CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library

CUNY DSI Archives and Library Facility at The City College of New York

 

To fulfill its research, archival, and library missions, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute has a state-of-the-art facility housing the Dominican Archives and the Dominican Library. The facility is used primarily to preserve and provide access to the archives and library collections and to support the Institute’s research program and activities. The facility is climate-controlled (temperature and humidity) and features a reference/gallery area with seating, videoconferencing, and computer equipment for meetings related to the work of the Institute and to showcase exhibits.

Highlighting our Collaborators: Prof. Janey Chao

On behalf of Professor Sarah Aponte and the rest of the staff at the Dominican Library, we would like to publicly express our most profound gratitude to Professor Chao, Head of Cataloguing at Baruch College, for her outstanding cataloging work at DSI. In 2011, Professor Janey Chao began to work in the cataloguing area of our library as a consultant. Ever since, our ability to present bibliographical material that was previously unknown to researchers and the general public in the United States and the rest of the world has been solidified. In fact, the works of several published authors from the Dominican Republic and other countries are now available in the WorldCat database. Undoubtedly this new feat has been possible due to Professor Janey Chao’s work and professional expertise. Additionally, she has spent twice as much time beyond her paid hours to help out CUNY DSI with the original cataloging project. We thank her for going out of her way to volunteer to help out improve our services.

CUNY DSI goes to great lengths to make bibliographical material on the Dominican Republic and Dominicans in the United States available to the general public. In 2011, CUNY DSI took a giant step by welcoming on board Prof. Janey Chao who has been a key component of the “Original Cataloging Project at CUNY DSI Library”. A project overseen by Prof. Sarah Aponte, this represents a unique contribution to the dissemination of Dominican historiography, literature and culture in the English-speaking world.  Prof. Aponte—with the support of City College’s Chief Librarian Pamela Gillespie - in  collaboration with both Prof. Chao and Ms. Yoko Inagi (Head of Cataloging at City College) was able to convince CUNY Central to aid CUNY DSI with original cataloguing, a highly expensive task that is in many cases, out of the reach of CUNY DSI. With more than two decades of experience working in the library science field, Prof. Chao’s work at DSI has strengthened the library’s ability to offer first rate scholarship to students, researchers and the public at large. 

Our library collection has experienced a considerable growth due to two important factors. First, there is more bibliographical material written in several languages on Dominican studies and the Dominican experience in the US than ever before. Second, our library receives –on an ongoing basis— donations of new, old and rare bibliographical material too expensive for us to acquire from both public and private libraries as well as individuals in the US and abroad. Once publications arrive, our staff sorts out what needs to be incorporated into the World Catalogue or WorldCat (the world’s largest library catalogue). The cataloguing process, which might seem easy at glance, involves tenuous and difficult work especially when publications arrive without an ISBN number (International Standard Book Number). Among these publications are old, rare and out of print books from the 1800s, early 20^th century as well as newer publications from the Dominican Republic –and in some cases, other countries—which have not been assigned an ISBN number due to a lack of a functional and modern library system alongside standardized publishing practices. Once again, we acknowledge Professor Janey Chao’s work and dedication to our library, researchers, students as well as the Dominican and Latino community in the United States.

More on the DSI Online Catalogue

There are two online catalogs that provide access to the bibliographical collection at the Dominican Library (CUNY DSI): CUNY+ provides access to our holdings as well as circulating material from the libraries at the City University of New York. Additionally, the DSI Online Database, our old catalogue (which is now in the process of being converted to a more user friendly platform) provides access to academic journals, journal and newspaper articles, out of print journals, books and audiovisual materials.

Amaury Rodriguez, Library Research Assistant

Nuevo libro de Franklin Gutiérrez acerca de cementerios, varones y tumbas

La Prof. Sarah Aponte agradece al Dr. Franklin Gutiérrez la generosa donación de su más reciente publicación la cual fue puesta a circular en el Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura el sábado 12 de mayo, 2012. Muy pronto catalogaremos el libro para que asi forme parte del catálogo mundial.

Gutiérrez, Franklin. De cementerios, varones y tumbas. Múltiples caras de la muerte en la cultura y la literatura dominicana. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: Ministerio de Cultura, 2012.

Este nuevo libro del crítico literario Franklin Gutiérrez rescata del olvido y del ostracismo en vida a algunos de los más importantes personajes que con su accionar contribuyeron al desenvolvimiento de la vida social, política y cultural de la República Dominicana. Aquí se encuentran las moradas de aquellos que en su momento dieron mucho de qué hablar y de otros cuyo el tiempo se encargó de dar la gloria y la fama merecida en vida. Este es el primer compendio que gira en torno al tema de los espacios físicos de la muerte en la República Dominicana desde una óptica literaria. Resalta el colorido gráfico capturado por el lente del autor así como por fuentes externas que hacen del libro un álbum fotográfico que traza de forma cronológica la geografía vivencial de la nación dominicana forjada en un pasado no muy distante.

La obra está dividida en diez capítulos temáticos que dilucidan acerca de la economía política y social del camposanto de los muertos en la República Dominicana el cual se nutrió en gran medida de las creencias de los pueblos originarios y africanos a causa de la conquista. Entre algunos de los temas se encuentran: los cementerios públicos y privados; los espacios funerarios no tradicionales y de interés histórico; historia y evolución del culto al Varón del cementerio, Varonesas y Varones; epitafios; presidentes, políticos y literatos como por ejemplo el enigmático intelectual Pedro Henríquez Ureña (1884-1946), la educadora y líder feminista Ercilia Pepín (1886-1939), el poeta de culto Juan Sánchez Lamouth (1929-1968) y el cuentista, novelista y ex presidente Juan Bosch (1909-2001); las tumbas curiosas y las tumbas suntuosas; una galería de muertos ilustres durante las dictaduras de viejo cuño en el siglo pasado presididas por Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (1891-1961) y el Dr. Joaquín Balaguer (1906-2002) respectivamente; las tumbas presidenciales y las tumbas de grandes poetas dominicanos “convocados por la muerte” como Pedro Mir (1913-2000) y Manuel del Cabral ( 1907-1999).

Con este excepcional volumen, Franklin Gutiérrez abre una nueva reflexión acerca de los ritos fúnebres en América Latina y el Caribe aportando a la misma vez nuevas pistas en torno a la religiosidad popular y otros matices culturales del grupo humano en la República Dominicana.

Amaury Rodríguez, Asistente de Investigación de la Biblioteca

An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans

Bayor, Ronald H., ed. Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans. (Volume 1-4). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood, 2011.

This 4-volume encyclopedia brings together for the first time reference information on the “Newest Americans”, the new immigrant groups hailing from 50 different countries around the world that have become an intrinsic part of the social, economic and cultural fabric of the Unites States. What sets this study apart from other academic studies on immigrants, second-generation immigrants and newly naturalized Americans is its focus on those immigrants who arrived to the United States after 1965, the year that saw the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act which abolished the national origins quota system in place since the 1920s. This landmark legislation opened the gates to a new immigration that re-shaped American society.

Written by a wide array of historians, sociologists, political scientists and anthropologists with roots in the countries under discussion, the encyclopedia is not only a great bibliographical source material, but also an innovative contribution to the re-conceptualization of immigrant studies in the Unites States.The section on the Dominican Republic was written by Sociologist Ramona Hernández, Historian Anthony Stevens-Acevedo with the contribution of CUNY DSI Assistant Librarian Nelson Santana. This concise and well-documented section includes a historical chronology from 1492 to 2009 which briefly mentions Juan Rodríguez, one of the first-known Dominican immigrants in New York City. (Rodríguez arrived in a Dutch ship in 1613).Consequently, the background information on history is comprised of the following thematic sections: The Spaniards and the First European Colony of the Americas, The Africans and the Birth of Slavery in the Americas, A Colony That Became Two: La Española and the Birth of Saint Domingue, Dominicans and Haitians: 1822-1844, The Republic and Beyond, The First U. S. Military Occupation: 1916-1924, The Generalisimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, Juan Bosch and the First Constitutional Election, The 1965 Revolution and U.S. occupation. Furthermore, the authors provide an insightful history of Dominican migration to the United States by examining the causes of migration (push factors) while looking at little explored subjects such as the early migration through Ellis Island as well as immigration after 1965 tied in to structural changes in migration policy in the US and political upheaval at home.

The authors also discuss the demographic profile of the Dominican community in the United States.  Relying on census statistics, the section highlights the size, composition, geographical distribution, patterns of settlement and economic attainment, poverty, unemployment and class compositions of Dominicans in the US.

In addition to examining social, economic and gender issues, the encyclopedia pays special attention to important manifestations of popular culture and music that have been brought to the United States by the Newer Americans. Like other immigrant groups in the US, Dominicans bring with them their musical heritage—and cuisine— and at times, re-create it with new, added ingredients that are part American part Dominican. This dichotomy is carefully disserted in an essay by CUNY DSI Assistant Librarian Nelson Santana. 

The section ends with an appendix titled “Notable Dominicans”, a glossary, a reference section and a further reading list.

Multicultural America: An encyclopedia of the Newest Americans is an informative, reference tool that presents to the English-Speaking reader relevant historical, sociological and cultural data on the Dominican Republic and its people as well as on Dominican immigrants who call the US their new home.

Amaury Rodríguez, Library Research Assistant

U.S. government declassified documents on the Dominican Republic at DSI

The CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library would like to thank Dr. Norberto James Rawlings for donating copies of U.S. government declassified documents on the Dominican Republic. While conducting research in the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts; Dr. James Rawlings, an accomplished poet in his own right, looked through declassified documents and photocopied them. Thanks to his efforts, researchers and the general public can have access to these declassified papers in our library.

USA-Dominican Republic Documents (1961-1962; 1963; 1964-1965)

This collection of declassified documents covers three transformative events in US-Dominican relations during the 20^th century: first, the last years of the Trujillo dictatorship (1930-1961); second, the post-dictatorial period which includes mass mobilizations in the midst of the Cold War and growing social and political instability in Latin America and the rest of the globe; and third, the short-lived democratic experiment exemplified in the populist government of former President Juan Bosch (1909-2001) from the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), and its subsequent overthrow in a right wing military coup seven months after taking power in 1963. As a direct result, a radicalized wing of the armed forces launched a counter-coup in 1965 opening the gates to a popular revolt with long lasting consequences for the region. This prompted the US government to dispatch a large contingent of marines with the aim of crushing the revolution and in the process, prevent the emergence of “another Cuba” in the hemisphere. Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies aided the military occupation by conducting a close surveillance of the pro-Bosch forces, President Bosch as well as the left organizations that backed the popular revolt. 

The declassified documents come from a number of different sources: State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, American Embassy in the Dominican Republic, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Office of Attorney General, The White House, The Secretary of State and The Papers of Arthur M. Schlesinger. They are comprised of memos, diplomatic cables, newspapers and magazine clippings, scholarly articles, and intelligence reports which cover the period from November 30, 1959 to June 23, 1965. The primary source material collected here reflect the ideological framework prevalent at the time: anti-communist hysteria provoked by US military involvement in Vietnam, US government fears of the Soviet Union and China as well as the growing influence of the Cuban revolution.  Another important revelation is the Jim Crow era, racist and reactionary worldview that permeates a number of documents written by US intelligence agents.

These declassified documents are of special interests to researchers working on the following areas of academic study: US-Dominican relations, US-Latin American relations, the 1965 revolution in the Dominican Republic, the role of intelligence agencies during the Cold War, Juan Bosch, populism, social movements, Labor unions, the Trujillo dictatorship, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, The Vietnam war, government secrecy, covert operations, US media and propaganda.

Amaury Rodríguez, Library Research Assistant

Music Recording by Irka Mateo at DSI

Professor Sarah Aponte would like to thank Dominican musician, researcher and educator Irka Mateo for donating Anacaona, her 2009 music CD album, to the Dominican Library. We met Irka Mateo during the International Dominican Writers Book Fair which took place last month in Washington Heights, New York. During the opening ceremony, Irka Mateo was honored for her solid musical work and her contribution to the dissemination of the Dominican folkloric idiom rooted in the indigenous Taino culture, a shared legacy of both Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Anacaona. USA: Irka Mateo/Socan, 2009.

This 10-track compact disk features Irka Mateo’s explorations into the rich and varied world of Dominican Folklore music preserved to this day by peasants from the most isolated and neglected areas of the country.  Her music blends pop instrumentation with African and Taino percussion to create a soothing sound accompanied by versatile lyrics in Spanish which re-create the lost Taino world with tales of resistance, love and survival that are at the core of this musical offering. In spite of all the references to the past, this music remains new and modern.There lies its originality and, ultimately, its universal appeal.

Amaury Rodríguez, Library Research Assistant

Diosas de la yuca de Marianela Medrano

La Prof. Sarah Aponte agradece una vez más a la Dra. Marianela Medrano por las generosas donaciones que ha hecho a nuestra Biblioteca. En esta ocasión resaltamos su más reciente donación el poemario Diosas de la yuca. Nos sentimos muy contentos de ser la primera biblioteca que cataloga el libro como un aporte al WorldCat o catálogo mundial.  Compartimos el enlace: http://bit.ly/GCSDqg

Medrano, Marianela. Diosas de la yuca. España, Madrid: Ediciones Torremozas, 2011.

Arquetipos universales confluyen con la mitología taina y la naturaleza dando lugar a una mirada crítica del mundo actual desde el lenguaje y la creación poética. La acción física, por medio de la danza, juega un papel preponderante en la obra.  Resaltan en estas páginas la problemática urbana, el exilio y la inmigración, la falsedad histórica en torno a la conquista de América, el silencio de la mujer, la soledad y la memoria entre otros. De lo que se trata, entre otras muchas cosas, es de rescatar las raíces ancestrales; en suma, la memoria histórica del Caribe.

Los poemas aquí reunidos forman parte de la Colección Jacarandá de la casa editorial Española Ediciones Torramozas la cual está dedicada a la difusión de literatura escrita por mujeres. El libro está dividido en cinco secciones temáticas: Crónicas, Tristeza urbana, Genealogía, Diosas de la yuca  y Reflejos en el agua.

Amaury Rodríguez, Asistente de Investigación de la Biblioteca

 

 

Donaciones recibidas durante la Feria del Libro de Escritoras Dominicanas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Profesora Sarah Aponte agradece a las escritoras/res y  artistas que donaron los siguientes poemarios, novelas, cuentos, materiales musicales y de declamación poética a la Biblioteca Dominicana durante la celebración de la 9na Feria Internacional del Libro de Escritoras Dominicanas en los Estados Unidos la cual tuvo lugar del 23 al 25 de marzo, 2012 en Washington Heights. La feria brilló por su esmerada organización a cargo de la poeta Karina Rieke y la calidad artística que se dio cita durante ese fin de semana en honor a la producción artística e intelectual de la mujer. A continuación presentamos los nombres de cada donante seguido de los libros y discos compactos de su autoría los cuales estamos muy orgullosos de dar a conocer a investigadores, estudiantes,  amantes de la literatura y de la música folklórica dominicana así como al público general.

Irka Mateo: Anacaona. Irka Mateo/Socan: 2009.

Dinorah Coronado: Dos caminos. Miami, Florida: MediaIsla, 2010; Raquel. Santo Domingo: Editorial Santuario, 2011; Entre mundos. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: Editorial Mente, 2003; Cuentos encantados. Puerto Plata, República Dominicana, 2010; Declamación poética (disco compacto y poemario)  en colaboración con Yanela Hernández: Andazas poéticas.

Ana Isabel Saillant Valerio: Despierten las Aves. Charleston, West Virginia: Obsidiana Press: 2012.

Elsa Batista Pimentel: Lasitud del vuelo. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: 2011.

Gladys María Montolio: Arcoíris de la inocencia. Miami, Florida: 2011.

Rafael Agustín Reyes Mendez: De Santo Domingo a New York: Puros cuentos. Charleston, West Virginia: Obsidiana Press, 2010.

Juan Nicolás Tineo: Atrapado en la noche (poema/rio). Nueva York: Editorial El Barco Ebrio, 2011.

 

Amaury Rodriguez, Asistente de Investigación

 

CUNY DSI Chief Librarian Sarah Aponte Honored at Women’s Book Fair for her Outstanding Work

The ninth annual International Dominican Women Writers’ Book Fair in the United States which took place during the month of March (23^rd –25^th), was dedicated to four women for their pioneering contributions to the dissemination of Dominican literature, culture and history in the Unites States and beyond. The Dominican Library at the City University of New York Dominican Studies Institute is proud to announce that Chief Librarian Sarah Aponte was among those who received various awards during the opening ceremony held at La Isabella nursing home auditorium in Washington Heights, which is home to a large and vibrant Dominican community. Among the honorees were poet and cultural activist Osiris Mosquea, educator and administrator Ana Isabel García, and renowned researcher Mary Ely Gratereaux.  Every year, since 2003, the International Dominican Women Writers’ Book Fair highlights the literary and intellectual production of Dominican and Latino women in the United States. This year’s book fair, which joins International Women’s Day celebrations throughout the US, had as its motto “Leyendo Escribimos Nuestras Vidas” [By reading we tell our lives].

In a well-organized event full of surprises, the book fair recognized the pioneering work of Chief Librarian and Assistant Professor Sarah Aponte among others. The book fair, which is rapidly becoming the premier literary gathering of Dominican women poets and writers in the US, was sponsored by Dominican Women’s Development Center, Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura, City University of New York, Cayena Publications, Hostos Community College, and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE). Approximately 300 people attended the opening ceremony which included special guests from Venezuela, Haiti, Romania and the United States. The event was accompanied by an imaginative, and rather poignant, poetry slam recital by Sussy Santana; and two lively musical performances by Smithsonian folklore and popular music researcher and musician Irka Mateo, as well as singer Cynthia Cruz who wooed the audience with her love songs and grace.

This cultural gathering organized by poet and educator Karina Rieke produced 20 panels and workshops beginning Saturday morning through Sunday evening. This year’s book fair paid homage to Dominican female poets including the honored poet Mosquea and researcher and film producer Gratereaux, City College alumnus Kianny Antigua and Yrene Santos. Furthermore, several male poets and literary critics were invited to participate in the event. During the closing moments of the three-day affair, Rosita Romero, Executive Director of the Dominican Women’s Development Center, acknowledged the large participation of men – both as panelists and audience members – thus proving that not only women, but men too support this important endeavor. According to Romero: “I believe that it is a wonderful thing that on a Saturday morning, when most women are at home washing clothes and doing other household chores, we all decided to unite and read poetry.” She continued, “The idea of having many people congregate in one place to see the fruit of the labor produced by many prolific women is a great feeling…we should be proud of these women who inspire us.”

Renowned pedagogues from different parts of the United States, the Dominican Republic, and other countries participated in the fair. Syracuse Professor Silvio Torres-Saillant, founding director of the Dominican Studies Institute and long-time professor at the City University of New York, presented his exclusive panel, “Notes on the Female Literature in the United States.” New books such as Lourdes Batista’s En la soledad de mi cama – Solitud in My Bed, which will be launched in English on Saturday, March 31 at Columbia University – were presented at the fair. Also, Mary Ely-Gratereaux’s documentary El rostro detrás de las muñecas [The Face behind the Dolls] was premiered and became an instant hit with audience members. This particular documentary recounts the story of Dominican migrant women who have between ten and thirty years working at the Madame Alexander Doll Company crafting dolls as artists, seamstresses, and stylists, among other things.

In recent years, the field of Dominican studies in the United States has experienced some significant growth. It is important to keep in mind, however, that more than a decade ago, scholars and students in the US interested in the field faced many difficulties at a time when first rate scholarly work was available in English. Nevertheless, a clear and concise conceptualization of this area of study has come into fruition over the years. In 1994, Professor Aponte founded the Dominican Library with donations of bibliographical materials from the Council of Dominican Educators and other community members. The Dominican Library has come a long way ever since. The fact that ample bibliographical material has been catalogued and made available to the public since 1994 indicates the central role librarians play in disseminating knowledge and serving the community. In that regard, Professor Aponte’s unique work, insight and vision have been instrumental in spearheading this effort alongside others such as Dr. Ramona Hernández and Dr. Silvio Torres- Saillant. During her research visits to major archives and libraries in the US and abroad, Professor Aponte managed to uncover important bibliographical contributions that, in one way or another, are paving the way for other researchers and scholars to further advance the study of the Dominican community in the US.

Professor Aponte’s effort in disseminating knowledge about Dominicans in the US is an ongoing project: on a number of occasions, she has given lectures on librarianship while sharing her own experience as the first and only librarian specializing in the study of Dominicans in the US. She also conducts workshops at the Dominican Library attended by early childhood and secondary education public school students and teachers, and collaborates with published authors and writes articles for academic journals. Her most recent publication is “Dominican Related Dissertations in the U.S.: an Analytical Approach (1939-2009),” published in Camino Real (2011), the journal of the Instituto Franklin of the University of Alcalá, Spain. A resident of New York State since 1989, Professor Aponte is known to researchers, authors, students and staff for her kind hospitality and keen eye for detail and academic professionalism. This is one of the reasons why her doors are always open to researchers and students who attend CUNY and other universities located in the tri-state area as well as throughout the United States and other countries. Last Friday, her contribution to the preservation and dissemination of Dominican literature and social history alongside her commitment to academic objectivity received much praise when she received six awards including one from the book fair committee, three New York City Citations from Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assemblyman Nelson Castro and Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, and a New York City Proclamation from Council Member Ydanis Rodríguez which reads in part as follows:

Whereas: In celebration of Women’s History Month, Ydanis Rodriguez Council Member of the 10^th District, is proud to honor Sarah Aponte, the Assistant Professor and Chief Librarian at CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library, for the outstanding achievements; and  […]

Be it Known: That Ydanis Rodriguez, Council Member of the 10^th District, gracefully honors Sarah Aponte for her inspirational work and contribution to Dominican Studies.

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Nelson Santana (Assistant Librarian) and Amaury Rodriguez (Library Research Assistant)

From left to right: Carlos Sánches (Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura), Karina Rieke, Mary Ely Gratereaux, Osiris Mosquea, Irka Mateo, Ana I. García Reyes, Sarah Aponte

Highlighting Our Book Donors: Anthony Stevens-Acevedo

Chief Librarian Sarah Aponte would like you to join her in acknowledging some of our most generous book donors:

Historian Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Assistant Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute –as well as one of its founding members—and a Foreign Corresponding Member of the Dominican Academy of History (Dominican Republic), has made some valuable donations of bibliographical material whose thematic scope and relevancy to Dominican, Caribbean and Latin American Studies cannot be underestimated. Working within the discipline of paleography, Stevens-Acevedo’s research focuses on early colonial history in what is today the Dominican Republic. Looking closely at societal structures as well as the political economy of the colonial project including commerce and the colonial sugar industry, this multidisciplinary, yet rigorous scientific approach to history encompasses the whole Caribbean and Latin American region as well as the African and European continents. Stevens-Acevedo’s Master thesis Origins of the Colonial Sugar Oligarchy in La Española: The Case of the Varas-Soderín-Castillo-Torres Clan in the Sixteenth Century is emblematic of his scholarly preoccupations since his days as a young undergraduate student in Seville, Spain. A copy of this publication is available in our library. Moreover, Stevens-Acevedo has written for newspapers and academic journals on Dominican migration to the United States, political representation of Latinos, identity issues among others. In 2009, Anthony Stevens-Acevedo donated around 2,000 volumes from his own personal library. This large donation, which includes books in English, French and Spanish, covers a diverse array of topics such as the early sugar industry, the role of religion in the colonization of the Americas, the judicial and legal framework of the colonial state (el Derecho indiano), the institution of slavery, French, British and Spanish occupations of the of the former Spanish Santo Domingo and Saint Domingue colonies, the Haitian revolution, Abolitionism, European monarchs, medieval European societies, feudalist and capitalist formation, the rise and decline of the Spanish empire among others. A three volume dictionary in Spanish with entries on usage, historical figures and events from the colonial era serve as a companion to this collection. Furthermore, the collection includes studies on both general Caribbean, Dominican and Latin American contemporary history.

Amaury Rodríguez, Library Research Assistant

Levente no. Yolayorkdominicanyork. de Josefina Báez

Agradecemos a Nelson Santana, Bibliotecario auxiliar de la Biblioteca dominicana CUNY DSI por la gentil donación del  presente libro.

Báez, Josefina. Levente no. Yolayorkdominicanyork. Ay Ombe Theatre, 2011.

El último libro de la artista, escritora y educadora Josefina Báez explora los matices contradictorios que conforman la identidad dominicana en los Estados Unidos. Para esos fines, toma como punto de difusión artística e intelectual  el teatro en su vertiente  post-modernista. Confluyen en la obra los siguientes aspectos: el lenguaje de extracción popular, el Spanglish, el erotismo y la sexualidad sin tapujos, la discriminación racial, social y cultural, la voz silenciada de la mujer, entre otros. El humor cotidiano que sirve para olvidar las penurias económicas y los maltratos de corte social al que son sometidos un segmento de la población dominicana en su propio país y en el exterior, hacen del libro un espejo fiel en el que muchos se pueden ver a sí mismos.

El libro tiene más degustación en el paladar en su ejecución escénica como pudimos constatar recientemente en la puesta de circulación que tuvo lugar en Río Gallery II el viernes 9 de marzo del 2012. Esta es una obra literaria- teatral de transgresión que se rebela en contra de los dogmas establecidos y la hipocresía. Resalta la voz autoritativa y propia de la autora.  Estamos ante una obra de alto matiz personal. Con esta obra, Josefina Báez se adentra en zonas pocas conocidas hasta ahora en la cultura dominicana; zonas cuya exploración, desde hace algunas décadas, vienen llevando a cabo artistas, músicos y escritores provenientes de Norteamérica (en particular México y los Estados Unidos) así como de otras regiones del mundo.

Amaury Rodríguez, Asistente de Investigación de la Biblioteca