San Cristobal

[Ogre of the Caribbean]

San Cristobal is actually an interesting place. The tour guides I read on the DR called it one of the ugliest towns in the Dominican Republic. I disagree.

The town has an interesting history. It was Trujillo's home town and he poured a lot of money into it while he was in power. The cathedral downtown was built to house the Trujillo family after death. The church itself is pretty on the outside and pure kitsch on the inside. A Spanish painter(Velazetti? I don't quite remember his exact name now) created all the murals that line the ceilings. Bombastic. There are art deco style angels and angelic faces decorating the walls, and dome. It's so kitsch that it seems almost a parody of Latin American Caudillo Architecture. I would like it, strangely enough, if it the ceilings were not done in a drippy stucco style that I think looks tacky.

Sometimes they have teenagers inside having band practice. They are really quite good. I listened to a couple of guys playing a singing American style rock/pop music for a while. Later a Domincan girl hooked up her guitar and started playing and singing. She was awesome. I videotaped here from a distance. Before I left I came over and gave her some money for letting me listen to her. She was very sweet, shy, and pious. She put all the money into a donation box.

One of the teenagers showed me a back room and a once secret entrance to the church that Trujillo would sometimes use to enter/leave the church. It was a hole that came up into a large wooden closet. The entrance that lead outside is now bricked up and painted over. Interesting. It was also useful for El Jefe to escape if there was a threat to his safety.

I came back later and the caretaker unlocked the gate that lead down into the Trujillo family crypt. It was well lit. The tombs are all empty. Trujillo was buried here for a few months, but Ramfis had his body moved out secretly a few days before he fled the country. There is still the original flag down there that once drapped Trujillo's coffin. It is faded and a bit ragged.

The downtown plaza is pleasant and across from the church there still remains a large pedestal that once had a large statue of El Jefe sitting on a horse. The equestrian statue was pulled down by mobs after the Trujillo family fled. The pedestal itself remains. There are quite a number of interesting houses in that area. Really nice homes. I suppose they belonged to loyal Trujillistas.

On one of the hills overllooking the town is "El Cerro". This is one of Trujillo's gaudiest homes. It is huge and was in the final days of restoration when I saw it. A Domincan friend with connections got me in on a tour. I videotaped my walkthrough. History books record that the home, built as a gift from one of Trujillo's cronies, was so tacky that Trujillo refused to live in it. He never spent a single night in the place. Trujillo left it with a caretaker and dismissed the crony( Pina Alvarez) from his office.

I have to admit this. I liked it. The building is a bit gaudy, but in a very El Jefe kind of way. Kitsch? Yes. Bombastic? Of course. Perhaps my long years of Trujillo studies have impaired my vision? I don't know anymore...

The restoration work was fantastic. Great attention to detail. The workmanship was excellent. The Domincan Architect and work crews did a great job restoring the place. They have even restored the Murals inside the palace. The ceilings in the place are great. Pure Kitsch.

The building is 6 or 7 stories tall. It has a great breeze blowing through it and the views are fantastic. There are many 5 star Generalissmo emblams crafted into the walls of the palace. I'm glad they kept those Trujillo insignas and didn't try to obliterate them. It is important to preserve a nations history. Even if some of it is unpleasant.

The place was unfurnished when I saw it. It is going to be somekind of government training facility. I'm glad they restored it. It is part of the Domincan National Hertiage. For better or worse.

I then drove off with some friends to Trujillo's Mahoghany House. It is not easy to locate. The estate is overgrown. The road leading to it is difficult to navigate in a car. Bring a 4X4. The house is a complete ruin. A shocking state of decay. A Domincan caretaker lives in the building. He's a young guy and for a little money will unlock the doors to a few rooms that are still worth seeing. The place is not very large. Trujillo's bedroom still has his original wooden closets. The mirrors are cracked and the contents of the drawers looted long ago. You can see the kitchen and a small Rocco decorated side room as well. The covered veranda still has the original wooden benches. In this room is where a heavily drugged and bound Jesus Galindez was dragged before Trujillo. It is in this very place that Trujillo ordered Galindez to eat the Manuscript of his doctornal thesis, "The Era Of Trujillo". Quite a strange feeling for me standing in that place.

It is a real shame that place has not been restored.

San Cristobal has very real charms of its own. There are several good resturants located near the church downtown. As always, the local Dominicans are very friendly and will help you find your way around. The parks are pretty and they are lots of interesting kiosks from the Trujillo Era to sit it. The town has lots of old buildings that have been restored. A very "Green" place to see. It was described in the "Rough Guide", a UK tour Book, as a place of Cement and asphalt. No, that's not a fair description. See it for yourself.

A town that is worth visiting. More than Once.

[Talldrink]

Joel, this was a great afternoon read! Am I the only one on this board from Sancri??

[laurapasinifan]

Originally Posted by sweetdbt

Probably don't need to tell you what the "programming" is on most of the cable stations, but there should be other options as well!

ha ha...YOUD think....but the last one I stayed at only had 2 porno channels, and a 100 other channels...must have been just regular cable


we watched about 2 minutes of one show.... and that was too much.....ha ha ha

bob

[jrf]

Great! Just one more question though.
What would the locals think when they know that I am staying in a cabana?

Excuse my ignorance but some of the work that I do and some of the people that I am with it is important that I do not offend them in any way.

[rellosk]

joel pacheco, great posting!

[laurapasinifan]

Originally Posted by jrf

Great! Just one more question though.
What would the locals think when they know that I am staying in a cabana?

Excuse my ignorance but some of the work that I do and some of the people that I am with it is important that I do not offend them in any way.

well the cabana isnt something your gonna stay in for more than one night at a time....I dont think you can treat it like a hotel where you leave , but it is still your room when you get back! when you leave in the morning, your out of the room....you do not leave anything behind!!!!!!!!!!!

if you need another room FOR THE NIGHT, then you can rent another room when the time comes......where you looking to stay several days in the area.

when it was mentioned that people sometime stay at the cabanas in that town, its just for passing through FOR THE NIGHT.

hope that clears that up......if you need multiple night accomodations, you wont use the cabana....find a real hotel!

good luck

bob.......ps I dont know how it would be taken by your friends...WHO WOULD

[Talldrink]

What Bob said is correct. Also, remember that cabañas are known for their privacy. If someone asks where you are staying, simply say a hotel and call it a day. You can even lie and say you are in a hotel in the Capital - que nadie se meta en eso!

BTW - You are close enough to El Malecon to stay at a hotel there and travel to Sancri - it is about a 15 min ride through the old highway...

[Mirador]

IMHO, I find San Cristobal lacking any reedemable qualities as a tourist attaction, unless of course you like squalor. The town is seedy and crime ridden... The other night I lost my way driving alone through an unfamiliar neighborhood, and was almost hijacked at gunpoint. However, I agree with Joel Pacheco's suggestion that the 'El Jefe' connection should be exploited. Didn't Rumanians do wonders exploiting the legend of Count Vlad "The Impaler"?...

-

[ade]

Originally Posted by Talldrink

Joel, this was a great afternoon read! Am I the only one on this board from Sancri??

No...my husband is from there (pantera) used to Dj at Eldorado disco and others - now lives in UK!!

[Talldrink]

Mirador - who said it Sancri was supposed to be a tourist attraction?