Maizal

 

These were taken on the Dominican Republic's Independence Day in 2010. Maizal (think corn) is a very small town in a huge valley that runs diagonally across the Dominican Republic. The Cibao valley is the bread basket of the DR and grows large amounts of rice, beans, coffee, cacao (cocoa), and of course tobacco that rivals Cuba if one is into cigars.

There was a big national election taking place. As the name says, the country is a republic and many Dominicans take their politics very seriously. The pictures I was able to get that day of the political parade would be quite out of the ordinary for a town of this size.  Just one Americano and his Canon camera and the terrific response was like major media had arrived.

Click on the first picture to enlarge and view as a slideshow with descriptions.