important things that we learned today.  In a brief talk at the beginning of the program, Daniel Almeida, who is the Director of Temporal Affairs for the Church in the Caribbean, pointed out some important things about this country.  In the Bible, Isaiah talks about the gathering of Israel from the islands of the sea, and Dominicans count themselves in those islands.  In addition, the Book of Mormon talked about the coming of Columbus which would result in the establishment a choice land above all other lands which we know to be the United States.  But for the Church members living here, we know that Columbus came here in 1492, and visited Hispaniola every time he journeyed to the New World.  So we feel that this country was important in helping to bring this about, and we love it, too. 

     They are very proud of their country and sang their national anthem at the beginning of the program with such enthusiasm.  It's a beautiful song and was first performed in 1883.  The singing was so fun and the dancing was performed by four of the office staff.  The folks here love to dance, so it was fun seeing these otherwise very serious fellows dance with such spirit.  

Katty's lovely voice led off the National Anthem

We love this choir of co-workers who always sing - and sing well 

The dancing

The Dominican guia and drum are part of their traditional music. 

                                                                               

After the program, the luncheon was what is called here, "El Plato del Dia" or plate of the day, consisting of rice, beans, chicken, fried platanos, yucca, and salad.  The candy was so fun to try as well.  

       

Little cookies that had a slight ginger flavor

Candy- the darker red ones are sort of like Rice Krispie treats;
the round ones are just a sugar candy.  

 

     As you can see, everyone, including us, enjoyed the activity immensely.