Why the cocks fight : Dominicans, Haitians, and the struggle for Hispaniola /

Wucker uses cockfighting as a metaphor for the troubled relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Sharing an island in the Caribbean and a history of European colonialism, the two nations are otherwise at odds on race, culture, and language: Haiti is predominantly black and French speaking; the Dominican Republic is predominantly mulatto and Spanish speaking. Those differences have often been exploited by political and military rulers in each country in attempts to distract attention from their own shortcomings. Wucker examines cockfighting and the rooster as symbols tied to the machismo and violence in the Caribbean culture. She traces the history of Spanish and French colonization of the two nations, and the often contradictory U.S. policy toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This fascinating account of the common yet separate development of these nations includes a look at vodoo rituals, the impact of different agricultural economies on national development, and the "curse" of Christopher Columbus, which shows ambivalence about the explorer who first introduced Europeans to the Caribbean. --Vanessa Bush

The U.S. has sent troops to Haiti and the Dominican Republic four times in this century, twice to each country. In the last 20 years, reports Wucker, one-eighth of the population of the island of Hispaniola has emigrated to the U.S. Wucker, a freelance journalist, delves much deeper than mere numbers and chronology, supplementing her knowledge of the island's history with a great sense of the fabric of everyday life in the two countries. While each chapter is discrete enough to stand alone, cumulatively they create a passionate mural of the often bloody relationship between wary neighbors. Among the critical issues and events Wucker addresses are the role of geography as a barrier, European settlement, slave revolts, the role of the sugar industry and the experience of Dominican and Haitian immigrants in the U.S. Wucker's treatment of Dominican racism toward Haitians is particularly good, capturing the nuance and ambivalence at work when two peoples who are not nearly as different as they would sometimes like to believe are stuck together on a small piece of land with limited resources. Throughout the book, Wucker uses the metaphor of cockfighting, presenting the countries as two roosters forced (sometimes by the U.S.) to battle in a small, enclosed ring. If she relies a bit too heavily on this trope, Wucker more than makes up for the minor indulgence with her insightful treatment of many cultural issues, particularly the politicized nature of language, to which she brings an understanding of Creole, Spanish and French. Clear prose and vivid scenes of life at street level make Wucker's first book a marvelous immersion experience in the clash and conciliation of cultures on a small, embattled island next door. (Jan.) FYI: Why the Cocks Fight makes good companion reading to Edwidge Danticat's novel, The Farming of Bones (Forecasts, June 8.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Two countries are found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic is Spanish-speaking and mixed-race; Haiti is Francophone and black. Though there are important similarities in the two populations, their differences are more significant. Wucker, a freelance journalist, examines the cultural divide between the two neighbors from the colonial period to the present. She suggests that the root of the conflict is the politically sensitive issue of immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and argues that the racial differences between the two populations intensify the problem. Of interest to public libraries serving these two populations and research libraries with Caribbean collections.‘Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Wucker's first book is a richly textured social history of Hispaniola. Wucker, a freelance writer specializing in Caribbean affairs, unveils the seemingly chaotic yet ritualistic world of the Dominicans and Haitians. Her approach is historical but not chronological, moving back and forth from the time of Columbus to the 20th century and through the intervening years to emphasize recurring themes rather than a linear story. In the process, we move from one strongman and atrocity to another, e.g., conquering Spaniards complain about the noisiness of natives when they are punished by being roasted alive; Trujillo massacres at least 15,000 Haitians residing within the Dominican Republic in 1937; and the Duvaliers arrogantly loot their own country, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Prejudices between Dominicans and Haitians, extreme differences in wealth, and a history of heavy-handed foreign intervention make Hispaniola a powder keg, yet the definitive explosion never occurs. For Wucker the explanation lies more in space than time; two nations share one island in a perpetual turf war paralleling the popular pastime of its residents, the cockfight. She argues that the cockfight is a symbol ``of both division and community,'' a combat which occurs within strict rules accepted by all as social norms. We are simultaneously horrified and fascinated because it presents an ugliness within ourselves, the natural aggression that emerges when one's territory is threatened. For humans the contested space is more complex than the closed ring of the cocks'``it can be physical, economic, emotional, or cultural'''and the island's geographic limits intensify the struggle. While the metaphor is suggestive, however, the cockfight is designed to pit equal combatants against each other, and among humans equality is in short supply on Hispaniola. Perhaps this explains why the victorious cock brings glory to his owner, yet the victors in the human competition have hardly been inspiring. A powerful cultural analysis. (b&w illustrations, not seen)