In our country, many streets and avenues are undeservedly named after public figures who have long shadows in their lives. And one cannot explain how they were chosen to name certain streets.
The consideration comes from the award-winning writer José Alcántara Almánzar, director of the cultural department of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, who points out that, on the contrary, to appear on a banknote of that institution, the characters have to be immaculate.
“The first thing we do is to investigate the resumes of those people who are proposed to join a banknote family. They are usually heroes, men and women who fought for the freedom of our people, and brilliant intellectuals,” he said.
It is true, he clarified, that “Trujillo appears not only on a banknote but on a coin, but we know that this happened during his dictatorship, when he decided everything.”
“There are banknotes of unquestionable figures, such as Duarte, an upright hero who gave his life to make National Independence possible, and who, paradoxically, was exiled by the first government of the Republic.”
So we should not be surprised, he added, that those who deserve a street do not have one. He described the merits of Salomé Ureña, Pedro Henríquez Ureña, José Reyes, Emilio Prud-Homme, Patria, Minerva, María Teresa Mirabal and other patriots, great humanists, masters of music and national compositions that appear on ballots and coins of the official entity.
Alcántara Almánzar considers it inexplicable that major avenues have names of foreign presidents. “This shows the influence of the United States in our country and the desire to please them,” he said, referring to some American leaders who have the names of major roads in the capital.
He regretted that local personalities have been given insignificant little streets to honour them, in completely small or little-known neighbourhoods. “How do you explain that many streets have numbers?” he asked and opined that “they should have names of deserving people.”
“But that is the role of the council, and it is the councillors who make the decision. If it is going to be done well, it must be determined who can be included, so that it is coherent: musicians, teachers, poets, distinguished professionals.”
He complained about the signage and said that, although the National District City Council is making an effort, there are many unmarked streets. “It should not be on a light pole but on a wall. Or build a small cement wall at eye level.” Many of the signs, he observed, “sometimes rust, fade, some can be carried away by any large vehicle.”
El Millón. José Alcántara Almánzar questioned the fact that the El Millón urbanization is full of streets named after works by the government of Joaquín Balaguer. “They should be renamed, giving them meaningful names. I think they should be replaced by relevant figures in the history of our country.”
He questioned names such as Tavera Dam and Cruzada del Amor, but there are also Pidagro, Olympic Center, Corde, Doce Juegos, School Palaces, Road Works, Rural Clinics, Valdesia Dam, National Theater and others that were Balaguerist projects, assigned “for political purposes to highlight the figure of the former ruler.”
American Presidents. “I am not opposed, for example, to the existence of an Abraham Lincoln Street; he is the liberator of black slaves in the United States and that marked a new stage and an example for other nations that were still subject to iniquitous or slave regimes.”
However, he considered that others do not deserve this tribute, because they are “symbols of interference, domination, flattery…”
“Why are so many important streets and avenues named after American or European presidents when they should be named after our own?” he asked.
He stressed that the municipal authorities in charge of approving names of figures to assign them streets should consult with historians and other experts to find out if there is a historical basis to justify it. “Because many times they do it to please relatives.”
Proposals. For all these reasons, the distinguished historian submitted to the consideration of the National District Council a series of names of “notable figures in literature, history, music, singing, journalism, and social research, who can perfectly appear with pride and dignity in the names of our streets.”
Almost all of them, he added, “are Dominicans, and foreigners have earned the status of Dominicans through their contributions to the country. However, they have not been recognized as they deserve by our municipal authorities.”
Alcántara Almánzar not only mentioned them, but also made a brief assessment of the life, work and contributions of each one. Their names will be offered in future installments.
