hmmm..
Mr. Lu and Chip make good points regarding how the expression “my people” is often used.. and misused.
But isn’t “My People” the very basic corner stone on how nations are formed? A group of individuals with the same origin, same ancestry; eventually forming a common culture. On the other side of the coin ….. we have Dominican Republic!!!!!! and as Pichardo commented; a melting pot indeed.
I can see and appreciate the essence of the OP’s question and what he’s searching for, as well as Mr. Lu and Chip’s idealistic, but probably correct, take on the issue.
Ok. Let me throw this one out there and see what type of comments\reactions we get. Here it goes:
Given the fact that we are a (relatively) recent nation, with diverse mixed people.. Could it be possible that we are not yet ready to recognize our Dominicanness as “one people”?
Is it the eagerness of belonging to specific, and sometimes “prestigious”, groups the reason we do not see ourselves as “one people” ?
It seems we are searching for one identity, and in that search, we are aware of our Taino, European, African and many other ancestries, however, until we learn to recognize that we are a mix and leaving it at that, the search will continue.
But one day, referencing Tainos, Spaniard, Africans etc; will be just a footnote, and not the main context of being Dominican.
Contasm
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