Quisqueya La Bella: Dominican Republic in Historical and Cultural Perspective

by Alan Cambeira

A history of the Dominican Republic from pre-Columbian times to the present. The book focuses on the merger of three cultures across time - the indiginous cultures of the Caribbean, the Iberians of southern Europe and the Africans.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563249367
• ISBN13: 9781563249365
• Release Date: December 1996
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Quisqueya La Bella "Athens of the New World"

Everybody called Quisqueya the "Athens of the New World". It is a country with beautiful beaches and beautiful people and a complex history. The island's ethnic mix of indigenuous, European (mainly Spanish) and African cultures and their merger across time resulted in the distinctive Dominican culture that we know today. Cambeira's passion for his native island is evident on every page. This book gave me a really different and fresh perspective from other books on the subject by other authors that I have read. This is an excellent personal interpretation that I'm recommending to anyone interested in learning about the Atena del Nuevo Mundo.Thanks to the Author. My next reading will certainly be his novel that everybody is talking about: Azucar! The Story of Sugar.

"The Beautiful Quisqueya"

"Quisqueya" was the name that the pre-Columbian indigenous Taino people called their island before the Europeans arrived; it meant "Mother of All Lands." Today, the Dominican Republic (with the Republic of Haiti) occupies that island in the Caribbean. The author Alan Cambeira presents an overview of the historical and cultural development of the Dominican Republic from pre-Columbian times to the present. Cambeira shows how the encounter and merger of the three cultures across time have resulted in a distinctive Dominican Culture. The book also includes abundant geographical coverage and 3 appendixes that describe language diffences and other contemporary cultural concerns. For anyone planning a trip to this island or the the Caribbean generally will find this book a requirement before going. He does an excellent job in telling this story.A Must Read Book!

Quisqueya La Bella- Excellent Interpretation

More than a history text, Quisqueya La Bella helps you interpret the cultural and ethnic aspects that shaped the Dominican Republic. Read about one of the largest immigrant groups to the U.S.; read how the town of San Pedro de Macoris is home to more major league baseball players than any city in the world; read how the Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo brutually kept his iron-fisted grip on the island for over 31 years; read about the complex and often disturbing relationship with neighboring Haiti and how the Dominican Republic gave birth to the world-famous Merengue. Follow the rise and fall of slavery, sugar, and revolution. This English language book paints the "essential kaleidoscopic ingredients" of a fascinating people."Excellent Book" Very Highly Recommended

QUISQUEYA LA BELLA--*A SOLID CONTRIBUTION*

Quisqueya la Bella is a solid contribution to the understanding of the Dominican Republic today. It helps to close the existing gap concerning in-depth analysis in English of both the Dominican people and the socioeconomic problems that currently afflict Dominican society. Both deserve a wide audience...The author's text is generally passionate and committed...Cambeira sets out the shed light on the understanding of the Dominican mind.New West Indian Guide Vol. 73 no. 1 & 2

"BUILDING COMPASIONATE BRIDGES & ERASING FEAR"

The sad coincidence of the tragic fate of American Airlines flight 587 and at the same time finishing Alan Cambeira's fascinating book about the evolution of Dominican Culture is uncanny. Like any fascinating work, "Quisqueya La Bella" has opened my heart and mind in truly eradicating my irrational fear and shameful ignorance about a beautiful community of people that knows true suffering at every turn. Flight 587 and this excellently crafted book should leave all of us with a new found, genuine compassion to seek the truth.This book and the people of the Dominican Republic really touched me deeply. This is the best of its kind that I've ever read in my life..I give 5 stars...Will become the seminal work.