Sunday August 12 2007 is the big Dominican Republican Day Parade. This years parade on 6th Avenue from 36th Street to 62nd Street will be hosted by TV host Karina Larrauri. For the first time in the history of the parade it will be aired live on satellite from NYC to the DR. Television Dominicana which broadcasts on Dish Network channel 844 and 434 by way of Direct TV, will have live coverage of the parade from 2 to 4 P.M.
The New York Dominican Parade and “Fiesta” will be attended by an estimated 500,000 people. There will be lots of great Dominican food, music and cultural events. Our friends from Mabi Refresco will be there with their new product right behind the Goya Foods float.
So if you are in the area go enjoy the sights sounds and scents of the event. If you can't be in Dominican Republic at least during this parade you can pretend you are. Even if it is only for a few hours.
I wish I could join everyone! Enjoy!
A little more information..
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Crime in Pittsburgh PA, USA verses Santo Domingo
I was talking to a lady a few weeks ago. She said how she didn't like Dominican Republic because of the high crime rate and that noone ever talks about that.
Well..I don't have any information on the crimes in Santo Domingo but I was curious and decided to look at a city near where I was raised. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
First some population facts just to put it in perspective a little better:
US Census Bureau Facts says 2006 population of Pittsburgh estimate was 1,223,411
Population of United States in 2007 is 301,139,947 according to the CIA World Fact Book
Dominican Republic population estimated July 2006; 8,950,034 according to the CIA World Fact Book
Estimated population of Santo Domingo (Metro)estimated 2,253,437 in 2006 according to Wikipedia
I just glanced through The Post Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and pasted a few headlines.
Friday, July 27, 2007
N.Y. man charged in local bank robberies
5,000 student loan customers' info on stolen laptop
Town mourns death of tot and Grandmother. Driver who killed them was on her way home from methadone clinic
North Side vigil tonight for teen shooting victim
Man and teen shot in McKeesport
Man who killed Fayette County family set to die Sept. 19
Manchester man wounded in Hill District shooting
Man wanted in Wilkinsburg shooting
18-year-old shot in the head
Man convicted in severed body case
Driver in fatal hit-and-run at Station Square sought
Man arrested after holding two hostage
“About 12 hours ago, I heard again the sound of a 15-round clip being emptied”
Man and teen shot while riding in SUV in McKeesport
man in stable condition after being shot 5 times
I hear people saying that there is so much crime in DR. Which I know there is. But if you look anywhere in the world there is crime. In larger cities there is usually more crime. Why? Maybe because there are more people. In tourist areas there seems to be more crime. Why? Maybe because the bad guys are looking for an easy hit where they know people have cash.
I’m just trying to put it all in perspective.
Now if your talking about bad driving incidents…this is another story.
*Note - I know Pittsburgh is smaller than Santo Domingo. I just needed to compare a city that I knew and never really thought of as being "dangerous". I may delete this post after a few days because I'm not sure if its pertinent just yet. I was just watching the news and decided to check out the thoughts flowing through my jumbled up head
Well..I don't have any information on the crimes in Santo Domingo but I was curious and decided to look at a city near where I was raised. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
First some population facts just to put it in perspective a little better:
US Census Bureau Facts says 2006 population of Pittsburgh estimate was 1,223,411
Population of United States in 2007 is 301,139,947 according to the CIA World Fact Book
Dominican Republic population estimated July 2006; 8,950,034 according to the CIA World Fact Book
Estimated population of Santo Domingo (Metro)estimated 2,253,437 in 2006 according to Wikipedia
I just glanced through The Post Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and pasted a few headlines.
Friday, July 27, 2007
N.Y. man charged in local bank robberies
5,000 student loan customers' info on stolen laptop
Town mourns death of tot and Grandmother. Driver who killed them was on her way home from methadone clinic
North Side vigil tonight for teen shooting victim
Man and teen shot in McKeesport
Man who killed Fayette County family set to die Sept. 19
Manchester man wounded in Hill District shooting
Man wanted in Wilkinsburg shooting
18-year-old shot in the head
Man convicted in severed body case
Driver in fatal hit-and-run at Station Square sought
Man arrested after holding two hostage
“About 12 hours ago, I heard again the sound of a 15-round clip being emptied”
Man and teen shot while riding in SUV in McKeesport
man in stable condition after being shot 5 times
I hear people saying that there is so much crime in DR. Which I know there is. But if you look anywhere in the world there is crime. In larger cities there is usually more crime. Why? Maybe because there are more people. In tourist areas there seems to be more crime. Why? Maybe because the bad guys are looking for an easy hit where they know people have cash.
I’m just trying to put it all in perspective.
Now if your talking about bad driving incidents…this is another story.
*Note - I know Pittsburgh is smaller than Santo Domingo. I just needed to compare a city that I knew and never really thought of as being "dangerous". I may delete this post after a few days because I'm not sure if its pertinent just yet. I was just watching the news and decided to check out the thoughts flowing through my jumbled up head
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Dominican People
I came across this video of still pictures by Paul Gerace. These pictures are great Paul says "For better picture clarity the show should be viewed by clicking the centered rectangle located at the bottom right of the viewer". Thanks for these pictures!
There are also some great pictures (slide show) of the Dominican People here for your viewing pleasure.
Don't you just love my new country???
There are also some great pictures (slide show) of the Dominican People here for your viewing pleasure.
Don't you just love my new country???
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Flying and Ticket Refunds
I was checking out the new web site Yapta.com and had to share the information I learned.
When you buy an airline ticket and the price changes you can get a refund, rebate or credit (depending on different airlines policies). Yapta makes it easy for you. They will let you know when the price goes down and you can make the decision if you want to change the price. The price of a ticket can go up and down drastically many times within one day.
Just remember if you do change the ticket sometimes there is a fee for doing so. Just make sure the fee is not more than the money you will save.
A great place to purchase tickets on line is
Find Cheap Flights from
Kayak.com
They let you search for tickets by price for over 100 airlines and ticket sellers. Then they send you to the appropriate site to purchase your ticket on line. It's great being able to see all the prices from so many airlines at once. They also have hotels, cars and cruises.
Then after you get your tickets remember to make an account with Yapta and watch for cheaper tickets. This way you can have more money to spend on playing in Dominican Republic or wherever you chose to visit.
When you buy an airline ticket and the price changes you can get a refund, rebate or credit (depending on different airlines policies). Yapta makes it easy for you. They will let you know when the price goes down and you can make the decision if you want to change the price. The price of a ticket can go up and down drastically many times within one day.
Just remember if you do change the ticket sometimes there is a fee for doing so. Just make sure the fee is not more than the money you will save.
A great place to purchase tickets on line is
Find Cheap Flights from
Kayak.com
They let you search for tickets by price for over 100 airlines and ticket sellers. Then they send you to the appropriate site to purchase your ticket on line. It's great being able to see all the prices from so many airlines at once. They also have hotels, cars and cruises.
Then after you get your tickets remember to make an account with Yapta and watch for cheaper tickets. This way you can have more money to spend on playing in Dominican Republic or wherever you chose to visit.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Views From My Balcony - The Strike (Huelga)
I really had no idea what it meant when there was a strike (in Spanish it is Huelga) in Dominican Republic. I didn't really pay attention when the neighbors and Mamita told me about the strike and she was not going to open the Galeria until she saw what was going on that day. I just had no clue why anyone would stay home just because of a strike.
I learned.
I got up around 6AM the morning of the strike. I had to do some laundry and it was best to get up early to do it because one never knew when the water would stop flowing. I've done laundry when it was all soapy and wet and the water stopped. What a pain in the butt. Its not bad having to wait for the next day for water. But I always kept the washer filled with water for storage for household usage and when I couldn't get it filled there was always a shortage of washing water.
Anyhow. I was on the balcony hanging out the laundry and I noticed there was a group of humans gathering across the Malecon in front of the ship docks. There was very little traffic on the road but what little there was they would not let past so there were some people standing by the stop light further down the street telling the vehicles to detour there.
My neighbor came out to observe from her balcony which was almost even with mine. I asked her what was happening. She told me it was the strike. The old light came on. Ahh, the strike, now I understood why people were talking about it as being a big event.
The neighbor was talking about different things, half of which I didn't understand (seems people kept forgetting to talk slow). As I was trying to understand her story a gun shot went off in the crowd. She motioned for me to get in my apartment. I went in fast and sat on the floor to watch TV. I wasn't going to take a chance of getting hit with a stray bullet through the window.
After about 5 minutes I heard her calling me "Janette, Americana. Ven" So I went out to see what was happening. She said it was OK now. I could make out some guns being held up in the distance. There were some police cars sitting around by now. One at the intersection at 19 de Marzo and the Malecon. A few at the entrance to the ship yard and one at the intersection on the other side at Merino and Jose Gabriel Garcia making traffic go the wrong way on my street.
After that noting much happened. Mamita called and said she was at the galeria. I got the laundry in and went to the galeria about 2PM. There wasn't many people in the streets or the parks. Tourists were still around so she had to open.
Later in the night the park got crowded with the neighbors discussing the events of the day. Another normal evening after a very interesting day and another learning experience for the Gringa. Now I know what a Dominican huelga is.
There was a huelga just the last week in Dominican Republic. Here are some links about what happened. These are not all the information but its what I could find
in english:
Dominican Government warns the strike organizers
One death, reduced transit in first hours of general strike
General strike concludes in Dominican Republic, 1 dead, 5 injured
I learned.
I got up around 6AM the morning of the strike. I had to do some laundry and it was best to get up early to do it because one never knew when the water would stop flowing. I've done laundry when it was all soapy and wet and the water stopped. What a pain in the butt. Its not bad having to wait for the next day for water. But I always kept the washer filled with water for storage for household usage and when I couldn't get it filled there was always a shortage of washing water.
Anyhow. I was on the balcony hanging out the laundry and I noticed there was a group of humans gathering across the Malecon in front of the ship docks. There was very little traffic on the road but what little there was they would not let past so there were some people standing by the stop light further down the street telling the vehicles to detour there.
My neighbor came out to observe from her balcony which was almost even with mine. I asked her what was happening. She told me it was the strike. The old light came on. Ahh, the strike, now I understood why people were talking about it as being a big event.
The neighbor was talking about different things, half of which I didn't understand (seems people kept forgetting to talk slow). As I was trying to understand her story a gun shot went off in the crowd. She motioned for me to get in my apartment. I went in fast and sat on the floor to watch TV. I wasn't going to take a chance of getting hit with a stray bullet through the window.
After about 5 minutes I heard her calling me "Janette, Americana. Ven" So I went out to see what was happening. She said it was OK now. I could make out some guns being held up in the distance. There were some police cars sitting around by now. One at the intersection at 19 de Marzo and the Malecon. A few at the entrance to the ship yard and one at the intersection on the other side at Merino and Jose Gabriel Garcia making traffic go the wrong way on my street.
After that noting much happened. Mamita called and said she was at the galeria. I got the laundry in and went to the galeria about 2PM. There wasn't many people in the streets or the parks. Tourists were still around so she had to open.
Later in the night the park got crowded with the neighbors discussing the events of the day. Another normal evening after a very interesting day and another learning experience for the Gringa. Now I know what a Dominican huelga is.
There was a huelga just the last week in Dominican Republic. Here are some links about what happened. These are not all the information but its what I could find
in english:
Dominican Government warns the strike organizers
One death, reduced transit in first hours of general strike
General strike concludes in Dominican Republic, 1 dead, 5 injured
Friday, July 13, 2007
Chat Thingy
I added the new chat thingy on the right side of the page.
Anything you want to comment on or just to say hi, please feel free to talk.
I have it connected to the sister web site www.colonialzone-dr.com. This way you can talk here or talk there and it will be shared.
So if there are any questions about DR or the Zone please leave them with your email (if you prefer) and I'm sure myself or some viewer will help you out.
You can also click this link (or save it anytime you want to chat) and the chat box will open in its own little window.. Now Isn't that just amazing??!! LOL!
You may need to hit the refresh button..seems it is sometimes a little slow on the refresh so if you desire refresh manually. We have lots of smileys too. I tried to find some that were not the norm. Enjoy!
Anything you want to comment on or just to say hi, please feel free to talk.
I have it connected to the sister web site www.colonialzone-dr.com. This way you can talk here or talk there and it will be shared.
So if there are any questions about DR or the Zone please leave them with your email (if you prefer) and I'm sure myself or some viewer will help you out.
You can also click this link (or save it anytime you want to chat) and the chat box will open in its own little window.. Now Isn't that just amazing??!! LOL!
You may need to hit the refresh button..seems it is sometimes a little slow on the refresh so if you desire refresh manually. We have lots of smileys too. I tried to find some that were not the norm. Enjoy!
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