Hello and welcome Peter! Along with Josh Torres, I am the sometimes present co-admin for the network, so if you ever run into any difficulties in using this site, please let either of us know. It's great to have you in this network and I hope you find it beneficial and can make good use of it.

I love your blogs, so I was especially happy to see you here.

Very best wishes and a warm welcome.

Peter very intersting comment. I lived in the dominican rep for about 3 years in the village that my parents are from. I did get to go to diffrent part of the cibao region. Ofcourse not all. But unlike you I was not able to meet every person in the dominican rep let alone every person of cibao region. How did you accomplish that? I belive that there are about 10 million dominicans in the island. But If you would have checked your history you could have saved yourself some time and just to meet people from the cibao region where it claim that we are the deccendants of enriqullo's people.

I still stand by my comment that there are poeple in Kiskeya, boriken and cuba that are pure or atleast very close to pure.


One more thing I will check with some of my relative to make sure you talked to them and friends from janico and other friend from other part of this region. Because to make a statement like yours tells me that you spoke with every dominican in the island.

Your statement is like me saying that there are no full blooded african in the island. Ofcourse there are. I personaly have met african dominican that even speak there african language. And still perform african ceromonies. In the island there are even german jews who did not mix with the population. But know some knuckele head dominicans are claiming all dominicans have german jew anecestory. Redicoulus.










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Ruben platano story is actually a story I told him. I am sure some other regions have simialar storys. My parents actually ate platano when they came to the states. They had no clue what it was. 60% is not close to pure. Chuck norris is about 50%. I would dare say tht there could be close to 90% and even 100%. Living in kiskeya, boriken and cuba. Remember that when eriqiullo took the free tainos. There could have been a few mestizos. But there where brave taino warrios who were not even slaves. I am sure some of them intermarried with these mestizos and eventually the admixture got higher to taino on most folks.


Remember you and I and no one can claim to know every person that comes from these three island. Its impossible. Just like there are full blooded europeans living in the island there is no thought that there could be full blooded tainos. And I am sure a few other who are very close to pure.

Peter,


You wrote" I've never claimed to have talked to everyone in the DR. I would never make such a rediculous statement.

I was actually being sarcastic because of your dought of no pure blood or close to pure blood comment. Today I reread my comment to you. I realized that it was very rude. I apologize for that. I wrote it in the heat of the moment. As I get very upset when I hear the no pure or no close to pure tainos in kiskeya boriken and cuba comments.



Your wrote "But remember, full-blooded means that 100% of both the mother's and father's blood is Taino or indigenous. That is very hard to do, especially after 500 years of colonization"

I said there could be full blooded or very close to full meaing maybe 90%. I understand what your saying. But bare with me for a second. I want to paste the same story I told ruben about how secluded some part in the cibao region are.

Intersting story. My dad was talking to me and my brother in law. He had just cooked yucca. I told him( que bueno yo le tenia un deso a la yucca) My dad started talking about yucca. He said that the town that they are from use to make casibbe bread. And that this process has to be handled with care. Cuase making cassebe can be dangeruous casue of the poisines liqued. He mentioed a way to filter it. I was paying attention. But I was already familir with this process cause of my studies........Anyways what he and my mom told us next stunned me and my brother in law. Both my parents said that they both ate plantanos for the first time here in the USA. In the late 60's. They said that they didt even know what a platano was until they came to the states. Yucca was the main crop even till this day. Ofcourse now they have platanos but yucca is the dominant vegie. That is crazy. So for over 400 years of platain being in DR. These folks had never even seen a plantain. Intersting ha!


The above story is compeling. Platano is a main veggie in the dominican rep but these folks didnt know it exsisted untill the late 60's and only when they came to the states and interaceted with dominicans not from cibao region.


You wrote'I have no doubts that part of the culture still survives, and that many people are 100% culturally indigenous, but if you run the math it is very hard to maintain 100% biological full-blood"


Taino culture has even survived with folks in the island that are not even there deccendant. Let alone us. Your last sentice we going to have to agree to disagree with that one. My platano story alone is compleling enought to add questoin marks to the no pure tainos or close to pure.





You wrote "I hope you don't think I am being rude or doubtful"

You were not rude, I was rude and I apologize. Not to sound like a broken record there is no dought in my mind that there are tainos in these three island that are not only close to being pure but are pure.