In the footsteps of Trujillo the Dictator

The Castle on the Hill

Eduardo, our self-appointed guide, carefully wiped off a thick layer of dust, and out leapt the blue mosaic of a dolphin. We were standing in the bathroom of infamous tyrant Trujillo, or better, in what had intended as a bathroom. Then, we strolled through the five-story building, cast glances at spacious halls with pillars of Italian marble, stucco ceilings, tastefully paneled mahogany floors, dust and soot. Ornaments in the shape of five stars were to be found everywhere, a testament to Trujillo's military hubris. After all, he had appointed himself a five-star general, a "generalissimo". On the third floor we saw the elevator, permanently stuck in this very same spot since the 1950s. "After they had finally managed to free Trujillo from the elevator, he gave the architects 24 hours to leave the country!"

In the bedroom of Flor de Oro, the dictator's spoiled daughter, we learned about amorous adventures with a lugubrious aura. The suitors, chosen by the "black widow" herself from the ranks of her father's junior officers, had all vanished without a trace after the nights of carnal escapades. We stood transfixed at the murals of the Spanish artist Vela Zanetti. "Look at the people's faces", Eduardo ordered us, "do you notice how unhappy they are?" Indeed, they did not look in the least bit cheerful. "When he saw his people portrayed like this, Trujillo gave the artist 24 hours to leave the country!"

And so it went on and on, room after room, episode after episode about the debris of the Castillo del Cerro, the "Castle on the Hill" of San Cristobal, Trujillo's birthplace. The building, intended to further immortalize the "benefactor of the people", was a donation from his sycophants. It was erected in the mid-950s and cost an estimated five million US dollars.

At least, Trujillo must have possessed some taste; he is said to have inspected the "castle" once and may not have made any rounds since the elevator mishap. Eighteen years after the dictator's assassination, 40 families, left homeless by hurricane David, moved into his castle on the hill. Those were some pragmatic people: they used all the mahogany items as fuel for their stoves. The forces of nature, vandalism and the ravages of time have done the rest. Abandoned have been isolated islands of opulence in a sprawling ocean of debris. From the castle, we made our way downhill to the church, the mausoleum of the Trujillo family. We learned all the macabre details of how the dictator's shattered skull had to be pieced together to ready his remains for the funeral.

As mostly violence and junk had accompanied our little trip through the recent history of the republic so far, we were glad to finish the day off in a more hospitable atmosphere - in the La Toma public bath. Dozens of kids floundered about in the pools where Trujillo and his favorite women had once wallowed.