Anthony Carambot

ENGL 2100

Professor Borcoman

March 6, 2025

 Op-Ed

We see the development of shared social identities in humans occurs through conceptual power which brings together fundamental beliefs with traditional customs and group-shared personal actions. Human understanding of reality together with social methods grow in accordance with our cultural background. Through this interview, Rai described how Dominicans express their culture through family ties together with traditional behaviors and language usage and dining traditions. The interview process showed me many facets of Dominican culture by examining the effective way cultural foundations keep strong community relations through ongoing help.
Dominican culture organizes its workplace activities through family connections. Her cultural tradition demonstrates family unity when parents along with their children form the core values based on Rai’s perspective. Members of the Dominican community traditionally demonstrate their support not only toward nuclear family members but also to their wider kin such as their grandparents as well as aunts and cousins. Rai states that Dominican culture creates one unified group which enables members to receive protection from facing individual difficulties. In African culture the basic principle demands that child development requires support from many people because development occurs “in a village.” Rai’s family setup matches the definition described by this expression. Being active in communal tasks develops individual values together with social bonds between people according to the traditional saying.

Food! In Dominican culture, it is one of the first things mentioned because people use it both to feed their bodies and as a family bonding activity. The traditional breakfast combination los tres golpes stands among the essential food items in Dominican Republic culture according to Rai., the breakfast meal consists of plantain mash with salami and cheese. Daily consumption of los tres golpes preserves Dominican people in their connection to their ancestral heritage. Sancocho functions as the main dish during reunions because it embodies unity between people through the creation of lasting memories.
Dominican identity origins from the country’s historical developments as well as its cultural traditions and religious practices. Semana Santa represents one of the premier festivals in the Dominican Republic as stated by Rai. Family members who share a  bond use these occasions to attend church services before exchanging  thoughts with each other. With this, every segment of society unite during Semana Santa because the celebration unites families and merges entire communities. Rai shares that dancing as well as music plays during every celebration from birthdays to weddings with excessive food serving as an essential part of these festivities. Dominican people showcase happiness and community bond and enduring spirit alongside their hardships through their festive celebrations.
Rai explained to us that birthdays along with family celebrations should occur in real time since weddings require a similar level of recognition. Happy ceremonies become visible in Rai’s vivid expression when she displays her love toward them. In Rai tradition the arrangements for food begin early and go beyond the performance of music and dancing at all cultural events. Community cultural celebrations hold extraordinary value because they unite entertainment tasks with meaningful family relationships as well as traditional living celebrations. The wedding event stretched into multiple days while featuring traditional cuisine and musical performance and numerous instances of guest laughter for Rai. Community participation in every member of society existed according to my memory from that experience. Within my culture happiness maintains continuous existence during all ordinary and extraordinary situations.

Dominican culture considers language as an essential cultural component which allows people to express themselves and maintain their traditional values and express their identity. Rai points out that Dominican people attribute meaning to the saying “No todo lo que brilla es oro” (Not everything that glitters is gold) Teaching individuals to focus beyond external aspects during judgment processes forms the main point of this proclamation according to Rai. A Dominican person finds life’s meaning by showing respectful humility during first encounters with new things happening in life. The traditional Dominican wisdom expresses two cultural values through its ways because it combines detailed assessment techniques with the practice of courteous social interaction.

For Rai, Spanish represents an essential connection between herself and her heritage so she stresses this fact. The Spanish language goes beyond mere spoken communication because of what she states about its function. The maintenance of both their cultural roots and ancestral family relationships is possible through the Spanish language for many people. The Spanish language holds special importance for Rai according to Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera because it serves as both an expression of cultural heritage and a form of resistance. Rai tends to her Dominican identity through Spanish language usage which keeps alive the cultural traditions of her ancestors.

Through my interview with Rai I understood the cultural elements form personal identities as well as shared identities between groups. Rai showed this through her storytelling how family connections and ethnic food traditions made communities bond but also developed adversarial competencies. Obtaining external observation status helped me fully understand the fundamental nature of Dominican culture. Culture extends past basic actions and faiths because it operates as a fundamental decision-making framework to build perceptions relating to individuals and establish social relationships with others.
Now the spotlight turned toward my cultural history when I spent time at Rai. My personal cultural background recognized the connections Rai shared regarding family histories and food through his visiting experience. Through cross-cultural dialogue the researchers proved cultural development needs active person-to-person communication leading to active learning as its result. As James Baldwin said, human conversations succeed when authentic personality reveals itself between people. Cultural exchange functions as a mutual exchange based on the data obtained through the interview. Rai discussed her life narrative with me so I could doubt my cultural perspectives. Understanding your personal traits serves as a foundation to recognize people according to the experience.

Rai’s culture turned out to extend past basic information when it revealed itself as an educational journey which combined learning with sincere meaning. My experience of education showed culture drives personal advancement while shaping human relationships with the environment. The discussion with Rai has improved my comprehension of  Dominican culture because it integrates three core values that combine family connection with community activism through strong growth. The process of cultural exchange enables learners to recognize others beyond surface knowledge because this experience leads to genuine mutual understanding through appreciation of individual differences that separate each person. Through this experience I learned how important cultural dialogue becomes in generating mutual understanding between different individuals. Experiencing little things like this allows us to develop knowledge about ourselves at the same time we gain insights about other people. Social divisions that exist now underline the need for shared connections between individuals to a critical level.

Works Cited
Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 1987.
Peer Interview Transcript. Personal interview. 2/27/2025

NOTE: The use of artificial intelligence was only used for generating an accurate works cited section.