Photo by Chelsea Pujols / SOC Images.
Amongst attendees dressed in all black, three colors stood out amongst the heavy feeling of grief: the red, white and blue of the Dominican flag. Its vibrant colors and famous shield, the only one in the world to feature the Bible, highlight what a community still reeling from tragedy desperately looks for as a source of comfort: Dios, Patria y Libertad. God, the Homeland and Liberty.
At Jersey City Heights’ La Bodega, the flag was flying high from the window garland outside to the ones in mourners’ hands.
The bittersweet feeling is more than palpable as people stepped into the local business, where attendees were greeted by eyes full of sadness and arms open with love.
Dominican Americans and others have been left devastated after the collapse of Santo Domingo’s nightclub Jet Set on April 8, which resulted in 221 deaths.
After 53 hours of nonstop searches for survivors and deceased amongst the rubble, director of the Dominican Republic’s Emergency Operations Center Juan Manuel Mendez said this was “the most difficult work” in his twenty years of serving the country. They were able to rescue 189 survivors after lifting the rubble of the nightclub.
Amongst the confirmed deaths are merengue legend Rubby Perez, governor of Montecristi Nelsy Cruz, fashion designer Martin Polanco and former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Cabrera.
The grief and mourning transcends borders as the country is officially in a state of mourning declared by President Luis Abinader. Dominicans in the United States are also taking the time to pay their respects, especially at home in New Jersey.
The city of Perth Amboy released a statement addressing the tragedy on April 8.
Acknowledging their Dominican community, the statement reads: “There are heavy hearts in Perth Amboy, which is home to many Dominican families. In our district, across our country, and around the world, Dominicans are reeling from this terrible loss. We offer our prayers for those who are grieving and extend our full support to the responding emergency personnel who are working tirelessly in the aftermath of this tragedy.”
Passaic also holds a strong Dominican community. The city mourns the life of 24-year-old Jennifer Contreras, who was celebrating her birthday at Jet Set on that Monday night. “For our family, this is the worst, most difficult moment. It’s still so hard to believe this happened,” Contreras’s sister Luz Contreras told NJ.com.
The New Jersey Dominican Consulate in Paterson also released a statement on April 11. Translated from Spanish, the statement reads:
“Our Dominican Consulate in New Jersey expresses with great pain and heaviness our condolences for the tragedy that occurred at Jet Set Club. Our prayers are with all the affected families, we ask our all-powerful God for rest for the deceased and a speedy recovery for all those who are injured. We are with you.”
A candlelight vigil was held on April 9, organized by Paterson’s City Council President Alex Mendez. “We’re mourning–the whole community is suffering,” he told the Bergen Record.
Over in Hudson County, Jersey City held a vigil on April 11, followed by La Bodega’s own vigil on Sunday, April 13.
The Jersey City Heights restaurant has been vocal about the community’s feelings of grief.
“We join in prayer for every life affected and for our Dominican people. May faith, love, and hope keep us united,” they wrote on an Instagram post from April 8.
“As a Dominican in the diaspora, this tragedy has left us heartbroken. Many of us have lost loved ones and we’re mourning deeply–crying for our Dominican Republic. The pain is real and personal,” Maricarmen Antigua, owner of La Bodega told Slice of Culture.
La Bodega greeted attendees with hugs as if they were family, and the vigil became a safe space for members of the Dominican-American and Jersey City community to talk about the pain experienced in the past week. Music, like the Christian gospel performance at the vigil, has served as a great comfort to Dominicans worldwide.
Here’s what attendees had to say; a husband and wife, Andres and Maite, spoke first.
Translated from Spanish, Andres said:
“For me, it is hard to have to [gain strength] from where I currently don’t have to primarily glorify the Lord’s name and the owner’s [of La Bodega] for this moment. This is a very sad time for us, unfortunately in this tragedy we have lost a cousin of my mother’s. A man that I don’t have the words to describe him because he was a hard-working man. That day he turned 70 years old. He had a bag packed to go to Colombia that same night with his beloved, who was also a tremendous person.”
Stressing the importance of love and community, he added:
“According to the Bible, one of the first commandments are to love God above all things. Then it says to love your neighbor as you love yourself. These are the two most principal commandments of the Bible. Everything is [about] vanity nowadays. We need to live as if it was our last day. I have nothing on this Earth, my beloved knows, I live my life as if everyday were my last.”
“For me, the most important thing is my family. You all have sons, daughters, your spouses and all I can tell you is to take care of them. We live in very difficult times. That’s all I can tell you all. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for remembering those who we have lost,” he concluded.
A woman from the Dominican town Haina, who has suffered a large amount of loss after the roof collapse, spoke amidst tears.
“To my town of Haina, I am in the United States but I am with them because I knew a lot of the people that died, from my street. And Rubby Perez, I was in a group [in the Dominican Republic] with him in church, when he wasn’t Rubby Perez….when he was Roberto. This has hit me very hard.”
“I had to say, ‘Lord…they were having a good time,’ to give myself the strength because I did not have the strength when I saw all those videos. And to see all the couples that left us, we lost many couples. I knew of [two people] who left five children behind. They are now orphaned. I know my country is in pain; it’s my country, it’s my people, it’s my street, where I lived. There I lost many people. I haven’t stopped crying, I haven’t stopped crying because I can no longer watch those videos.”
An attendee visiting from Virginia also spoke.
“I won’t speak from the microphone, but everything I’m saying has a purpose. We came from Virginia for a vacation, and we made it to this beautiful place. By coincidence, one of the young ladies here told me that there would be a vigil for Dominicans. I am Dominican, I came to this country when I was 15 years old. I’m married to a member of the armed forces, I’ve lived in many states, and I never thought a tragedy like this would impact another military family. There is a Dominican female sergeant, and I saw on her Facebook that she lost her aunt. I think that as Dominicans, we have all had to [mourn,] but it hasn’t been just Dominicans.”
“I live in a Latino community, and many people have told me, ‘Are you Dominican? I’ve seen that many people have died in your country. It’s very sad what’s happening…’ I have a friend who is from Haina and she knows many people that have died from there. It’s very sad. The only thing we should do right now is to get closer to God every day and to let go of our pride. We need to stop thinking that we are above anyone.”
The original owners of La Bodega, Rafael Sanchez and Luz Mauricio, also had some words for their community.
“God bless you all. We are all here as a Dominican people united, sharing the same pain because what happens to one Dominican happens to us all. The majority of the people, of people here, lost family members. I lost a cousin, a cousin lost his daughter, her husband and two family members more…For me, it is very painful as a mother, to see all the things that happened in Santo Domingo but we are united to them. We are not there, but we are here with so much pain, with so much sadness, because we all have came here.”
“We have left our homeland looking for a better future, but we thank God because we have fought hard here, and God has given me the opportunity to come to Christ,” Mauricio said.
“Even if you have not lost a loved one, I know that what happened in Santo Domingo has hurt everyone. There are Panamanians, Salvadorians, Mexicans, to whoever something like this happens to, it hurts us because they are our neighbor and we have to love them.”
“We are united here throughout the good and the bad. We are going to trust in God, may we stay united always,” Sanchez said.
After that, Pastor Sebastian Antigua of Iglesia Roca de la Eternidad delivered a sermon reflecting on how this tragedy can mark a time of change for Dominicans and the world to become more empathetic and loving. Roses were handed to each attendee to represent the lives lost in Santo Domingo.
The town of West New York recently held a ceremony for the victims on Wednesday, April 16 where community members gathered and heard words from Commissioner Marielkaa Diaz.
And the grieving of the loss wasn’t just in New Jersey, which is the second-most populated state with Dominicans, it also rippled throughout the rest of the U.S.
New York City is home to the largest Dominican American community with over 700,000 members. Multiple memorials and vigils have been held in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. “Today we are simply a people united by grief,” a sign at a memorial covered by the Associated Press reads.
In Massachusetts, a vigil was held on April 10 to honor three residents who were confirmed dead. Gustavo Suero, Fray Luis Rosario and Florinda Rojas were beloved members of their community.
From Florida, Dominican influencer Jess Judith has been sharing information about blood drives, missing people and donation sites for funeral costs via social media to her 1.3 million followers. In an Instagram carousel post titled “Aunque este lejos, estoy contigo RD” or “Although I’m far, I’m with you, Dominican Republic,” she shares WhatsApp information for psychologists giving free sessions, help hotlines for families in the Dominican Republic, where to donate to help first responders, and more.
“Aunque no lo creas TU ayuda si importa y mas de lo que imaginas,” she writes. “Although you don’t think your help matters, it does much more than you can imagine.”
