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“Flan” is the Spanish name for vanilla egg custard, topped with caramel sauce. Flan makes a great finish to any meal because even though it is sweet, it is a light dessert.
Ingredients for 4:
2.5 cups of milk
100 g of sugar
4 eggs
2 vanilla beans
Caramel Ingredients
150 g of sugar
1/4 tsp. of water
Directions:
Put a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar. With a wooden spoon, keep the sugar moving constantly in skillet until sugar is completely melted, and of a rich medium brown color (caramelized). Pour the caramel into dish.
In another saucepan boil the milk with the vanilla. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl add the eggs beat slightly, Mix in the sugar. Stirring constantly, gradually add hot Milk. Pour the mixture into the dish that already has the caramel.
Place the filled casserole dish into a larger pan and add 1 inch of HOT water to the outer pan. Bake at 150 ° C for about 25 minutes.
As I travel around the Caribbean (and to some extent this is true in Latin America, too), I find nearly every island has some kind of homegrown hooch (often rum-based) that purports to be “medicinal” (and sometimes certainly tastes the part), often including revitalizing, curative, and even aphrodisiac qualities. And if you’re staying at one of the Iberostar resorts out in Punta Cana, up in Playa Dorada/Puerto Plata, or down in Bayahibe, you may well come across the Dominican variation on this type of esteemed elixir.
The name Mamajuana (Spanish for “Mama Jane”) is thought to derive from Dama Juana (Lady Jane), which referred to a traditional kind of large glass jar with a short, narrow neck. Although there is increasing commercial manufacture of mamajuana, it’s still mostly a homemade potion, and everyone has a different recipe. Basically, though, it usually involves botanicals – sticks, leaves, bark, roots, herbs – essentially pickled in 40-proof rum and sometimes leavened with other flavors and sweeteners such as honey, cinnamon, molasses, vanilla, or red wine. And that’s not even counting the animal parts some people add – snails, octopus, and sea turtle penis, anyone?
And honestly, most of the time the resulting brew can look a bit, well, nasty. But most the the versions I’ve tasted actually come across a bit funky – a little hard to describe, actually, but ranging from not bad to downright appealing, and the commercial brands increasingly found on store shelves can be downright silky (one good one is called Kalembú). And while traditionally the drink is imbibed straight or on the rocks, in recent years it’s been finding its way into cocktail culture, either in versions of popular tipples like mojitos, bloody marys (bloody juanas?), and cosmos, but also new inventions like the motoconcho (mamajuana mixed with vodka and rum, garnished with a couple of cherries).
And that “medicinal” part? Mamajuana is held to help with headaches, colds and flu, to help get pregnant or keep from getting pregnant – and of course the ol’ libido (some have taken to referring to it as “liquid Viagra”). Honestly, on that last point I can’t say I noticed much difference, but what the hey. For me it will always evoke warm memories of the Caribbean – particularly the beautiful corner of the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic.
¡Salud!
Photo | Cristian Lazzari/iStock Photo
If you stay at one of the Iberostar resorts out in Punta Cana, up in Playa Dorada/Puerto Plata, or down in Bayahibe, don’t forget to try the best local rums and traditional drinks like the Mamajuana!
Those of a certain age might remember when a trip to the cinema usually involved two movies: the one you’d paid to go and see and a short film, usually no more than 15 minutes, that was quite likely a director’s first attempt at getting noticed by a wider audience. Those days are long gone, but look closely and you will find the occasional short film still being produced, often being added as a bonus on a DVD and telling a back-story to the main feature.
Fast and Furious
One such example is the 20 minute movie Los Bandoleros, directed by the one and only Vin Diesel and shot in the Dominican Republic. Action movie buffs and fans of Vin Diesel films will be familiar with the five The Fast and the Furious films, in which Vin Diesel and friends race a whole array of fast cars, carry lots of bank notes in suspicious sacks and spend most of their time in the company of the type of beautiful girls your parents probably warned you about.
Los Bandoleros served as a prequel to Fast and Furious, the imaginatively-titled fourth installment in the series. At the start of Fast and Furious Dominic (Vin Diesel) and his crew are hijacking fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic, but the reasons for them being in the country are not so clear. This is where Los Bandoleros helps to fill the gap in the story. The short story tells the tale of how the gang reform in the Dominican Republic and includes the small matter of a jail break to get everyone back together.
Perhaps the best thing about short movies such as Los Bandoleros is that they can be watched free of charge and without any fuss. In fact the whole movie is available on Youtube in two installments. The producers are presumably happy for it to be distributed widely as it helps promote the main movie.
The Perfect Beach?
The Dominican Republic also comes out well from Vin Diesel’s short movie. He is a self-confessed admirer of the country and it was no surprise it was chosen as a filming location. Check out the final scenes played out on the stunning Caribbean beach with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez; you may just want to drop everything and find your own way to this tropical paradise.
The Dominican Republic produces some of the world’s top premium hand-rolled cigarros (cigars), and certainly its largest quantity; many aficionados consider the quality of its stogies equal to or in some cases superior to Cuba’s (in fact, much of the DR’s know-how, tobacco-plant seeds/stock, and producers are transplants from Cuba, fleeing expropriation in the 1960s). The bulk of the tobacco-growing heartland is in the Yaque valley near the inland city of Santiago, the countrys second largest, and centered around the towns of Villa González and Jacagua, with brands including Arturo Fuente, León Jiménez, and Davidoff.
So it goes without saying that the DR’s three Iberostar resorts offer guests easy access and opportunity to purchase swell smokes – and even to watch some being made right before their eyes. I caught up with Nelson Cruz Barrera, 40, a Santiago native and veteran of A. Fuentes and Davidoff who now works with the cigar shop at Iberostar Báavaro in Punta Cana and hand-rolls smokes here most mornings and evenings.
What percentage of cigars that you stock are Dominican, as opposed to Cuban, Honduran, and others?
More than half. Most people come in looking for Dominican products
What’s the range of quality like?
We carry inexpensive cigars like Flor de Oro, all the way up to the most premium, which for us would be an Arturo Fuentes Ojo X, costing US$25-30 apiece.
You also custom-roll cigars on the spot. How long does that take?
About 10 minutes, usually.
How much can you customize these cigars, for flavor, and so forth?
We have seven types of tobacco leaves on hand to throw into the mix – Dominican, Cuban, and Honduran. And we can adjust that mix depending on the customer’s taste – if he likes Romeo y Julieta, for example, I can go in that direction, or simply based on descriptions like “strong,” ”spicy,” or “smooth.” I have lady clients, too, who generally prefer more petite cigars, almost cigarette-size. Male or female, many love to smoke it on the spot – imagine the luxury of puffing a fresh-rolled cigar! But for those who don’t, we slip an Iberostar band on each cigar they buy.
What’s the most unusual situation you’ve encountered while working here?
One guy asked me to make a massive two-foot-long (61-cm) cigar – not to smoke, but to hang on his wall. Hey, why not?
DR’s three Iberostar resorts offer guests easy access and opportunity to purchase cigars . You can even to watch some being made right before their eyes!
It’s one of the most joyous (and exhausting) weeks of the year in various parts of the world, from Venice to Port of Spain and New Orleans to Rio de Janeiro. But being as fond as I am of the Dominican Republic, I’ve got a soft spot for the pre-Lenten Carnaval celebrations down here – especially because unlike in many other places, here the party keeps poppin’ for a good part of the month of February in various towns and cities, culminating today, February 27th, which is also when the country celebrates its Independence Day. The biggest hoo-has are held in Santiago, La Vega, and Bonao in the center of the country, and of course in Santo Domingo, where the waterfront avenue, the Malecón, becomes transformed into a brightly colored sea of people watching and participating in the carnival processions.
There are all sorts of themes and historical allusions in these processions, especially those dating back to the colonial era, with conquistadores, slaves, and the like, plus dudes in drag (no, not drag queens, but rather traditional figures known in Spanish as as roba la gallina, “chicken robbers”, who supposedly conceal the stolen birds in their “hips” and “cleavage”), as well as all manner of fantastical animal characters. Participants often march in organized groups called comparsas (think of the krewes in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras). A central figure is known as the diablo cojuelo (lame devil), more impish than evil, who appears in myriad versions of brightly colored costumes and outsized horns. Often the wearers spend months creating their costumes and papier-mâché masks out of found objects and materials.
For those of you who might be vacationing out in one of the Punta Cana Iberostar resorts, the local carnaval happens in March instead of February – and this year it’s scheduled for Saturday, March 10. But wherever you witness it, Carnaval a la dominicana is certain to leave you buoyant and impressed with the creativity, resilience, and joyousness of the Dominican people.
Whether or not you make it to Carnaval in the Dominican Republic, your vacation with Iberostar resorts is sure to be a party. Which will you choose?
For the uninitiated, the Dominican Republic is more than just golden sandy beaches, tropical forests and a Jurassic Park-esque setting. Beneath its surface, there is a world of rich culture, intriguing history and most of all, world-class contemporary art.
Dominican Republic is home to world famous contemporary artist Cándido Bidó, whose work had earned him international fame in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. His works were highly sought after by foreigner collectors scattered in the five continents and have even earned him awards such as First Prize in the 12th Biennial of the Fine Arts (for his work ‘Los amantes de la aldea’). As one of the most famous artists in Dominican Republic, he not only introduced art to the Dominican Republic – he also introduced DR to the world.
Born in the central town Bonao in 1936, Bidó had always been inspired by his hometown. Native Wildlife, countryside and nature were elements that were well reflected in their work. With the use of oil, crayon and gouache, he gave his paintings a sense of joy, freshness, tenderness and poetry. He liked to reflect the faces of fruits, flowers and the sun in the Antillean Caribbean landscape. His paintings reflected a love for the people of his country. Bidó was totally devoted to his drawings and paintings, with the sole intention of giving the best of himself and his art. Sadly, he passed away just this March, leaving a legend behind him.
If you’re interested in learning more about Bidó or his art during your Dominican vacation, visit the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo where a collection of his best works are on display. To dive deeper, head to Bonao, Bidó’s hometown. Candido Bidó founded the Museum in the Plaza de la Cultura of Bonao, where his works are on permanent display along with those of other great Dominican painters such as Guillo Pérez, Elsa Nunez and Alonso Cuevas. You’ll also get to see works by American painters like Orlando Vallejo and Alfredo Sinclair. While in Bonao, you can also visit the painting school that was set up by Bidò. With the intention of providing arts education, entertainment and cultural services to the community of the Cibao, he truly contributed immensely to the artistic development of his hometown.
A household name among the world’s fashion-conscious and arguably the planet’s best known Dominican (baseball stars notwithstanding – after all, America’s pastime is not so hot in Paris, Milan, and Dubai), Óscar de la Renta was born in Santo Domingo in 1932 to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father. At 18, the budding artist moved to Spain to study painting, but promptly shifted into fashion, starting out with Balenciaga in Madrid, then moving on to Lanvin in Paris and Elizabeth Arden in New York before launching his own label in 1965. He was a nightlife fixture during the scandalous 70s but has proved to be a durable couture icon, expanding successfully into home furnishings, fragrances, and other lifestyle products. Unintentionally perhaps, he also expanded the pop lexicon with the popular phrase “fashion victim,” first coined one night at Manhattan’s La Caravelle while ogling some egregiously dressed hipsters.
De la Renta’s work is still plenty popular among the rich and famous (recently including Jessica Biel, Cameron Diaz – and of course Chelsea Clinton famously wore him during her “wedding of the century”). When De la Renta’s fall 2011 collection debuted during the last New York Fashion Week, critics were mighty complimentary of his “swoon-worthy” evening gowns and the accessible opulence of the collection in general.
For all the impact De la Renta has had over the years in North America, Europe, and beyond, he remains very attached to and involved with his home country, keeping a home in Punta Cana and financially supporting various projects including schools for poor children, day-care centers, orphanages, education for the handicapped, and a foundation to benefit communities in the DR’s particularly depressed southwest. He is also involved in the School of Design at Altos de Chavón, the exquisite hilltop Mediterranean-style village overlooking the Chavón River, which is truly one of the Dominican Republic‘s premier sights. The man clearly has a lot going on, and shows no signs of slowing down – meaning this Dominican national treasure should be dressing the elegant and helping the unfortunate for years to come.
The Dominican Republic is best known for pristine turquoise beaches, pearly white sand and luscious inland forests – nature takes center stage here. Colonial architecture dots its cities, creating a mélange of colorful culture and ethnicity. The Dominicans are the country’s biggest draw: a chirpy, carefree nation always happy to welcome you with open arms.
While you would imagine the Dominicans to be dancing carefree on beaches, they seem to be indulging in a very different form of past-time these days. An NBA basketball trend has swept the nation – thanks to the rise in the number of talented Dominican basketball players.
Francisco García is one of the most popular Dominican basketballers these days – the force behind this wave of basketball obsession in the Dominican Republic. Born in Santo Domingo, García moved to the United States at a young age to play for the University of Louisville, where he enjoyed tremendous success. He then entered the ranks of the NBA, appearing in 67 games in his rookie season alone.The NBA player currently plays for the Sacramento Kings in the United States, having just signed a five-year extension worth $23 million.
García is not the only basketballer playing in the NBA – the Dominicans are slowly conquering the basketball arena. The nation obviously takes pride in their local heros and continues to show them support. If you’re ever in the Dominican Republic during the NBA playoffs, don’t be surprised to find everyone glued to their TV, eager to see how their country does in the basketball arena.
Did you know that 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of MTV? (Sniff, they grow up so fast…!) That means most of us in the “on-the-grid” world have been awash in music videos for nearly a third of a century already. YouTube, on the other hand, has only been around for half-dozen years, and already this undeniably megacool site has already also transformed the world’s music/media landscape. But less coolly, it’s also been responsible for the perpetration and proliferation of homemade music videos of which, well, the less said the better.
With some mindblowing exceptions. Case in point: The other day browsing the ‘Tube I stumbled across a viddy that actually got me chuckling out loud. Called “Dominican Bounce,” it’s lip-synched to the techno-synthpopper “Bounce,” a euro-club hit released several months ago by Scottish singer-songwriter Calvin Harris, featuring U.S. dance diva Kelis. The original’s set in Las Vegas, but as I discovered, this playful tribute bounces all the bouncing over to Punta Cana’s Iberostar Bávaro resort (no, it was never made explicit, but I’d recognize that luscious beach anywhere).
“Dominican Bounce” is the brainchild of 47-year-old Gavin Skidmore (from Bromley, Kent, if you must know – he’s the bloke being pharaonically carried aloft across the strand on a chaise-longue), who spent an apparently quite enjoyable holiday here this past August. It hopscotches across the resort, with a cast of dozens – two-dozen-plus guests young (some very young) and old taking turns synching a line or two. Here’s the beach bar, there’s a room patio, the pool, outdoor showers, the lobby (yo, nice conga line) – and oh yeah, those famous lush palms just back from water’s edge. Three minutes and 35 seconds of original, nonstop action, and certainly fun, but also kind of exhausting (frankly, when I go to an Iberostar resort, I’m more than happy to sit back and let the Star Friends take charge of keeping me entertained).
Anyway, I recently got a chance to quiz the über-creative Gavin just a bit on his Iberostar escapade.
What gave you the idea for this video?
The idea came from a TV news story from a year or so ago where soldiers serving in Afghanistan had made a spoof pop video. Our holiday had 26 family and friends and I thought what a great opportunity to film a video of our own! I had two songs in mind and had downloaded these from iTunes before we left home. One friend brought along his iPod docking station to play which will let each of us in the video sing to the song and to help lip sync the video during editing once we returned from holiday. Once we got to the Iberostar, a few of the teenagers in our party didn’t like the two songs that I had prepared, so we discussed an alternative and it was agreed “Bounce” was the perfect tune.
Wow, 26 all at once?
Well, a few years ago at a party, many of our friends were chatting and although we had holidays in small groups, we had never had one holiday with all our friends. With this, a trial holiday to Egypt was planned, and from the fun and success of that holiday we decided to do it again in two years’ time. Myself and my brother and sister including children decided to go to Iberostar resort in Punta Cana. We had such a great time we thought this is the perfect resort to bring all our friends, too. So this past August, 26 of our family and friends finally made the trip. Although the ages vary from 2 to 51 years, many of the older generation have known each other from school and have remained very close friends throughout the years, so having a holiday with all our extended families was fantastic. And one of the many great things about the resort is that we never had a problem getting a table for dinner for 26!
One thing that especially impressed me was the coordination and choreography. How in the world did you all manage it?
I really have no experience in this kind of thing at all, but my niece Hayley Skidmore is training to be a dancer and she choreographed the whole thing; she appears in many of the scenes (she’s the first girl in the t-shirt, for example, and toward the end leading the group down the beach with her brother Lewis). Each day we did rehearsals while I looked for locations within the resort to do the filming. The staff were amazing, and following one of the shows in the resort theater, they even helped us record a dance routine on stage for an audience of other guests; unfortunately that scene wasn’t quite in focus and I felt it wasn’t sharp enough to sit in with the rest of the video.The opening scene was the first scene I filmed and what you see is the first and only take. Many scenes were shot with one or two takes, but some of the scenes we filmed in the evening did need quite a few takes. But it was still fun!
David
Nellie
Andy
Zippy