Day of the Races

A week ago the DR celebrated the Dia de Los Razas, translated into English, Day of the Races. This is a uniquely Dominican holiday in place of Columbus Day that is celebrated in much of North America. Dia de Los Razas celebrates the heritage of the Dominican people, a mixed race of Indigenous Indian, African and Spanish descendants. Most teachers are sure to make a special project for the class to do to focus on the Day of the Races, but from my limited observation, most of the celebration focused on the Spanish and Indian heritage with a casual mention of the African ancestry.  This holiday brings me mixed feelings..... you see race here is a funny thing. There are Dominicans who are 5 shades darker than me who will swear that their color comes from the "Indio" in the family. There are also women who are in desperate poverty who will 'find' the money to go to the salon weekly to make sure their kinky hair texture is never visible. People are often referred to by their complexion, such as La Morena - the brown one, or La Prieta if the complexion is darker. The person with the lightest complexion in the family is usually referred to as La Rubia even if they are no where near blond.

I'm probably particularly more attuned to this just because of my own experience here as an African American. It's actually somewhat comical as folks will try to figure out "what I am". My complexion usually suggests Dominican, but then they take the double glance at the kinky hair and they give me a questioning "Tu estas haitiana?." I smile, and reply I am American. Humph. The puzzled looks always persist for at least another 10-15 seconds. I actually find it pretty comical that God has landed me here in this country with my brown skin and kinky hair. I have been able to ease into Dominican circles at school, but also flow into Haitian circles and fit in well there too with my African features.

 Recently I had a conversation with 2 girls in my kindergarten class. The one asks, "porque tu no vas al salon".... why do you not go to the hair salon? The question alone shocked me but even more her 5 yr old tone of disapproval caught me off guard. I smiled. Crismal, I really like the way God made my hair, I think it's pretty just as it is. She gave me a true Dominican non-verbal, umph, coupled with a certain wrinkling of the nose, that suggests she disagreed. I laughed.  The next Monday one of my students, a different one, shows up with her hair in cornrows with beads. I noticed right away as this 'Afrocentric' hair do is SO NOT typical. Of course I thought it was amazing, but even more so when her mom told me she asked to have her hair done like the teacher's. I've often heard that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery and I definitely would have to agree.  However, my goal is not to create mini me's, but it does make me smile that these precious little girls are learning that they are created beautifully by God just as they are. If they learn their value and worth in the eyes of God at this tender age, I pray it will help them to navigate the challenging years ahead as a female growing up in a developing country.