Punta Cana Cowboys / Day Trip to Santo Domingo 4


Sloop John B / Waylon Jennings

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Downtown Santo Domingo

Leaving the Presidential Palace we head Downtown.

Map of Downtown Santo Domingo
Sorry about the quality of this map … it was the best I could find.

We had to park about 3 blocks from the main plaza where we were headed and hoof it.
Large vehicles cannot navigate the narrow Santo Domingo streets.

Downtown Santo Domingo stairs
Head up some stairs …
Downtown Santo Domingo rally point
Rally at the top: … that’s our guide in the orange shirt.
Downtown Santo Domingo stone arch
Stone walls … stone arches – the former battlements.
Downtown Santo Domingo
Plaza just ahead …
Downtown Santo Domingo kids on day trips
Lots of school groups on day excursions.
Downtown Santo Domingo Colonial ChuChu
Entering the plaza we spot this thing: The Colonial ChuChu – a future ride.
Downtown Santo Domingo plaza
Gathering for a peptalk … Rose spots a dog …

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Columbus Park

As has been said: History is written by the victors.
We discover that this plaza is called Columbus Park and has a huge monument to Columbus right in the middle.

Downtown Santo Domingo Columbus Park
There he is.

I have to wonder if things will change due to the recent revelations about how he actually behaved over here. It won’t come easy. They’ve been celebrating him as a hero for 500 years and feasting on this past image for Tourism for quite a while. This country is run by the descendants of the conquerors – though it now has democratic elections. And there’s that other very big elephant in the room – the Catholic Church. These guys were all good Catholics weren’t they??? It’s going to be interesting.

Downtown Santo Domingo Columbus Monument 1
The pigeons know how to treat Chris.

Here’s a little Columbus anecdote for you: See that native gal on the statue?
(from St. John Beach Guide): “Bronze statue of Columbus, pointing northward, and a native Taino climbing up to reach him. According to an other description the native Taino is the Cacica, Anacaona, the first Indian to learn to read and write. Anacaona was captured in an act of trickery whereby her village was burned and all the inhabitants slaughtered by troops under the command of Nicolas de Ovando, then Governor of Santo Domingo. Ovando was under orders by Columbus to wipe out the remaining unsubjugated Tainos who were beginning to rebel against the Spanish. Anacaona was subsequently hung in a public square in Santo Domingo.”

Nice guys.

Downtown Santo Domingo Columbus Monument 2
“Is that gold?”

Plaque on the monument reads:
“In honor of the great Admiral Don Cristóbal Colón (Columbus)
discoverer of the new world – first viceroy and Governor of AMERICA.
made by artist Ernesto Gilbert / Inaugurated on 27 February 1887”

Downtown Santo Domingo Columbus Monument 3

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Onward …

Next: Punta Cana Cowboys / Day Trip to Santo Domingo 5

Author: jcalberta

Howdy! I love Westerns. ... and the intent of MyFavoriteWesterns.com is to celebrate Western Movies/Film - old and new. This site will eventually show my top 30 favorite Westerns - or more. I will have original graphic work with regular updates. All this - and more ... Yee Haw ... !! - jcablerta / Moderator / Administrator

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