November & December 2008

Sorry we didn’t get around to posting a November chronicle. This was partly because it was hard to find the time, but also because it seemed that little out of the ordinary happened. For one thing, though, toward the end of the month Michael went to Boston to attend the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. For the past couple of years he had not been able to attend, and it was nice to participate once again in this yearly orgy of biblical scholarship and to see some old friends in the Boston area. Another November event, the International Day against Violence toward Women on November 25, is significant in relation to Dominican history and culture. This date is the anniversary of the death of the Mirabal sisters: Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa.

A composite portrait of the Mirabal sisters

They belonged to a family that was gradually drawn into opposition to the Trujillo dictatorship. Their father and their husbands, as well as Minerva and María Teresa themselves, were at times jailed. The sisters, known popularly as las mariposas (“the butterflies”) became icons of the resistance. On November 25, 1960, as the three women were returning from a visit to their imprisoned husbands, Trujillo’s thugs murdered them and tried to make it look like they had died in a car accident. In killing them the dictator finally overplayed his hand. For many Dominicans this was the last straw. Popular opposition swelled, and Trujillo was assassinated a few months later.

The Mirabal sisters as cultural icons

It was a culturally interesting gambit to make the Mirabal sisters the emblem of violence against women in all its forms. The patriarchal family, machismo, and domestic violence are officially recognized as problems here, but at the grass roots there seems to be little lively interest in these issues. Everyone, however, reveres the Mirabal sisters. Thus women who invoke them as symbols of domestic as well as political violence will at least get a hearing from even the most macho men. Their story is beautifully retold by Julia Alvarez in In the Time of the Butterflies.

As we made the transition from November to December, we entered into the Christmas rituals of all the groups we take part in.

The choir to which we belong, Arpa Evangélica, had a series of holiday concerts. Because of colds and conflicts, we could only sing in two of them. But in these we could see the two poles of what constitutes “evangelical” Christianity here. One of the concerts took place in the context of prayers, hymns, and preaching reminiscent of mainline Protestantism in the US, but the other was in a huge hall where the ministers stood up front on a stage with a rock band and cheerleaders. The main preacher—there were several mini-sermons leading up to his presentation—spoke with the mannerisms of a stand-up comic and kept them rolling in the aisles for what seemed like hours.  (The entire service, including our performance, lasted over three hours.) We ended our holiday concerts with a potluck at which various choir members were called on to sing solos or duets. We breathed a sigh of relief when they skipped over us. Next year we’ll be prepared!

The congregation where Arpa Evangélica gave one of its holiday concerts	Two members of Arpa Evangélica get the spirit

Las Ovejitas Christmas staff luncheon	April is recognized by Nora Erickson and the Supervisory Committee of La Ovejitas

The pre-school where April works, Ovejitas de la Epifanía, ended the semester with a staff luncheon and a Christmas party for the kids and their parents. At the luncheon April was honored for her work with younger group (1 ½ - 2 year olds). At the party the gift exchange was symptomatic of what seems to us a striking cultural difference. When our children participated in such exchanges at pre-schools in Austin, their teachers emphasized bringing gifts that would be suitable for both boys and girls. Here, however, the emphasis is on getting gifts that correspond to perceived gender roles.  There was much consternation when the only child left was a girl and the only gift left was a set of toy gardening tools—until April observed that girls can do gardening too!

Ovejitas Christmas party - teachers Adriana and Nurys sing with kids	Ovejitas Christmas party - young and old dancing

Lulu gets a Barbie doll in the gift exchange	April with the younger pre-school kids

The pre-school, perhaps because of our location, seems to serve a particular range of families. All of them are upwardly mobile in the sense that none remain caught in the cycle of poverty that affects much of the population. But there are single mothers who have trouble paying even our low tuition.  (2,000 pesos = about $55 per month!). And on the other hand there are couples on the verge of breaking into the middle class, who both have decent jobs and drive their own car. We provide for such families, anywhere along this spectrum, an education that they could not otherwise afford.

Student bartenders at the seminary Christmas party

For the seminary community, the Christmas dinner is the gala event of the year. Present and former students and faculty are all invited, and the preparations go on for days. Most of the Dominican clergy are graduates, and a number of them come. In the words of appreciation with which the students honor the faculty and staff, one can sense the strong bonds of affection that grow from being so closely thrown together in such a small institution for four years. There have recently been two important developments on the seminary front. First, Virginia Theological Seminary has initiated a scholarship program that will enable Dominican and Haitian seminarians to do further work there. Beginning next semester, students here will be taught English so that they can take advantage of these grants. Second, it has been decided that the Episcopal Church will start a new seminary here in Santo Domingo, serving the entire region of the Caribbean. It is not yet clear just what shape the new school will take, and we await more news with great interest.

Students Roberto, Alfredo and Carlos affecttionately recognize the seminary cook	Students present Napoleón Brito, Dean of the seminary, with a Christmas basket

The Epiphany nativity scene

At the Church of the Epiphany, December is a time for business as well as festivity. The annual meeting, at which vestry members and diocesan convention delegates are elected, is always on the Second Sunday in Advent. There were many reports to prepare and some nominations to be vetted. Then we began getting the church itself ready for Christmas, putting out the nativity scene etc. We also held two major events. One, preparing baskets of food for families in need, is a tradition of long standing. These Christmas baskets are a bit fancier than the bags of food that we give out weekly through Lazarus’s Basket, and we distribute them more widely. This year we gave out 130. Second, we held a Christmas dinner for the elderly folks from the group that we serve weekly through Lazarus’s Basket.  We tried to make it as fancy as we could, with table cloths, flowers, china, silverware, and three courses, etc. A team of volunteers brought the food and waited on them. We sang Christmas carols and danced, and had a great time.  This is something that we hope to do not only at Christmas, but also from time to time during the year. We want these folks to feel that the church is a place of welcome for them, not just a place where they come to pick up free food.

April, Lucy and Sandra assembling 130 bags of food	Sandra completes each bag by adding apples	Distributing Christmas food baskets in the garden

Guests at the Lazarus's Basket Christmas party pose for a group picture	Animated villancicos were a hit with everyone	The serving team took orders and waited on our Christmas guests

Doña Luz, Doña Martina and Doña Griselda full of Christmas cheer	¡Jo, jo, jo! ¡Feliz Navidad!

We wish all our friends and supporters a very happy new year.
Peace, April & Michael