The report says very clearly that it is January 2011 so I can see very little wrong with the journalism in this article

Skysail.....read.....there is loads to be negative about, but to slam someone else for your own lack of comprehension is...well...uneducated.

SAD STORY IN TODAY'S DAILY NEWS PAPER IN NEW YORK CITY.FROM SANTO DOMINGO TO HIS DEATH IN ONLY 3 MONTH'S.

LocalTeen came from Caribbean to Bronx for better life, but gets knifed and killed by gang thugsTeen came from Caribbean to Bronx for better life, but gets knifed and killed by gang thu


Chu for NewsAngel (l.) and Sory Marquez (r.) the uncle and mother of victim Dennis Marquez, hold a photo of the teen, who was killed by gang members after a party.

A teen who moved to the U.S. three months ago was knifed to death by Bronx gang members who demanded to know if he was part of a crew, police sources said Friday.

The suspects, members of the Trinitarios, were captured on video just before they chased and killed 16-year-old Dominican immigrant Dennis Marquez.

"He came from another country so he could have a better life here," said his uncle, Angel Marquez.

"He was a good kid. This is not something that should happen to a good kid."

Dennis Marquez was killed early March 13, but police did not make it public until they released the video Thursday night.

A source said the victim and a small group of friends and relatives attended a Morrisania house party, staying only a short time because they "didn't like the look of things."

When they left, they were confronted by five punks from the Trinitarios, a notorious street gang.

"They asked something to the effect, 'You in a gang?'" the source said.

"The kid gives them a quizzical look like he didn't understand what they were talking about. [The suspects] chased them. He fell behind and they jumped him."

The murder weapon, a blood-slicked steak knife, was recovered, police said.

The video shows nine young men walking near the building where the party was held. It's not clear how many of them were in the group that killed Marquez.

tell many in the dr. if no trade and if u have little education better 4 u to stay in the dr,
and for sure stay the hell out of the bronx.

PuntaCanaMike, go easy on skysail. there is a lot of shrapnel flying around in Libya these days. maybe he got hit on the noggin by by a fragment or two

Maybe he's used to Roman numbers.

2011 is written in Arabic..

Wow! That's really a lot of passengers!

Too bad not much of the money stays in local economy, since most of it is related AIR's [All Inclusive Resorts].

This is clear indication that DR remains very attractive to indernational tourism, with sustained growth.

For our sake and to correct some wrongs, we need to figure out how to get these these tourists to venture out of "AIR's", infuse some money into local economy.

Regrettably, good planning seems lacking in our beloved Quisqueya-perhaps a direct consequence of perpetuated cronyism. We need to break cycle and soon.

We must build enduring attractions beyond "run-of-the-mill" trinkets and focus more on culture [genuine, not contrived], history and art. We also need to insure safety and courtesy for our tourists, to elicit positive experience that would beckon them to return, entice their friends to visit us as well.

MJEV.

Hi Ricardolito !!

They ( DT ) added the time period ( January 2011 ) after my comment was online ....

sky sail maybe a good idea to edit your original comment so as to reflect this .
glomarEx ..you are not correct in stating that not much of the tourist dollar does not stay here and in fact I imagine that only the profit margin and some money for imported food and drink items remains overseas ..there is all the labour costs, there is all the maintenance costs , there are all the purchases of food and of water and of drinks , there are all the costs of laundry of gardening , of medical services of local transport ...all these services are provided here in the DR and are paid for here .. On top of that there is the bed tax paid to the government , the property tax paid annually and the money paid for electricity and for water and for garbage .
If the visitors have come to play golf then they also pay money for carts, caddies and green fees and there are countless tours from the hotels .
So already we are benefiting greatly by the tourist dollar ..not just a little as you suggest .

Rico,

You're right.

Only, if corporate giants like Barceló and Melia paid a little income tax on their actual benefits stashed in Cayman or Andorra, maybe the fuel would be cheaper.

The reality is...at least here in Punta Cana...new restaurants are opening...new shopping centers....an increase (dramatic) in people renting condos instead of AI's....we have a long way to go, but you have to start somewhere and the last year or two has shown that not all people visiting this end of the island are AI'ers.

WalterPolo ..yes I agree and as the corporation tax is not high in the DR it would be good if the corporations in all industries paid their fair share in this country rather than shufling their income around the globe ,but tax cheating is a very contagious thing , especially with the rich

@Rick,

Yes, you are absolutely correct that those operating costs are real. However, these foreign companies are not in business to earn meager returns. I know that me, personally, I would not invest in such ventures as real estate [apartments] if I wasn't earning 1 %/month.

Question is that, given DR labor pool and educational level and high unemployment, labor is but a pittance; same for food cost. Most of the money stays overseas, same as when Sony Corp. assembled TV's in USA in 1990's. They paid little taxes; in fact, many of us paid higher taxes than Sony.

With all associated corruption, many of these tourism corporations do not pay adequate taxes, and the country does not benefit as much as it should.

My father was big promoter of tourism development on North Coast, and lived to regret it later in life; before he passed away last year, he indicated to me that the intended benefits never materialized, and the community effectively got screwed by the AIR's.

MJE

...and the politikeros who steal from the rich, the middle class and the poor.

glomar, i am saddened to hear of the passing of your father. you always post articles which are based in reality, not in hearsay and assumption. whenever i state that tourism is not what people think, insofar as it does not benefit Dominicans, people get incensed. i am glad that people such as yourself, who have practical experiences in these areas, can enlighten the deluded amongst us.

Dr. Dread,

Thank you very much for your kind words.

The article may be good news for Punta Cana, but it is an indictment of the capital, Santo Domino. Obviously the tourists come for the all-inclusive resorts, not the culture and history of the DR.

The country is most promoted as a huge all inclusive resort and that is why most tourists go to Punta Cana. However, significant changes are being made to change the situation. It will not happen from one day to another but slowly changing for the better. Not only that but even the all inclusives benefit the nation as a whole. We must be aware that all the food that is consumed in all inclusive resorts is bought from local fincas and this highly benefits our agriculture industries. The taxes and fees paid with the purchase of each airplane ticket, the 10 dollar fees paid the millions of tourists entering the country. Where we need to focus on is on diversifying our offer and promotion of our diverse tourist destinations and attractions.

ojedamagglio reminds

We must be aware that all the food that is consumed in all inclusive resorts is bought from local fincas and this highly benefits our agriculture industries.

really?

"The country is most promoted as a huge all inclusive resort"
At best, that is all the DR has to offer the tourist, and even that is not done very well. As far as promotion in general is concerted, I don't think it is lacking at all. I have seen a lot of material promoting the flora, fauna, culture, history, architecture and music of DR. Unfortunately when tourists arrive expecting these things, they find them virtually absent.

Mr. Dread,

I will leave you with the following article which should answer your question : http://www.perspectivaciudadana.com/contenido.php?itemid=30896 However I must refrase my previous comment from using the word "all" to "much". Where I am getting to is that if we can create a fucntional plan to completely modernize our agricultre industry and link it to our tourism industry we would take this to a whole different level.

RoyStone,

These things are lacking in Punta Cana but not enough is done to get the tourists to the proper places where they can actually enjoy these things. I for instance brought old friends from NYC and took them for 2 days to Jarabacoa to see the flora and fauna, then we went to Samana for some more flora and fauna and gorgeous beaches and we ended it in Santo Domingo, the first city in the Americas with the only home standing belonging to the Columbus family, the first cobblestone streets in the new world, homes that date back to the 15th century and they preferred it sooo much more than staying in an all inclusive in the deep east with just beaches, sand, sun and resorts. If they were able to get all tourists to get to the right places in order to get the real Dominican experience we would all benefit much more from the tourism industry.

ojedamaggiolo80,
I have seen much of DR but still have not been to Samana. I am keen to go there and hope to find the flora and fauna lacking in the rest of DR. From what I have read, it is better preserved since most of the inhabitants are foreigners.

actually, Roy, there are several masters of Dominican history, right here, in this site. check the forum, and read the insights of people like Cibaeno and Mr Lautaro, who are both as scholarly and professorial as it gets. the buscones who are masquerading as historians in the tourist ecosystem are a bunch of semi literates who still believe that the earth is flat.

Roy so according to your previous you have visited most of my country since you say "the flora and fauna lacking in the rest of DR". You are wrong. The Dominican Republic has so much flora and fauna that a month visit is not enough to see it all. We have the highest mountain peak in the Caribbean called "El Pico Duarte". Jarabacoa and Constanza offer so much natural beauty that it is breath taking. Bahia de las aguilas is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and the best preserved in our country. The deep south has lake Enriquillo with large alligators, views of the sorrounding mountains, gorgeous beaches in Barahona, beautiful hiking trails etc. I must agree with you in the fact that we lack well trained tour guides who actually know the history of what they are talking about. I totally agree with you on that.

Another thing that I do not agree is with your final comment. Yes there are many ignorant people who do not know how important it is to take care of our beautiful paradise but there are many other Dominicans like myself who know the importance of the flora and fauna of this blessed land called Dominican Republic.

thanks for the article, ojedamagglio. don't believe a word of it. 12 billion pesos translates to 325 million dollars. divide that by 4 to get the amount spent on each tourist, on the average. 80 dollars? explain that one to me. 80 dollars in farm products for each tourist? you sent the article, so i believe that you read it. so, give me your thoughts. As to Ricardolito, i will not bother wasting my time debating him, since he seems to contradict the notion of leakage, which every scholar of caribbean tourism considers to be one of the main weaknesses that plague the industry.

Yes I agree 80 dollars per tourist spent on food is not much however my point is that we as a country must get organized and create a master plan where we multiply that 80 times 3 or even more. If we can modernize our agriculture sector and get all the resorts to solely use our local agricultural products for their supply we will increase those numbers. We need to first of all have a goal, second a master plan, third unite with all parties included and implement the plan.

ojedamagglio, i had a great conversation yesterday with a very accomplished Dominican, who had the answers to many questions which are asked. why does the DR produce some of the best cacao in the world, but imports chocolate bars? because the country was developed along the lines of an importer nation. it was far easier for the owners of capital to import products from the core countries, add a markup, and make a fortune, rather than making products here for export. even today, there is a very short list of manufactured Dominican products which have any international recognition. yes, the cigars are fabulous, and some rum drinkers like Brugal. but, what else is there? no attempt was made to develop the quintessential Dominican product, which would have name and quality recognition the world over. there is no equivalent to Tia Maria, Pickapeppa Sauce, or Ting, which were made in Jamaica when that country had an outward vision. sadly, they too have gone on the import binge

and have sold out to foreign interests, resulting in ballooning unfavorable balances of payments. i ask , repetitively, why it is that Leonel has visited every country on the planet, yet we have not seen him cementing a deal with a manufacturing country to even assemble anything more complicated than Timberlands here.

i just copied this from a blog about hotels and tourism in the caribbean. i will concede that it is only one opinion, from one person, but it reminds me of so many others i have had regarding Punta Cana

In Jamaica though, Most of the resorts are pretty similar. You'll also find everything there that you'll get at Punta Cana, the biggest difference is the Night Life. At Punta Cana I found myself just sitting at a bar at night or listening to Karaoke. I got very bored after a couple days. In Jamaica, I had all of that plus more. My friends and I didn't end up back at our rooms till very early morning of the next day. I've realized that Jamaica is a big party country and you'll find lots of fun and crazy foreigners looking to have fun!

So just think about that, there are 24 hours and the day and you can only spend so much of it sitting on a beach. You want great day trips and night life.

forget about the part which speaks to the entertainment in Jamaica, and focus upon that which describes the lack of things to do in Punta Cana. that is what creates the low return rate, because, as the writer ststes, there are 24 hours in a day.

dreadlocks,
glad you mentioned chocolate.
I am a self-confessed chocoholic, and as DR grows the stuff, I was looking forward to sampling the local fare. No such luck! Searched the supermarkets and stores for plain dark or milk chocolate (to make chocolate mousse) - nowhere to be found. Now whenever I go to Australia I bring back loads!

As a general point, there is a lot of scope for developing industries based on replacing imports.

As for Lionel's many recent overseas trips, I suspect they had little to do with promoting DR and more about life after DR politics - UN Secretary General perhaps?

ojedamaggiolo80,
Thank you for the suggestions - I will definably follow them.
Pico Duarte has been on my to-do list for some time. At 3,087 meters it may be the highest in the Caribbean, which is not saying much by world standards (although much higher than Australia's Mt Kosciuszko). It seems Dominicans are not very interested in their highest mountain, first climbed by a German-born Brit in 1851, 1 1/2 centuries after the discovery of your little island. The height was not even measured with any accuracy until 2003. It was previously thought to be 53 meters higher!
The original (rightful?) name is Monte Tina, then changed to Pico Trujillo by you-know-who, then changed to Pico Duarte a few bullets later.

Roy, take a simple example about import substitution and opportunity. the DR produces some fantastic coffee. coffee is the number 2 traded commodity on the planet, after oil. think about the annual revenues of two companies...FOLGERS and TASTER'S CHOICE. they are both instant coffee manufacturers. instant coffee is big business in the US, and Europe, because most working people are on the run, and have no time to brew a gourmet cup of java before heading off to the grind. so, why has nobody set up a freeze dryer here, to make the stuff? i mean, a little sandbar like jamaica has been doing that since the 70s. if someone has the answer, i would appreciate it if they would enlighten me.

Roy, take a simple example about import substitution and opportunity. the DR produces some fantastic coffee. coffee is the number 2 traded commodity on the planet, after oil. think about the annual revenues of two companies...FOLGERS and TASTER'S CHOICE. they are both instant coffee manufacturers. instant coffee is big business in the US, and Europe, because most working people are on the run, and have no time to brew a gourmet cup of java before heading off to the grind. so, why has nobody set up a freeze dryer here, to make the stuff? i mean, a little sandbar like jamaica has been doing that since the 70s. if someone has the answer, i would appreciate it if they would enlighten me.

I agree and that is why I am encouraging all of us Dominicans in our little island (and abroad) as Roy stated, to unite and create a master plan. There have been many mistakes along the way I must admit but it is not too late and the same way we are fighting por el 4% for education we can change the dynamics of our very loved island nation.

ojedamagglio makes this patriotic observation

I agree and that is why I am encouraging all of us Dominicans in our little island (and abroad) as Roy stated, to unite and create a master plan.

ojeda, the dominicans who are first generation are too busy getting the lineage going to think about coming back and making things better. they are trying to assimilate into the culture, and establish themselves in foreign countries. they save for 5 years to buy a ticket to come home for vacation. when they get here, they realise why they left in the first place. in New York, they get into a minor traffic accident, exchange insurance information, and go on their way. in the DR, they hit a motoconcho which cut them off, and end up being surrounded by 100 others. they are wearing FUBU, so everyone thinks they are living abroad, and 90 guys want to shake them down. when they go back yo new york, they vow that they will only visit, but never return. their kids hated the place, because the lights

at abuela´s house went off 12 hours per day, and they missed the bulk of the NBA playoffs. the parents just could not think of coming back and bringing the kids with them. not everyone can afford Carol Morgan. so, they hang in until they are too old to go back home. by now, they are members of some neighborhood committee, or the PTA, or something like that...they have respectability, and recognition, at last. nope....it will not happen. besides, if they do go back, the guys who never left will consider them to be interlopers, and bury them under mountains of petty jealousy.

Well Mr. dread it just so happens that thankfully not all of us think alike and my siblings and I all grew up in NYC and came back to our homeland. All of us. We are 3 and we are all living here and have invested here and live happy in our island. My parents lived in the USA for over 25 years and today are also living here in our island. I am not saying that we are depending on the Dominican diaspora, when I mentioned the ones abroad I just did not want to exclude any Dominican. My point is just to unite! To come up with a master plan and put it to use. As everything it is easier said than done, but not impossible to do. Especially those living here today need to come together and improve whatever it is that we do, come together, link all indurstries of the economy and figure out a plan on how to triplicate our economy. There are still enough of us Dominicans who care enough about our nation to make a difference.

ojedamaggiolo80,
I am curious, can I ask you what you do for a living? Perhaps DR is a great place to live provided you have made enough money overseas to live off your investments. However for those born in DR with nothing, it is not so easy.

ojedamagglio, i commend you for your decision to come back home and invest here. however, i would bet my dollars to your donuts that you have seen less than i have, in life. i am sure that you are younger than i am, so, i offer a cautionary note. you will not be able to bring your knowledge that you acquired abroad and change much here. maybe you will invest in something, and apply the efficiences that you learned abroad, and do it more profitably than guys who never left. but, you will not change the CULTURE of how things are done. you will not teach the powers that be that hiring people based on resume is more efficacious than hiring by family and political connections. there are cases in which you will be seen as an interloper, and resentments will result. just do the best for yourself and your family, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. forget the rest. a quick anecdote....i once saw a bunch of Dominican engineers repairing a stretch of road. my buddy is a guy who built

several federal highways in the USA and Puerto Rico, and he was watching the work, also. he recognised immediately that they were making basic mistakes, and offered some suggestions. well, the results were not pleasant, and he was told, in words to that efffect, to bugger off. needless to say, in 3 months, the road was impassable once more. well, maybe that is what is meant to happen, so they can be paid once again to repair it. in the USA, the government would have sued them , and demanded that it be repaired at their cost. you cannot make that happen here, even if you lived in the USA, or Spain or the UK for a hundred years.

dreadlocks,
You talk about efficiency. In DR is is all about being seen to do something.Example. I was waiting in my care for someone for a few hours at the university. A woman was sweeping the stairs. She spent the whole time chatting to people. Chat five minutes, sweep the same spot ten seconds, then repeat. When she left there was more rubbish on the stairs and pathway (except for on tiny spot) than when she started. Probably wasn't paid much, but achieved nothing.

yes, Roy. she probably got the job because she is the aunt of the local diputado. that is what i am trying to get across to ojeda. it is the CULTURE. in ex British colonies, if you are a humble civil servant, who works in the department of pensions, or the treasury, you are an employee for life. doesn´t matter which political party you are in. not so in the DR. here, that same lady who sweeps the stairs today, will be out looking for a job if Leonel´s party loses. that is not a good way to run a railroad.

Thanks guys, Yes I am aware that I am much younger than you Dread and I appreciate your advice. Roy I am in the construction business here in DR. My family and I own a small inmobiliaria. I agree with you dread in the fact that I cannot change this country all on my own or may never see a change in my lifetime but I cannot give up. I love my home land too much to just sit back and enjoy the fruit of my labor without making an attempt to make a difference here in DR. In our company we follow the same exact ethics as abroad and many here have been impressed others have criticized my system in a negative way. However even within my family members who have never lived abroad but own certain business of themselves I have caused a possitive impact in the way I do business and I hope that just maybe someday the whole country will change for the possitive. It may just be wishful thinking, but after all it is my country and it will be the only I get in this lifetime

So I will continue to do what I do best in my small business and hope many more will see and immitate. I do it for the love of my country and my people.