An exciting taste of the Dom Rep
published: Sunday | March 5, 2006

A merengue party broke out at the reception to mark the 162nd anniversary of the independence of the Dominican Republic, held at the Hilton Kingston hotel, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, on Monday, February 27. - PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER

WAS THIS a suite in a hotel or a tropical island in the Caribbean Sea? The embassy of the Dominican Republic hosted a reception to mark the 162nd anniversary of their Independence on Monday. The suite was decorated with flora and fauna and a myriad of colourful native dishes. As Ambassador Filomena Navarro stated, it was their way of giving their guests a piece of them.

Wild birds and a pair of serpents (yes, real animals) made you wonder if you were in an episode of Survivor. A beach setting with sand and stones (even a beach chair) added to the island theme. There were fruits such as squash and other agricultural produce like sugar cane (all of which the Dominican Republic produces) in a separate display. Guests, especially Jamaicans, got a true sense of the daily world of their neighbours.

MERENGUE

Part of the republic's culture is the merengue and as soon as she left the microphone, Ambassador Navarro took a willing State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Delano Franklyn and opened the dance floor. A mini dance session broke out as the infectious Latin rhythms took over a few guests.

To ensure a truly Dominican culinary experience, the embassy officials brought chef Victor Peralta from the Hilton Santo Domingo to prepare the dishes. Sangria, the drink of the Dominican Republic, was in abundance although having too many would make you a little groggy in the knees.

Among the guests were Belgian Ambassador Herman Portocarero, Chinese Consul Xiao Jian Guo, Ambassador David Coore and wife Maria, Honduran Ambassador Roberto Matute and wife Rebecca, Chilean Ambassador Alfonso Silva and wife Ada, Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, Gerd and Mara Jarchow, soon-to-be departing Trinidad High Commissioner Dennis Francis, Mexican Ambassador Leonora Rueda, Russian Ambassador Igor Lebedev and wife Olga, Nigerian High Commissioner Olufolajimi Akintola, UNDP representative Juan Espinola, Peruvian Ambassador Luis Sandiga, Willie Lampert and Anna Kaiser, Maxine Roberts, Sandra Grant-Griffiths, Frank Rosheuvel, Brazilian Ambassador Cezar Amaral and Jorge Insuasti of the Argentine embassy.