The Life and Times of Puerto Plata: Six Short True Tales

·     “When Sanabia was a kid, he would play a saxophone up in the park for money,” explains Puerto. “And when he had enough money to buy the family lunch, he had a special song he would play extra loud, and the boys would run up to get the money for lunch.”

·     There were two well-known guitarists in Santiago. One was from La Jolla, one from Los Pepines; two separate neighborhoods. During carnival time, there was always a contest for the nicest company in the festivities. Usually La Jolla or Los Pepines would win. “When one side would win, the other guys would come after them with machetes and knives,” recalls Puerto Plata. “Musicians would talk about each other and start trouble with each other. But everyone had to end up in La Jolla, because that’s where the bars were.”

·     Puerto Plata had an off-chance run-in with Trujillo when the dictator’s yacht docked nearby and the wife of the fruit company’s owner asked Puerto to hand deliver some homemade sweets. “I was young and I didn’t know any better, so I walked right onto the yacht,” he remembers. “I figured a servant or someone would come out, but the door opened and there was Trujillo himself right in front of me! He said, “Who is this?! What are you doing here?!’ I almost died of fear, but I managed to tell him about the gift. I remember he had a high voice… like a flute. And he gave me a nice, big tip.”

·     Later, around the time Trujillo was shot and killed, Puerto Plata was waiting for a train having some drinks in a bar one late night. He had a special pass from the fruit company that allowed him to get on and off the train as needed without showing a ticket. A friend with him said, “José, the train’s leaving, the train’s leaving!” He replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll hop on the last car,” and that is what he did. Along the way, some soldiers stopped the train and asked the conductor how many passengers were on the train. “Just me and the brakeman,” he replied. But when the soldiers checked they found one more person: Puerto Plata.
     As soon as they saw his dark skin, they thought he was Luis Amllamatio, one of Trujillo’s assassins. They handcuffed Puerto Plata and began discussing whether their sergeant would be happier if they brought him in dead or alive. “The fear was so great, I couldn’t even think, let alone talk,” says Puerto. When they got back to the barracks, the sergeant was furious saying, “This is what you bring me!?” It turned out that he was an old drinking buddy of Puerto. The sergeant continued, “The most this guy could kill is a bottle of rum!” He let Puerto Plata go and said with a smile, “The next time you show up here, you better have a bottle of rum!”

·     One night when Puerto Plata and his bandmates were coming back from singing serenades, they had to pass through a rough part of town. “This guy suddenly appears out of an alley, but he was dressed in a suit and tie and an expensive watch,” says Puerto. “He asked us if we could play a particular new popular song. We had just learned it so we went with the guy down one street around a curve, down another street. We finally got there and played the serenade for his girlfriend. The guy was really excited, and took out a mere 14 cents, and said, ‘Thank you; that should complete your night.’ Daniel was livid with rage, and I laughed all the way home.”

·     Another time, when the trio played in a town close to the Haitian border, they got a return ride in the back of a pickup truck. They were all dressed up in suits and ties. Daniel fell asleep and when they were stopped at a police check point, Puerto shushed the officers saying, “Shhh, be quiet!” The officers replied, “Why… who is that back there?” “That’s the Haitian ambassador,” Puerto said. But when the police looked, they all laughed, recognizing Daniel from his baseball days.

Additional Info
Machete Rivalries, a Fierce Dictator, & a Cheery 84-Year-Old ...
Six True Performance Tales
Song Lyrics in Spanish
Song Lyrics in English

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