Un café por favor

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 30, 2011

At nightfall we stumbled into this coffee plantation after many hours of climbing the Mogote mountain. The owner, an old Dominican and his daughter welcomed us with an excellent cup of coffee.
A group of Haitian immigrants took care of the heavy work. There is about a million Haitians in Dominican Republic looking for a better life compared to what they have in their extremely poor home country. There is tension between Dominicans and Haitians. Xenophobia and mistreatment are not uncommon. Luckily we didn´t notice any sign of bad atmosphere at this “cafetal”

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Julia

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 28, 2011

Julia lives in the small village of Enriquillo, on the southwestern coastline of Dominican Republic.

I was told that she won a small fortune in the national lottery some years ago. Being illiterate, unaccustomed to numbers and perhaps a bit credulous, the money vanished in less than a year.

She kept talking about this and that, but the one expression she
repeated over and over was “y.. que no me venga nadie a decirme que no haya un Dios..” I dont want to hear anyone say that there is no God !

A night out in Santo Domingo

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 25, 2011

On the other side of the Ozama River “en aquel lado” you´ll find one of the busiest party strips in Santo Domingo, Avenida Venezuela . Loud music, lots of beer and couples dancing bachata..

Mario Vargas Llosa

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 23, 2011

Nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. La fiesta del chivo, Historia de Mayta.

Somewhat influenced by The feast of the goat I travelled around Dominican Republic less than a year ago. Click on tag Dominican Republic!

Nobel prize winner, Vargas Llosa

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 23, 2011

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Writer Mario Vargas Llosa at World Cultural museum. Today, friday 23/september Gothenburg.

Centro Habana

Posted by hakanronnblad on September 22, 2011

The author Pedro Juan Gutiérrez looking out from his apartment over Centro Habana. The story in his book Dirty Havana trilogy, takes place around this very building and the surrounding quarters of the city.