Santo Domingo

Parque Colon ca. 1936

Historical photographs and postcards from Santo Domingo are fascinating to study. We see the older, colonial city and its Spanish architecture, but also, over the 19th and 20th centuries, the expansion, modernization, and flourishing mixture of styles in the city. It's also fascinating to see how the 'Ciudad Trujillo' period transformed Santo Domingo into more of a 'modern' city. The source for these two pictures is a Dominican forum, dr1.com, which contains a plethora of pictures.

Valerie Louri

A zouk song on my mind this week has been Valerie Louri's "Fanm Lanmou." Enjoy!

The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle was a fascinating but difficult read. I love how Dick plays around with the notion of multiple realities and false realities, but a deeper understanding of I Ching would have made this an easier read. Dick manages to still make this quite readable without hitting us over the head with I Ching allusions however. There is intrigue, alternative history within alternative history, glimpses of our world, commentary on racial divisions, and even an ambiguous conclusion. What's not to love!

Edith Lefel's Fanm

Enjoy Edith Lefel's lovely "Fanm," a song that is quite reminiscent of a Malavoi number. I love jazzier zouk and kadans music, and this is perfect for that aesthetic.

Thomas O. Ott's The Haitian Revolution, 1789-1804

Ott's The Haitian Revolution, 1789-1804 is a useful overview of the Haitian Revolution, but the author's political biases ruins the conclusion for me. His designation of C.L.R. James as a "negro racist" when discussing the Haitian Revolution's legacy was too much for me. It seems that any Black Marxist is automatically a racist in Ott's mind...

Black Majesty: The Life of Christophe, King of Haiti

Vandercook's biography of Henri Christophe, Black Majesty: The Life of Christophe, King of Haiti is an outdated text ruined by the author's racial biases. Although very readable and beautifully illustrated, the 1928 publication is weakened by a lack of detail, racial stereotypes of blacks in the tropics as lazy, and false statements (Dessalines was not born in Africa, but Vandercook believes that to be the case). One gets the impression from reading Vandercook that blacks wanted an out from Christophe's rule because of their innate idleness.

Haiti Tourism Ad

People have been discussing this for the last week or so. I do not agree with the emphasis on tourism to somehow solve Haiti's economic woes, but its certainly nice to see images of Haiti that undermine stereotypes. Perhaps more people should visit Haiti just to rid themselves of the horrible stereotypes about the country.