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Dominican Republic
[from "Communications Landscaping: North and Latin American Transnational Communities"]
By Karin Weyland and others - Fundación Melassa
Summary
The most important population of Dominican origin abroad is located in the New York City. This dispersed population represents near 600,000 persons (Hernández, R; Rivera-B, F. 2003) out of the 1.5 million persons of Dominican origin who live in the United States and out of the 8.5 million who live in the Dominican Republic . The mere size of these figures infers that the local population / emigrant population in the United States ratio is almost 5 to 1. Along these lines, we may deduce that for every family living in the Dominican Republic there is at least one emigrant who is a member of a translocal community in the United States.
At present, telephone communication is the main medium used by the transnational communities. It is fundamentally motivated by family and interpersonal exchange needs. It is number one not only for the population living in the Dominican Republic but also for the Dominican population living in the United States. For example, among the Hispanos, the Dominican community in the United States holds fourth place for making calls that total more than 30 minutes a week.
Mail, radio stations, and the press are still important in spite of the incorporation of new technological trends in digital communication and information technology. A good indicator of this is the fact that the Dominican still boasts its number one position among Latin American nations for most FM frequency broadcasting stations per number of inhabitants, more than 180 stations and for most AM stations with 130. In addition, we should mention the progressive increase in radio stations that transmit in image, voice, and data in real time, offering new contact and information possibilities and chaining US stations with the Dominican ones.
To all of the above we would like to add that TV channels are the most used information media within both of the translocal communities and indirectly they enable the two to keep mutually informed one of the other. In this case we indicate the important role that the competition between the TV chains UNIVISION (60-70%) and TELEMUNDO (40-30%) play in Hispano market control. Due to this competition and to the development of UHF channels, today the communications media are much more direct and instantaneous in real time. A factor that significantly contributes to this dynamic is the existence of more than 60 TV channels, most of which broadcast on the UHF frequency and on cable.
Another factor worth mentioning is the experienced use of the Internet as a communications tool in the youth segment of the local Dominican population. For example, in frequent visits to Internet cafés, we saw that more than 90% of the users are youths under 30 years old.
Generally speaking, we may conclude by saying that in the Dominican Republic, TV and the press still represent the main information media for the translocal communities and Internet is an alternate medium greatly used by the younger population.
With the introduction of new advanced voice, data, and image communication Technologies, we have witnessed a transformation in the use of traditional communications media. Some of these changes are newspapers now available via Internet, free use of Internet services in community centers, and, obviously unlimited local usage plans.
However, we must indicate that local communities in the Dominican Republic are at a disadvantage regarding access to communications media as compared to local communities of a Dominican origin living in the United States, fundamentally due to the size of the market, the language, and limited access to technologies. These disadvantages mean the possibility of having more communication sources and options in the United States in the case of radio, TV, and the press, the use of telephone service and Internet, in addition to being able to take more time and make more frequent contacts.
Remittances are linked to the development of communications in a relationship of mutual growth. Thanks to the advances in communications, there are more and more remittances, as compared to the previous manner of sending money once every two or three months with people traveling or through the mail. In turn, sending a remittance is complemented by a phone call to verify that the remittance was received. These calls are an almost mandatory reason to communicate more often and the parties take advantage of the call to share other kinds of information.
The importance of transnational communities has become evident from the recent interest that intellectuals have in doing historical, cultural, socio-economic, and literary research on the resident community in the Dominican Republic and on those dispersed in the United States. In this respect, Dominican associations in New York universities, such as CUNY, Columbia, Cornell, as well as NGOs research and study centers, institutes, and foundations have played an important role.
We also highlight the work of community groups in New York who have incorporated into their Hispano-aimed activities exchanges with homologous organizations in the Dominican Republic for having panels, conferences, and artistic and cultural exhibits.
Some of the strongest initiatives are Dominican Week in New York during which there are conferences, talks, and exhibits; the Dominican Parade every year to celebrate a week of festivities for National Independence Day on February 27; activities to commemorate the birthday of founding father Juan Pablo Duarte, on Saint Nichol Avenue, renamed Duarte Boulevard in Upper Manhattan, every January 26.
We also highlight the development of social expression and group organization mechanisms for civic-social activities, such as Foundation for the Defense of Dominicans Living Abroad, Dominican taxicab driver associations, and Dominican stevedore associations, organized for purposes of solidarity and development.
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By Karin Weyland and others - Fundación Melassa
Summary
The most important population of Dominican origin abroad is located in the New York City. This dispersed population represents near 600,000 persons (Hernández, R; Rivera-B, F. 2003) out of the 1.5 million persons of Dominican origin who live in the United States and out of the 8.5 million who live in the Dominican Republic . The mere size of these figures infers that the local population / emigrant population in the United States ratio is almost 5 to 1. Along these lines, we may deduce that for every family living in the Dominican Republic there is at least one emigrant who is a member of a translocal community in the United States.
At present, telephone communication is the main medium used by the transnational communities. It is fundamentally motivated by family and interpersonal exchange needs. It is number one not only for the population living in the Dominican Republic but also for the Dominican population living in the United States. For example, among the Hispanos, the Dominican community in the United States holds fourth place for making calls that total more than 30 minutes a week.
Mail, radio stations, and the press are still important in spite of the incorporation of new technological trends in digital communication and information technology. A good indicator of this is the fact that the Dominican still boasts its number one position among Latin American nations for most FM frequency broadcasting stations per number of inhabitants, more than 180 stations and for most AM stations with 130. In addition, we should mention the progressive increase in radio stations that transmit in image, voice, and data in real time, offering new contact and information possibilities and chaining US stations with the Dominican ones.
To all of the above we would like to add that TV channels are the most used information media within both of the translocal communities and indirectly they enable the two to keep mutually informed one of the other. In this case we indicate the important role that the competition between the TV chains UNIVISION (60-70%) and TELEMUNDO (40-30%) play in Hispano market control. Due to this competition and to the development of UHF channels, today the communications media are much more direct and instantaneous in real time. A factor that significantly contributes to this dynamic is the existence of more than 60 TV channels, most of which broadcast on the UHF frequency and on cable.
Another factor worth mentioning is the experienced use of the Internet as a communications tool in the youth segment of the local Dominican population. For example, in frequent visits to Internet cafés, we saw that more than 90% of the users are youths under 30 years old.
Generally speaking, we may conclude by saying that in the Dominican Republic, TV and the press still represent the main information media for the translocal communities and Internet is an alternate medium greatly used by the younger population.
With the introduction of new advanced voice, data, and image communication Technologies, we have witnessed a transformation in the use of traditional communications media. Some of these changes are newspapers now available via Internet, free use of Internet services in community centers, and, obviously unlimited local usage plans.
However, we must indicate that local communities in the Dominican Republic are at a disadvantage regarding access to communications media as compared to local communities of a Dominican origin living in the United States, fundamentally due to the size of the market, the language, and limited access to technologies. These disadvantages mean the possibility of having more communication sources and options in the United States in the case of radio, TV, and the press, the use of telephone service and Internet, in addition to being able to take more time and make more frequent contacts.
Remittances are linked to the development of communications in a relationship of mutual growth. Thanks to the advances in communications, there are more and more remittances, as compared to the previous manner of sending money once every two or three months with people traveling or through the mail. In turn, sending a remittance is complemented by a phone call to verify that the remittance was received. These calls are an almost mandatory reason to communicate more often and the parties take advantage of the call to share other kinds of information.
The importance of transnational communities has become evident from the recent interest that intellectuals have in doing historical, cultural, socio-economic, and literary research on the resident community in the Dominican Republic and on those dispersed in the United States. In this respect, Dominican associations in New York universities, such as CUNY, Columbia, Cornell, as well as NGOs research and study centers, institutes, and foundations have played an important role.
We also highlight the work of community groups in New York who have incorporated into their Hispano-aimed activities exchanges with homologous organizations in the Dominican Republic for having panels, conferences, and artistic and cultural exhibits.
Some of the strongest initiatives are Dominican Week in New York during which there are conferences, talks, and exhibits; the Dominican Parade every year to celebrate a week of festivities for National Independence Day on February 27; activities to commemorate the birthday of founding father Juan Pablo Duarte, on Saint Nichol Avenue, renamed Duarte Boulevard in Upper Manhattan, every January 26.
We also highlight the development of social expression and group organization mechanisms for civic-social activities, such as Foundation for the Defense of Dominicans Living Abroad, Dominican taxicab driver associations, and Dominican stevedore associations, organized for purposes of solidarity and development.
Back to index.
Back to Table of Contents.
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