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National Geographic : 1977 Oct
Contents
appropriated half the country's resources and squirreled away several hundred million dol lars in banks abroad as well. The seaside boulevard on which Trujillo died, on May 30, 1961, is now Autopista 30 de Mayo. There, on the capital's western edge, he leaped out of his car, drawing his pistol and shouting to his ambushers, "Come on, let's fight." He lost, and his death led to five years of tension, tumult, and strife. Trujillo's Fate Stirs Continuing Fear Across the road from where he died of 27 bullet wounds, a monument was erected, with a plaque: "Glory to the Act of Liberation of 30 May." I found only the cracked pedestal, the inscription destroyed. Obviously Tru jillo still has his admirers. By the manner of his death, he has left the Republic a legacy of fear. Determined that there be no more assassinations or uprisings, the president and army have put the troops out where everyone can see them-and their carbines and submachine guns. A friend in the capital told me wryly, "We have 3,000 troops on the streets, to make people feel secure." None of this makes tourists feel secure, but President Balaguer is intent on making the Republic a tourist country. Santo Domingo has several luxury hotels, good value by com parison to other Caribbean resort cities. Res taurant food in the capital is delectable, especially at the two Vesuvios (Italian), Hos tal de Nicolas de Ovando (Spanish), and La Fromagerie (French). Fish and shellfish are the dishes, and none better than in two little open-air places far from the capital, the Oasis at Sosua and La Roca in Barahona. The capital (following pages) does have those sights tourists can't bear to miss: the old colonial quarter, with beautifully restored historic 16th-century structures, and the Tomb of Columbus. Dominicans are con vinced that Columbus's bones rest in Santo Domingo's cathedral, though Spaniards claim they are in Seville. The big hole in Santo Domingo's tourist array is a beach. The nearest swimming is 20 miles away at Boca Chica, a shallow bay, fringed by crowds vibrant with local color. For luxury beach life we had to move 70 miles east of the capital to Casa de Campo (pages 562-3), where Casa guests can take a half-hour yacht trip to spend the day in a bewitching cove named Bayahibe. The Casa de Campo is one of four fash ionable hotels that Gulf + Western, a con glomerate, built and operates in the Republic, while continuing its big sugar and ranching activities around La Romana. Gulf+ Western is the most visible American presence, cre ating jobs for 15,000 Dominicans. But Amer ican mining operations are coming on strong. Since 1975 the Rosario Dominicana com pany, near Cotui, has been turning out "gold bricks"-well, they're 75 percent silver-at the rate of 1,000 ounces of gold a day. "In the 16th century, the Spanish worked a gold mine in the Dominican sports world, where fans root for U. S. as well as local teams. 553
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