Social
Macorisano / la Sultana del Este
ma-ko-ree-SA-no / la sul-TA-na del ES-teh
What people from here call themselves, and the city's own nickname — 'the Sultana of the East', from the sugar boom that made it briefly the richest city in the country.
Cocolo
ko-KO-lo
The English-speaking Afro-Caribbean community that came from the Lesser Antilles to cut cane in the sugar mills, and their descendants. It began as an insult and became an identity — surnames here are as likely to be Henderson or Richardson as Pérez.
Los Guloyas
los goo-LO-yas
The cocolo dancers who come out at Christmas, San Pedro's feast day and carnival — plumed costumes, fife and drum, and a St George and the Dragon story carried over from the English islands. UNESCO inscribed the tradition in 2008.
Un pelotero
oon peh-lo-TEH-ro
A ballplayer. San Pedro has sent an extraordinary number of them to the major leagues for a city its size — the shortstop pipeline is a genuine civic identity, not a tourism slogan.
Daily life
El ingenio / el batey
el een-HEH-nyo / el ba-TEY
The sugar mill and the settlement of workers' housing around it. Consuelo, Porvenir, Angelina and Santa Fe are ingenio names that are also place names here, and the bateyes around them are a live social reality, not history.
El colmado
el kol-MA-do
The corner shop, and the organising institution of Dominican life. Sells by the unit, delivers by motorbike, extends credit ('fiao') to regulars, and doubles as the block's bar.
El Higuamo
el ee-GWA-mo
The river the city sits on, which the port, the malecón and the Ramón Matías Mella bridge all organise themselves around. 'Del otro lado del Higuamo' means the eastern bank.
Un chin
oon CHEEN
A little bit. 'Un chin de azúcar' is a little sugar. Dominicans use it constantly and it has no equivalent elsewhere in Spanish.
Work
La zona franca
la SO-na FRAN-ka
The industrial free zone. In San Pedro this is not jargon — it is the largest formal employer in the city, and 'trabajo en la zona' is a complete answer to what someone does.
Greetings
¿Qué lo que? / klk
keh lo KEH / ka-la-KA
'What's up?' — the national greeting. Answer 'todo bien' or 'aquí, en la lucha'.
Food
La bandera dominicana
la ban-DEH-ra do-mee-nee-KA-na
The national lunch — rice, red beans and stewed meat, with salad or tostones. Every comedor serves it and it is the benchmark for whether a place is any good.
Emergency
¡Auxilio! Llama al 911
owk-SEE-lyo, YA-ma al noo-eh-veh OO-no OO-no
Help — call 911. The national emergency system covers the eastern provinces including San Pedro de Macorís, and has been extended to the outlying municipalities of the province.
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