A passion for collecting
The Caribbean is frequently described as a region of diversity and multiplicity, where peoples, histories, and traditions intertwine. After having spent three weeks visiting museums and collections in Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, I would like to add another item to the list: The diversity of museums. In the Dominican Republic, the official directory of the Museums Association of the Caribbean has listed 48 museums. There are many more throughout the island, and together with fellow NEXUS team members Csilla Ariese and Arlene Alvarez I have had the chance to visit many of them. In Santo Domingo alone, from the monumental national public museums at the Plaza de la Cultura – such as the Museo del Hombre Dominicano – to the newly opened Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana at the otherwise tourist-oriented Zona Colonial, there is something for every taste, a broad range of possibilities for everyone who is interest in the archaeology, history, arts, and cultures of this Caribbean island.
From Private Passion to Public Service in the Dominican Republic
The museums in the Dominican Republic, however, go far beyond being only a tourist attraction. They are part and parcel of the country’s collective memory and its politics of identity. Just as in any other country, museums are places that tell about the past and consequently can re-shape the present. In this sense, Dominican private collections and individual collectors are perhaps one of the best examples of museum diversity and of the power of individuals to turn their private passion into public service.
Dominican private collections and museums can be found in urban as well as rural areas, and their owners are members of the Dominican upper class as well as individuals of modest means who invest their time, efforts and money into collecting. Take for instance the Fundación García Arévalo, a fine example of wealth and knowledge combined. Located inside the former Embotelladora Dominicana building at the capital city of Santo Domingo, this private museum features an impressive collection of Pre-Columbian objects from the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. The owner Mr. Manuel García Arévalo started collecting at the young age of 25, inspired by a keen interest in the history and archaeology of the Dominican Republic. His collection soon grew too large and in 1973 he seized the opportunity to make his objects accessible to a wide audience by opening this private museum. The quality of the material on show is impressive: among other examples, the visitor can see stone implements, ornaments made of shell and animal remains, ceramic vessels, vomitive sticks made of shell, ceremonial stools (duhos), wooden statues, and a few pieces of contemporary paintings inspired by Taíno heritage. Objects on display are carefully labeled to indicate their find spots – and often times Mr. García Arévalo himself participated in the excavations. This museum is visited by individual tourists, schoolchildren, and students. As such, it is an incredibly important institution where the history and the heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean can be appreciated and preserved.
At the other end of the economic and social scale is Professor Tremol’s museum in Laguna Salada, in the northern part of the country, not too far from the border with Haiti. The museum is located inside Professor Tremol’s home – in fact, his house itself is the museum. Here we can see a range of different objects presented together. Plants, animal skins, animal bones and teeth, different types of stone and Pre-Columbian archaeological objects are presented side-by-side with maps, prints, buttons, lamps, jars, jugs, decorative plates and plaques. There are Trujillo memorabilia and other political documents, guns found in shipwrecks, old newspapers and magazines.
With pride, Professor Tremols showed us an old 1979 motorcycle with which he brought all objects home. In fact, his collection is a mirror of his life. This museum is visited by curious individuals, researchers, and by many schoolgroups. In Laguna Salada and the surrounding region, Professor Tremol’s museum allows schoolchildren to see, touch, smell and come in close contact with material evidence of their country’s history, from the lives of Pre-Columbian indigenous peoples to twentieth-century political developments.
Both at Mr. García Arévalo’s and at Professor Tremol’s museum, every single piece on display is an individual object with a unique history. The collectors can certainly spend a long time telling visitors about how each artifact was found, collected or purchased; what every single piece means and the narratives they embody. Personal stories and trajectories are thus connected to regional, national, and global histories, and the visitor cannot feel but lucky to have had the opportunity to witness a life dedicated to collecting.
By Mariana Françozo