Dominicans

From The Peopling of New York City

BIENVENIDO!

Dominicans, often called new era immigrants because of their relatively recent arrival, form one of the largest immigrant groups of this generation. As with many other groups, within the U.S., they have been able to carve a unique niche in society for themselves. American citizens with hispanic roots, and plenty of island "flava," not quite Dominican, not entirely "American." Through their many struggles, their community has steadily grown, both in stature, and size. There culture has irrevocably changed the entertainment industry, especially in sports, dance and music. Today, they are one of three Hispanic giants in The City, living in communities such as "Quiseya Heights," where you almost feel like your in a small island in the Caribbean. Hopefully, you'll gain some appreciation for the contributions, the struggles, the achievements, of our Dominican-Americans, and learn about the life of a "Dominicanero(a)" in a new country...(You better read on)...

History

Ever since the great turmoil of the Dominican political world in the 1960's, a great amount of people have immigrated from Dominican Republic to the U.S.A and other countries. Most of the immigrants chose New York City as their destination, and Dominicans became one of the biggest immigrant groups in New York City. Many of them, residing in Washington Heights, have been on a long journey of assimilation and reformation of New York City...

Class

Dominoes on the street

What exactly is class? Class is determined by a variety of factors, such as residential factors, occupational patterns, income, health among others. Class is one's status in society. This section deals with Dominican Income, Occupation, and Education, just to name a few areas. Over the years, Dominicans have continually strived to better their social status, and their labour has not been in vain. There is still abundant room for improvement, poverty, and lack of education continue to plague their sociey - but - there have been major improvements. Slowly, steadily, a new chapter is opening for Dominican Americans...

Culture

Dominican American Ysaes Amaro performs a traditional dance for the Latin Festival of the Day of the Dead

How do you describe Dominicans? If you were looking for words you might use: "Machismo," "Roman Catholic," "Hispanic," "Dancing Fever" . Because of continuing immigration from Dominican Republic, Dominicans have kept their culture relatively well. Still, assimilation is taking place in their community as the second generation population increases...

The Bigger Picture

A Typical Question raised for many immigrants: Should they maintain their traditions or assimilate to mainstream American society? A spontaneous response would be that "the first generation keeps their traditions while the second generation assimilates." While both might be true, the situation is too complex for there to be such an over generalization. Such questions need to be considered in depth, as they are described by the following categories.

REFERENCES

1.http://www.brorson.com/neighborhood/index.html

2.http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejs76/3380487860/in/pool-washington_heights