Journal Title: The borders of Dominicanidad Document Delivery ] Face, nation, and archives of contradiction / i = Location: mem oO ame Call #: £184.06 696 2016 Land Request Date: 8/14/2020 1:13:25 PM MonthrYear: 2016 : Notes: Not avaitabe in ejournals. Not Pages: 58- i jo eee for free online. Owned by UW. Article Author: Garcia-Pena Madison at Memorial Article Title: Of Bandits and Wenches: The US Occupation (1916-1924) and the Criminatization of Dominican Blackness OCLC Number: 936344737 EMail: gzmill@library.wisc.edu ISSN/ISBN Number: 9780822362470 ttiaa Tw: 347eeae MILI UW-Madison ILL Lending OdysseyCHAPTER? Of Bandits and Wenches The US Occupation 1g16-1924) and the Criminalization of Dominican Blackness ‘Cuando yo me mera que me togenpalor ‘que nolloe nadie y que me cance salves Pato oj, eae blanco ‘7 quelosquijongos no se cllen ‘Yaverds cémo vuelv hecho todo ate a coneale al mundo dot o tres verdades. (When ie, play me some pals, noone crying ll singingsalves, Red bandana, white dress and lerthe drums do the erying You shall se how I come back through thet, - ‘ote che world ane or ewe chings abous che ruth] Popular Dominican aloe ‘On Pentecost, 1922, Dominga Aleintara prepared for the most import- ant celebration of the year. As the queen of the Caftadta del Espiritu Santo (Brotherhood/Sisterhood of the Holy Spirit) of San Juan de la Maguana, she ‘was entrusted with the great rask of organizing the annual festivity to honor the incamation of the Holy Spisie inthe living files (the faithful)? Though Alcintara always took great care in leading the cofradia’s sacred celebrations, she was particularly excited about this year's Day of Holy Spiti, for rumor hhad it that Olivorio Mateo, the San Juan Valley prophet, would come by to give hera special blessing? Days prior to the June 4 celebration, Alcéntara had begun to make palm‘Mapa Mapof San Juan Valley and the lik sta teritory, Created by Killa Llano. crucifixes, which she carefully dressed in yellow and red to place on the altar along with velones (large candles used for religious rituals) and marigolds, asi customary in the batey celebration. Early that Pentecost Sunday, when the women of the cofradta arrived at Dominga’s house to prepare the stew ‘of chivo con chenchén (goat with corn meal) that would be served for the oc- casion, Dominga was ready to receive her blessing. ‘At two in the afternoon, shortly after the three sacred drums had been blessed with rum and prayer, the feast began But just as the palo mayor (main drum) redoubled to signal the beginning ofthe fist danceable ataba, a group of armed guardias commanded by US Marine Captain G. H. Morse Jk stormed into Aleéntaras home, declaring that “the party was oves”™ The ‘marines ordered people to disperse and go home “if they did not want to spend the night injatl.”* They then took the rum, tobacco, and sacred drums OF BANDITS AND WENCHES 59to the police station and had their own party. As she witnessed the desecra- tion of her sacred drums, Dominga wept with rage” ‘On May 15,916, the United States invaded the Dominican Republic. “The eight-year US military occupation followed two decades of unequal tug-of-war between the Empire and the two nations of Hispaniola. In 1904, the US government had seized Dominican customhouses. In 1905, the Uniced States issued sanctions and ultimatums, threatening both na- tions of Hispaniola with the possibility of incervention if they did nor get “upheavals and banditry” under control.* Finally on July 28, x935, with the excuse of protecting US interests in the region, US Marines landed in Haiti, occupying the second-oldest nation of the Americas for a period of nineteen years. A few months later, in May 1916, the occupation spread cast, Despite the local armed and intellectual resistance, the US military ‘was successful in controlling Hispaniola’ population chrough censorship, intimidation, feat, and military force, breaching the two nations’ sover- cignty ac imperial wil. "A brief glance ac the early ewentieth-century United States occupation of Haiti (1915-34) and of the Dominican Republic (1916-24) tells us aloe about the role of the United States in the creation of unequal economic and political systems thar benefit rich corporations while condemning the major- ity of the population to poverty and disenfranchisement. During its eight- year ocenpation of the Dominican Republic, the US government handed Dominican finances over to the National City Bank of New York, which would later be controlled by the Rockefeller Group. This move facilitated corporation ownership of Dominican land for sugar production. Avjother bequeath of the US occupation was the creation of the Guardia Nacional Dominicana (Dominican National Guard, or GND), which served as a ve- hicle forthe ruthless dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (1930-61), the US occupation’ right-hand man and appointed general.” ‘Anequally violent, hough not yet studied effect of the occupation is the criminalization 6f Afro-teligious practices and practitioners through off- cial and unofficial channels. These measures included, as evidenced in the story of Dominga Alcintara, the public desecration of Aro-religious articles, particulasly sacred drums; raids of religious celebrations, including bireh blessings and funerals in the borderland towns; the imprisonmene of san- teros under vagrancy laws; and the branding of the Afro-religious as savage or bandit! Mach like the actions of US military personnel in Abu Ghraib 60 cHaeTER2ducing the Iraq War (2003-4), the confiscation and desecration of Alcén- tarts sacred drums epitomized the marines’ racism and intolerance toward local cultural and religious practices. Letters from marines stationed in the border region spoke of drummingas “haunting and scary” practices of crim- inalsand savages” Some marines even complained the drumming was driv- ing them mad. The confiscation of drums and the punishing of drummers became a common practice of che occupying matinesin their efforts to “civ- ilize” Hispaniola, and as a response to theie fear of blackness. Disconcerted by the sacrilege ofthe Cofradla she had been charged with guarding, Alcintara wrote a letter to the military governor of Santo Do- ‘mingo, General Harry Lee." In it, she denounced the confiscation of the sacred drums ofthe Holy Spisicand demanded their immediate rerarn: Cindadano Almirante: Después de saludaslo tome de mi vil pluma para reclamar me devuelvan los quijongos del espfrieu santo que le dicen los palos camitos del espiriu santo que en San Crist6bal lo tocan como devo- cign, en Las Matas también ya ninguno los han aprehendido solo los de San Juan que los hizo preso al capitén Morcia {Morse] y hasta la fecha cestin presos. Pues yo quiero que Ud. me dia silos palos del espiritu santo son del gobierno o son de las gentes del batey. Ud|.] puede informarse con el General Wenceslao Ramirez si ess hermandad no es muy vieja yel gobi- «emo nunca nos habia probado hasta hoy. Pues me despido con to respeto y cesta tnica ama de dicho quijongo y del esptitu santo queda en espera de su contesta. Dominga Aledntara. P.D. Ahora lo tienen en la gobernacién como distraccién y como ud. comprenderd esos son palos benditos y se usan solo cuando se necesitan.” (emphasis added) [Citizen Admiral: After greeting you, I rook up my mundane pen to de- mand the return of the drums of the Holy Spirit, which are also known as the sticks of camitos of the Holy Spirit, and which are played in cere- monies in San Cristobal and also in Las Matas." And none have been confiscated except for those from San Juan that were stolen by Captain “Morse. So would like it if you told me to whom those drums belong. Do they belong to the government orto the people of the batey? You can ask General Wenceslao Ramirez about this brotherhood, about how old itis and how the government had never fesed us, until today.” This servant ‘ofthe Holy Spirit and only master of those drums respectfully salutes you and waits for your response. PS. Now they have them (the drums) at the (OF BANDITS AND WENCHES. 61