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Many times I’ve wondered what’s so special about this way of being, why there’s always a smile on the face, an invitation to share life and, above everything else, a way of understanding visitors in a rapid and kindhearted fashion.

Could it be that people living in this neck of the woods called Caribbean have been born with the gift of kindness? Could it be that our lovely environment has a special kind of influence in our way of being?

The answer doesn’t lie in our genetic map nor in the influence this balmy weather could exert on our character, but deeply in the formation process of our diverse, yet similar cultural features.

Our region has always been one of crossovers, from the times of the first dwellers –the Arawacks- who were being pushed upward by the fierce onslaught of the Caribs. Then came the Europeans from different parts of the Old World: Spaniards from all local provinces; Britons, Frenchmen, Italians, Dutchmen, Flamencos, Germans. All of them with multiple purposes on their minds but every one of them lured by the magic of the New World.

They settled down here –aplatanados, as we call it- and became Indians. Their offspring, for their part, turned out far more different from their parents.

A new way of being was whipped into shape by a culture that Africans were steadily enriching. These people from the Black Continent –their coming was the result of the ill-fated slave trade- gave this part of the world its definite look.

Angolans, Gangas, Lucumies, Carabalies, Congos, so different from one another, ended up melting into each other in our region with the so-called whites, in this case the Spaniards who had washed ashore in the 16th century and were coming with half-bred blood in their veins as a result of their mixing with Arabs during the latter’s eight-century ironfisted rule over the Iberian Peninsula.

Later on, Philippines, Chinamen and Indians joined in from the Far East, building their homes in this region as well. Jews, Syrians and Arabs rounded out a melting pot of peoples and cultures that made the brewing broth of languages, traditions and likings a whole lot harder to swallow.

This influx of people from everywhere under the sun is still taking place today. An example that helps illustrate this clustering manner our culture really has is the local cuisine. Countless dishes that combine an assortment of ingredients, ranging from the Caribbean-flavored Brazilian feiojadas to the Cuban ajiaco, or the way kidney beans are cooked in Puerto Rico, the numerous broths you find in the English- and French-speaking Caribbean, and the Dominican sancocho.

It’s good to note that even though this plate takes quite a cooking time –some 90 minutes- the making process can be fun if we guzzle icy schooners of suds with our friends. Keep that in mind.

El “Sancocho” Dominicano. Ingredients 1 lb of mutton 1 lb of pork sausage 1 lb of pork meat 2 lbs of boned beef 1 ½ lbs of chicken 2 lbs of pork chops 1 lb of smoked ham bones 1 tablespoon of grated garlic 4 tablespoons of oil 2 big green peppers (diced) 2 big onions ½ lb of ham sliced in small dices 2 tablespoons of celery ½ lb of malanga sliced in small pieces ½ lb of potatoes (diced) 3 green plantains, two of them diced in small pieces ½ cup of caper 2 ears of corn cut in slices ½ teaspoon of ground oregano ½ teaspoon of coriander 2 teaspoons of vinegar 2 teaspoons of spicy sauce 4 lemons cut in halves

Preparation 1. Put the beef in a pot together with the celery, the coriander, the garlic, the vinegar, the caper, the seasoning and a pinch of salt. Stir the mixture well to blend all the ingredients.

2. Heat the oil in an iron pot and put the mixture in it carefully. You must prevent the mixture from getting sticky by pouring tablespoons of water little by little.

3. Cover the pot with a lid and stir every once in a while as you add the water (when necessary). This process should take approximately 20 minutes.

4. Cook the pork meat for some 15 minutes, adding water when necessary.

5. Add the rest of the meats and the peppers to the mixture.

6. Add a quarter of a gallon of water and wait till it boils.

7. Add the corn, the malanga and the two diced plantains, letting the whole thing cook for 10 minutes.

8. Grate the other plantains and put them in the pot.

9. Add the remainder of the ingredients and add more water (if necessary).

10. Stir regularly to prevent the sancocho from getting sticky and let it cook until the last ingredients are ready.

11. Grate the corn and add it into the pot. Let the whole thing cook until the stew gets thick.

12. Add as much salt as you like.

It must be served hot accompanied by avocado and white rice.