Simon Rodriguez (Nakura) writes about the persistence of Afro-Dominican culture despite “from the ongoing crime and racist persecution of African traditions to the crimes of Vodou to restrictions on Gaga.” Read the full article and see more photos Nakura.
“Are these children taught about God? Are they taught the Bible, do they believe in God?” May 21, 2024, Iván Ruiz, host Noon ShowOne of the most viewed television shows in the Dominican Republic asked these questions to a dance group of children from the Fandacion culture Hencia Viva de Mata de Indios, who were meant to perform an Afro-Dominican dance on the show. “I was shocked,” recalls Lissary Del Rosario, the group’s director and choreographer. Lewis, Radio and TV State Companies“He didn’t go with that culture… he said: “I’ll take them in and leave right away.” Public condemnation of experience. Perhaps as a result of Lewis’ orders, the group did not dance and did not last for 80 seconds in front of the camera.
The group was hoping to dance on television as part of their efforts to raise money to attend the Fiesta del Fuego Festival in Santiago de Cuba, where they were invited. The producer asked if they were planning to perform a gaga related to dances related to religious celebrations of African origins that exist in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Del Rosario made it clear they wouldn’t. Lewis asked during the air if they knew how to dance meringues. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. In a thinly veiled way, questions about God and meringue are how to check if a girl who is black is black Really Dominican.
Mata de los Indios is a community with a strong cultural tradition in Northern Santo Domingo, and is the birthplace of legendary figures in Afro-Dominican music, including singer Enerisa Nunez of the Salve tradition and the late folklorist and musician Six Minier, known as the father of the leading role of Kong do Villa Villa. The organization is also recognized UNESCO On the list of human intangible cultural heritage. Director Del Rosario Hencia Viva operates without physical location or state funding. Still, she is sure her job is to prevent criminal violence in the community and “fight to ensure that culture is not lost.”
Grower questions about Gaga may be motivated by legal concerns. He will be in charge of African dance in the Dominican Republic to administer Rule 824, the National Committee of Public Entertainment and Radio (CNEPR), the agency that regulates media broadcasting. One article, drafted by Joaquin Baragher’s dictatorship in 1971, prohibits “rambas, African dance, stripping, and all dances that are considered offensive and public decency from live performances where television and minors are part of their audience.” The rules direct CNEPR to prevent public broadcasting and live performances that could be harmful to the principles and norms of the Dominican people. As such, the Afro Dominican dance is legally restricted as it is considered anti-state and immoral.
There have been attempts to modernize CNPER. In 2005, President Leonel Fernandez issued an order to replace the rules. Anarchist content is prohibited And then there was a crime against the official cult of the national hero. It was in the face of strong opposition abolition Within two weeks, Regulation 824 was revived. Another reform It was announced in 2021, but nothing was done. a draft The “Law of Freedom of Expression” presented by President Lewis Abinader in April 2024 abolished Regulation 824, dismantled CNEPR and replaced it with new regulatory bodies with additional tasks such as monitoring online activity. However, this new law has its texts remain unseen by the public and has not been approved by the Congress. Regulation 824 bans from African dance on television are still in force.
Censorship in the service of political control
[. . .] Vodou Religion is also criminalised by Trujillo’s Law 391. The nonprofit Identad Dominicana recently filed an unconstitutional appeal against the law. There’s charm Pending Since April 2024, however, the ultra-conservative sector linked to the government has spoken out to support Law 391. Ezekiel Morina, the leader of evangelicalism in September It is listed In a tweet that Vodou is a “devil cult,” Vodou should remain illegal. “We are a Christian country. [To legalize it] He declared.
Nettle Rismos and Cultural Repression
The conflict between the ideology and institutional devices of the Dominican regime and the cultural representation of African origins is part of a broader system of racist oppression. This is explained as follows Apartheid government After the respect of hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent in 2013, by various authors. Even intellectuals currently affiliated with the government, such as the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic of Mexico, are Juan Bolivar Diazdenounced Dominican apartheid in the past.
A wide range Academic literature As part of Dominican cultural heritage, it recognises Gaga, Vodou and other cultural expressions of African origin, dating back to the first Spanish colony that brought a population of enslaved African origins in the 15th century. Sociologist Carlos Andoujar observed in the 1990s that over 40% of homes in popular areas and rural areas of the Dominican Republic had an altar or symbolic element associated with the vodou. Among many other scholars, June Rosenberg, Dagobert Tejeda, and Gioripuri wrote about Dominican variants of this religion. In the context of Spain’s short-lived reconnection of the Dominican Republic, Lusitania Martinez places the beginning of 1862 of the oppression of Bodou and the music and dance of African origin. In 1992, the cult of the cemetery baron, the most popular symptom of the Dominican vodou of the time, was banned. [. . .]
For the complete article, please refer to https://nacla.org/forbidden-african-legacies-dominican-republic
[Shown above, photo by Guillermo Casado: Gagá de Mata Mamón takes part in a concert organized by Convite Pro-Diversidad in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, protesting and defying 2014 restrictions on Gagá celebrations.]
