Dominican Cocolo Food and Culture

En Español

Cocolo history

I traveled to San Pedro de Macorís, Cocolo country, and Ms. Margot Dunker was my guide to cocolo culture. She heads a foundation that works to preserve cocolo culture, and owns Rincón Cocolo, a small fonda that serves cocolo food. My first question to her, of course, was about who the cocolos were:

"Cocolos are Dominican descended from black immigrants from the British West Indies, mainly from the Westward and Leeward Islands."

Many cocolos immigrated from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos; Margot's family came from St Martin. But the name was applied to anyone from former (and current) British possessions who, starting in the 1800s and up to 1920 [2], came to work in the sugar industry. Most cocolos are now second, third, and fourth-generation Dominicans.

Although there are some similarities with the culture of freed enslaved people who immigrated from the US to Samana and - to a lesser extent - Puerto Plata, and other groups of black English-speaking migrants [2], Cocolos are a distinct group.

Tía Clara and Margot Dunker at Rincón Cocolo.

Cocolos were active in establishing protestant churches in the country, including Anglican and Evangelical congregations.

They founded some of the first "mutual aid societies", in which members paid a membership fee and received financial assistance in case of sickness, death, and legal difficulties. Cocolo immigrants also established several lodges in the country, some exclusively for Cocolo immigrants, although they later opened their membership to anyone.

Another well-known contribution from Cocolos is the "guloyas," a dance troupe now a part of the traditional carnival parade.

San Pedro de Macorís Cathedral, and Guloya carnival.

The meaning of cocolo

The origin of the term "Cocolo" itself is in dispute. It appears in literature going back to the mid-1800s used to describe Haitian immigrants derogatorily, but there is at least an example of the word, used to describe a Taino boy.

"It seems to have been synonymous with dark-skinned person," Margot tells me, "but it is nowadays just a name for this group of British West Indies immigrants, and it's lost its offensive connotations."

Cocolo food

And, of course, food and drinks were part of the cocolo contribution to our culinary heritage.

The best-known dish of those is Yaniqueque, followed by Domplines. Lesser known are Guavaberry - a drink - Calalú, a stew named after one of its ingredients, the leaves of yautía coco, and Funyí, a corn-based dish. You can also enjoy Dulce de arrayán, or guavaberry in syrup.

It's important to note that many other dishes may have been lost in time or only survived within Cocolo families.

Are you a descendant of Cocolos? How do you keep this part of your culinary heritage alive? We'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Other sources

• Tolentino Dipp, Hugo, Itinerario Histórico de la Gastronomía Dominicana (Santo Domingo: Amigo del Hogar, 2014).
• Orlando, Inoa, Trabajadores Inmigrantes en República Dominicana (Santo Domingo: Ed. Letra Gráfica, 2018) p. 98, 106-108.
• J. Marcano - Los Cocolos - Origins
• Revista Acento - Los aportes de la comunidad guloya a la cultura de República Dominicana
• Los Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís