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importance in Dominican society. I discuss the ways in which practices occurring alongside palo
reflect the social and economic conditions faced by the non­elite throughout history.
Furthermore, this chapter discusses the informal healing practices that seek to compensate for the
inaccessibility of needs such as mainstream medicine. As conditions worsened and needs
increased, palo has united communities against the unjust conditions within the country. Chapter
two focuses on how palo and its associated practices reflect Dominican identity, as well as how
palo has evolved to continuously reflect the ever­changing, and extremely dynamic, Dominican
identity.
Chapter three draws extensively on my experiences in the Dominican Republic during the
fall of 2014. During this time, I traveled throughout the Dominican Republic, exploring the
various palo ceremonies throughout the country. As I will mention later, palo is performed
differently in the various regions of the Dominican Republic. Because of this, I would like to
specify that this chapter reflects palo in Villa Mella, Dominican Republic in the fall of 2014:
without this clarification my work would be a generalization that does not do justice to the
complexities and variances of palo music and culture within the Dominican Republic. This
chapter brings the historical analysis of palo into the present­day Dominican Republic. I focus on
how palo has developed since the scholarly work done before me. These developments highlight
the continued adaptability of palo, as well as its recent movement into popular culture. Chapter
three argues for palo’s importance in Dominican society today. It highlights the current struggles
faced and overcome by many Dominicans today, as well as a recently gained acceptance of palo
in Dominican society.
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