Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Author:Angie Cruz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flatiron Books

Juan and his brothers now tune in to the radio at all hours and scour the papers to figure out what all of the political business will mean for them. They invested more money than they actually had, borrowing here to pay there, a real gamble. After years of making friends in the courts, in the government, in the banks, to get around the endless bureaucracy, they’re in a panic. Nothing in Dominican Republic can be done without knowing someone. If the country goes left, they want to be ready, but if it goes right, they want to be ready too.

On April 24, 1965, José Francisco Peña Gómez, the only black man in recent history to have a chance for the presidency, took control of the government and Radio Santo Domingo. The announcement was timed for two in the afternoon, strategically post lunch, when most citizens would be waking from the siesta and listening to the radio. Peña Gómez announced the overthrow of Donald Reid Cabral’s provisional, American-backed government and rallied the people out into the streets.

Forget the curfew, Peña Gómez told them, it won’t be enforced. And so all over the country people overflowed the street corners and the avenues, celebrating. Even Juan, who’d never trusted a black man, admired Peña Gómez.

It takes some real cojones to seize the radio station, Juan says.

Juan, César, and Hector sit around the dining table hedging their bets while I feed them. I don’t want to worry about Mamá, Papá, and everyone back home, but it’s impossible not to worry with all the Ruiz brother talk.

Ramón’s wife’s brother’s cousin’s sister, who is a housekeeper at the Palace, has been feeding Ramón firsthand accounts of what is happening on the ground. She’s the one who makes the military generals’ beds and scrubs their toilets. What housekeeper doesn’t keep an archive of her boss’s invaluable trash? Ramón mentions documents dating back since 1963 that prove the United States has been meddling in the Dominican Republic’s affairs, stashed underneath mattresses just in case a poor devil needs a favor.

Just like they went into Vietnam, says Ramón, the Americans are now in Dominican Republic. Punto y basta.

Even if Donald Reid Cabral was not elected by the people, he rules the military. He may not be a dictator like Trujillo, but he too would not think twice before having us all at best kneel on rice. So Ramón bets his money on Cabral.

There’s no way any Dominican leader will win without America’s guns.

Juan Bosch won once, he will win again, César says.

That’s because he had Kennedy’s ear, says Juan. But look where Kennedy is now. Dead. Dreaming is good to do when you’re sleeping. But as long as we’re awake, nobody wants to go hungry.

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