They said: But I thought you wanted a Black donor? I said: He is Dominican. They said: Yeah Dominicans are more white. I said: More white than whom? This exchange was painful for me. I felt unseen and misunderstood. People have such varying opinions about Dominicans. We are mixed race. Even in 2021 it is difficult for some people to wrap their minds around it. They want to put us in a box. I believe that the day will come when society will embrace Dominicans as a nation of pe

A spiritual cleaning for the home On Saturday mornings my Dominican mom would wake up early, clean our apartment and play merengue and bachata on the radio. After cleaning, she would burn incense and chant positive affirmations, walking from the back of the apartment to the front. Opening the front door to release all negativity. At the time, I did not appreciate it. She would wake my little sister and I up at 7 am, expecting us to help out and do our chores. It took sometime