Democracy meets the beach

I grew up in the Dominican Republic, a country full of beautiful summer landscapes, joyful people that breathe hospitality and according to many Dominicans, the place where God lives. The Dominican Republic is also the cradle of European colonizations and slavery in the Americas, and a country that until today faces deep socio-economic contrasts and injustices that can make you want to barf.

If you know a little bit about Brazil, then you understand the two countries have many many things in common. However, there is one thing in particular about Rio de Janeiro specifically that catches my attention, and that is somewhat different from the Dominican experience: the beach is a democratic space.

Rich, poor, young, old, big, small, fit or floppy, gay or not, black, white or anything in between - everyone converges at pretty much the same stretch of beach. And that is beautiful to me!

The beach in Rio is the playground, the park, the gym, etc. for everyone and anyone. It is perhaps one of the most used urban beaches of the world, bread and butter for its locals and really part of the fabric of this city.

It is debatable if the same thing happens or not in the Dominican Republic because we don't exactly have a highly frequented urban beach in Santo Domingo - although I don't have many questions about what would happen if we did. Furthermore, it is also debatable if a true confluence of race, class, sexual orientation, and hot and not-so-hot bodies hang out together at the beach (indeed, the different "postos" or lifeguard towers have each their stereotypical crowd). What is not debatable is that in Rio, there is no real room for being territorial about beach space or judgemental in your heart and mind about who or what is acceptable at the beach. This is against the inherent value of freedom every Carioca has in its heart, at least when enjoying the sun and sand! 

***Sorry! No picture of me in my bikini on the sand yet. I'm working on it :-)