Dominican Mamajuana liqueur launches in the US

From Bobby Gonzalez (Taino)

Dominican Today
January 30, 2007

Dominican Mamajuana liqueur launches in the US

New York.– Dominican herbal liqueur mix manufacturer Don Ramon Mamajuana announced the official United States pre-launch of its Dominican love drink: Don Ramon Mamajuana, beginning February 14th.

Considered a natural aphrodisiac, this special blend of 20 roots, herbs, and spices native to the Dominican Republic has been used for centuries as a powerful vitality drink. Tourists and natives of the islands have enjoyed this secret drink for years.

Typically, the only way one can get a hold of an authentic bottle of Mamajuana is by traveling to the Dominican Republic. For the first time, it will now be available in the US.

This herbal aphrodisiac beverage first came into existence hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus arrived on the island of Hispaniola. It was initially discovered by Taino Indians who inhabited the island of the Caribbean region and utilized it for its vitality and health advantages.

Today, Mamajuana is considered by Dominican Republic natives as a National drink. It is referred to as; "The Baby Maker" and "The Male Member Enhancer's Drink."

Many of the natural ingredients found in Mamajuana are widely used today in western herbal supplements such as Chamomile, Star Anis, Anamú, Brazilwood, Cat's Claw (Uña de Gato) among many others.

Unlike many other traditional Mamajuana found on the islands, Don Ramon Mamajuana is specially prepared to comply with USDA and FDA regulations set for safety and cleanliness of product. Each bottle is tamper-proof sealed and includes mixing and preparation directions.

The official product launch will start this February 27th to commemorate Dominican Republic's Independence day. "We are thrilled that finally American consumers will now have the opportunity to benefit from the ability to enjoy this traditional and long-awaited product," said Ray Payano, 26 year old Co-founder and V.P. of the company

Freeing the Spirit of the Americas: Roberto Rodriguez

[Reproduced with the kind permission of the author. Please note that The CAC Review's Creative Commons license may not apply to this particular posting.]

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
FREEING THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAS
JANUARY 15, 2006

BY ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ

The sacred count has begun.

Some might call what is happening on Turtle Island prophesy, whereas others will simply say that given the continent's demographics, it was only a matter of time that the centuries-old process of de-Indigenization would begin to be challenged and reversed, commencing a process of re-Indigenization or the Indigenization of the Americas. This process is envisioned as bringing about peace, dignity and justice for all the peoples of the continent – the earth, actually, as opposed to a demographic horse race.

One of those challenges is taking place in Colorado where Vivian Delgado has recently achieved a long overdue de-colonial blow to that de-Indigenization process. Up until a few weeks ago, her birth certificate had her listed as white. After successfully petitioning the state's Office of Vital Records, she is now listed as Indigenous Mexican Yaqui & Indigenous Mexican Puebloan.

For some, this is heresy. Yet, de-Indigenization has never been an accidental by-product of colonialism: On top of land theft, it is the historic project by Euro-Americans to destroy thousands of years of aboriginal thought, culture, history, memory, language and spirituality on this continent. Part of this has included treating Indigenous peoples as less than human, and wherever possible, defining, Hispanicizing, Anglocizing or Westernizing them out of existence.

Some began that sacred count in 1990 when Indigenous peoples gathered in Quito, Ecuador to press for the end of 500 years of dehumanization. Others began it when the Zapatistas rose up in 1994 in Chiapas, Mexico…or with the 2006 election of Evo Morales of Bolivia, becoming the continent's first Indigenous president since the 19th century. Others note that European colonization did not terminate that sacred count; it simply submerged it.

For Neanderthal bigots, Mexicans are either subhuman Indians or mongrels. For them, the mere presence of [brown] Mexicans is a reminder of a failed and unfinished Indigenous extermination project. For others, Mexicans reclaiming their indigeneity is a reminder of another unfinished project: Manifest Destiny; the irreversible civilization, modernization and Christianization of the Americas. (That's why for many, the only modern solution is deportation).

The significance of Delgado's victory is huge, with the potential to be emulated by millions, thus accelerating the re-Indigenization of Turtle Island (despite the historic U.S.-led effort at the UN to deny the ratification of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).

In the past, due to a desire to escape segregation, forced removal, slavery or even extermination – millions of native peoples across the continent were forced to accept Western/Christian identities (non-Indigenous mestizo, and in some cases, white identities). While a different era, some of those discriminatory legacies remain. That's why many Mexicans (Central & South Americans also) here have begun to challenge the practice of automatically designating them as white, on both birth and death certificates, notes Rocky Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who sees these practices as ethnocide, helped organize a "Free the Spirit Day" forum in Denver recently that spurred on many others to also petition a change in their birth certificates (Two others have thus far been successful).

The forum, Delgado says, was an "historical attempt to address our sovereignty in this country….I believe as in the case of Indigenous Mexicans that our race was constructed by assimilation policy supported and enforced by the church and state. Race in this context can also be de-constructed and corrected."

For example, many Mexicans, due to de-Indigenization policies (reducciones), do not have tribal identities. Yet, that does not make them white, says Delgado, author of: "You're not Indian; You're Mexican." "To automatically assume that Mexicans are white, is a violation of their human rights at birth." They can still correct their certificates. Being part of maize-based cultures, they should [have the option to] identify as "Indigenous Mexican."

She believes that this issue is in part tied to [denial of] land grant rights. Aware of the contentiousness of such a claim, she is undaunted: "Our culture is land-based, and we retain our foods and traditional medicines. It's an inheritance that belongs to our children."

Then there's the U.S. Census. Due to de-Indigenization policies, racism and shame, it has in recent decades facilitated and counted people of Mexican, Central and South American origin as white. The bureau, however, supposedly no longer imposes identities – yet nowadays, it is nonsensically dividing up the entire nation into Hispanic and non-Hispanic categories. By design or default, Hispanics continue to be tallied as a white population. To be seen is if the bureau will stand in the way of that sacred count… in 2010.

* For info re Freeing the Spirit of the Americas -- on how to change your birth certificate, write to:Vivian Delgado at: yoemem334@aol.com or Rocky Rodriguez at: pejuta13@yahoo.com or Luis Torres at; torresl@mscd.edu; For info re the book, You're not Indian; You're Mexican write to Delgado at yoemem334@aol.com

© Column of the Americas 2007

Rodriguez can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

Dialogue: Newest Issue

Dr. Roi Kwabena's latest issue of Dialogue is currently available, in PDF format, directly from him at roi.kwabena@gmail.com.

This latest issue as usual covers a broad range of very interesting topics, mostly centred on themes of resistance to slavery, African and indigenous cultures, contemporary politics in Africa and the Caribbean, poetry, short stories, biographies of Caribbean literary and artistic personalities, poetry, museum reviews, more poetry, and finally some very interesting photographs of Trinidad Amerindian artifacts. It is 140 pages long and reminds one of some of the classic locally published reviews one used to find more frequently in the Caribbean in the past. The signs of life of an anti-colonial intelligentsia are not altogether gone, but in some cases they have moved abroad and make their presence felt over the Internet.

New Book: Quest for Caribbean Unity

NEW Book Release

A new book, Quest For Caribbean Unity: Beyond Colonialism, edited by Dr. Kenneth John, Dr. Baldwin King and Cheryl L. A. King, published in November 2006 by KINGS-SVG Publishers, is now available and we received a notice from one of the editors, Cheryl King (claking@hotmail.com).

This volume is the second of a trilogy on the re-publication of essays and commentaries that appeared in the Flambeau magazine between 1965 and 1968 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The first volume entitled Search for Identity focused on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This volume focuses on the wider Caribbean as well as on philosophical and religious topics, among others. The authors are mostly Vincentian-born but there are a few invited contributors from other Caribbean countries as well from the U.S.A. and the former Yugoslavia. The editors believe that many of the essays still have such relevance to today’s Caribbean society that re-publication is very appropriate. For example, Kenneth John's "The Guyanese Situation” which put the whole Guyanese situation in its political, economic and social context in 1965 is, in some sense, prophetic when we look at what has happened to Guyana over the past forty years. Arnhim Eustace’s “Obstacles To Economic Growth” discussed the tremendous hurdles that small island states confront in the development process, hurdles still exist today. So, many of the essays provide a benchmark against which to judge the progress that has been made over the last forty years in Caribbean society.

The retail cost of the book (paperback, 198 pages, ISBN: 0-9778981-1-3) is US$24.95 plus US$3.50 for shipping in the US, US$4.50 for shipping to Canada and US $9.00 for shipping to the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, by airmail.

If you would like to have your book signed, just send the relevant information.

To order, please send your name, address and payment-check or money order payable to Baldwin King to:
Dr. B. King,
P.O.Box 702,
Madison, NJ 07940.
U.S.A.
email:kingba@aol.com, website: www.kingsinn-svg.com.

BOOK WILL BE MAILED UPON RECEIPT OF ORDER AND PAYMENT.

ABOUT THE EDITORS
Kenneth John received his B.Sc. in Government from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and his Ph.D. in Government from Manchester University. He is also trained as a barrister-at-law. He entered politics briefly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a candidate of the Democratic Freedom Movement. He writes a weekly column in the "Vincentian" newspaper. He also practices law in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Baldwin King received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and his Ph.D. in physical/inorganic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught Applied Chemistry at U.W.I. Mona and currently teaches Physical Chemistry at Drew University, New Jersey, USA where he is Professor of Chemistry. His research interests include inorganic anti-cancer agents. He is the author of "Introduction to Chemistry and the Environment" as well as a number of peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals.

Cheryl King received her B.A. in Political Science from Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, her Diploma in Education (Teaching of English) from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and her M.A. in Political Science from the Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York, New York. She is the author of "Michael Manley and Democratic Socialism." She currently works in the Drew University Library, Madison, New Jersey, USA.