Diversities in Culture:

Dominican and Venezuelan Culture

Latin American countries are full of diversity, culture, and traditions and are known for the

hospitality and happiness of its people. While some have aspects in common; they do have some

differences, too. These differences could make living in this region very exciting, this is as a result of

the fact that when you know two cultures and the idiosyncrasies, this will give you advantages over

those that have a knowledge of one only, just as are The Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Both

countries are located around the Caribbean Sea, they have tropical weather and their speak

Spanish. Based on these similarities we might think that they have almost everything in common. It

might be surprising to find out in this essay that they have more differences in aspects like food,

education, and natural resources than similarities like sports.

First, The Dominican Republic and Venezuelan cultures have some uniqueness in their

gastronomy. The traditional Dominican food is called “La Bandera” (The Flag), made up of rice, red

beans and meat (chicken, pork or beef); In contrast, Venezuela has two traditional dishes called

“Arepa” and “Cachapa” and both are made from cornmeal, including other fillings; like meat and

cheese. The second most popular dishes in these countries are also different. The Dominican

Republic has The “Salcocho”, which is a broth of seven meats, served with avocado and rice; On the

other hand, the second most popular dish in Venezuela is called “El pabellón” (The Pavilion), which

is similar to “The Flag” of the Dominican Republic but made with black beans rather than red beans.

There are many other food types in which the similarities and differences between these two

countries are well pronounced and a good knowledge of this can make the dinner plate of any

family fascinating.

Second, there are also other important differences between The Dominican Republic and

Venezuela in terms of their schooling system. The Dominican Republic is a low-income country and
this fact has a direct impact on the resources available to invest in public education. The Dominican

Government invest about 4% of its gross domestic product in education; on the other hand, the

Government of Venezuela despite its current situation, education accounts for about 5% of the

gross domestic product. In addition, educational materials and utilities, such as, books, technology

and uniforms are provided to students in public schools in Venezuela; on the contrary, students in

the Dominican Republic buy theirs. In Venezuela, teachers must have an academic degree and are

continuously being trained compared to teachers in the Dominican Republic where this professional

developments and requirements are lacking. Although in both countries teachers try as much as

they can to fulfill their professional’s obligations and to conform to the school curriculum.

Third, there are other important differences regarding their natural resources. Venezuela has

the "Miner’s Arc", where large reserves of gold, diamonds and the mineral called "Coltan" are

concentrated; however, in the Dominican Republic the two original gemstones are called “Larimar

and Ambar”. Another natural wealth of the Dominican Republic is its beautiful pristine beaches,

surrounded by large hotel companies that encourage tourism worldwide, Whereas Venezuela

doesn’t have a well-developed tourism industry. In addition, it is important to know that Venezuela

has one of the largest oil reserves in the world; on the contrary, The Dominican Republic neither

produces nor exports oil. To sum up, these differences in their natural resources makes each

countries unique in its own way.

Finally, despite having some differences, there are still similarities between the two

countries. One common factor is Sports. There are many sports like Basketball, Tennis, and Soccer

that are played in both countries, but the Baseball game in the Dominican Republic is the king of

sports, just as in Venezuela. Both countries play in a tournament called the World Baseball Classic or

Caribbean Series, which is so exciting and a way for countries to demonstrate the power of their

players. The Dominican Team has won 61 crowns throughout the history of the Caribbean series;
similarly, The Venezuelan Team, has won 60 crowns in this competition as well. Baseball has been in

existence for many years in this part of the world and maybe that is why they are one of the best in

this field; for this reason, players from Venezuela and Dominican Republic dominate the Major

League Baseball in the United States.

In conclusion, Dominican Republic and Venezuela are an example of two countries that even if they

are in the same continent and have fundamental differences, they still have commonalities. They

are unique even though they are in the same region, this uniqueness is what makes them

identifiable between them and to have a sense of belonging to their various countries.