The mountain town of Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic is facing severe electrical blackouts despite being located steps away from multiple power generation facilities and a major hydroelectric dam.
Dominican sociologist and communicator Juan Cruz Triffolio described the ongoing situation as distressing and absurd, warning that the persistent power failures threaten local health, employment, and social peace.
In Jarabacoa and its surrounding countryside, where several rivers converge and temperatures drop sharply in the early morning, power goes out unpredictably, returns briefly, and disappears again. Local residents endure a stark paradox: electricity fails continuously despite the town sitting right next to two power generating plants, including one that has operated since the era of former Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.
The region also sits close to the imposing Tavera Dam. Despite this concentration of energy infrastructure, darkness repeatedly covers the area. Triffolio noted that while Jarabacoa offers natural tranquility through its steep mountains, dense foliage, and mountain air, living without power creates a peaceful setting that evokes the fictional town of Macondo from Latin American literature.
Economic disruption and dark tourism
The electrical disruptions are uncounted and follow no fixed schedule or season. In addition to exhausting the patience of residents, the blackouts inflict direct economic harm by ruining refrigerators and other household appliances.
Triffolio characterized the current state of affairs as a reign of tourism by flashlights, candles, and oil lamps. Hundreds of domestic and international visitors travel to the Cordillera Central range to enjoy its pine forests, mountain scenery, and cool climate.
Visitors frequently leave Jarabacoa with photographs of a colorful mountain ecosystem that ends up shrouded in darkness at night. Triffolio argued that failing to provide basic power acts as an unacceptable offense to tourists, risking their permanent loss to the local economy.
Background on Jarabacoa and regional power grid
Jarabacoa, located in the La Vega Province of the Dominican Republic's central mountain region, is widely recognized as the country's primary destination for mountain tourism and ecotourism. The nearby Tavera Dam, built across the Yaque del Norte River in the 1970s, is one of the nation's key hydroelectric reservoirs, supplying power and water to the Cibao region. The reference to the era of El Jefe refers to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, who ruled the nation from 1930 until 1961.
Citing a popular song line by a Mexican vocalist that even beauty wears thin and love ends, Triffolio warned that public tolerance has reached its limit. He emphasized that while communities can endure hardship, government neglect and inaction risk provoking sudden, unpleasant, and necessary public reactions.
Calls for urgent government intervention
Triffolio called on energy officials to enact immediate corrective measures to avoid collective civil protests that could lead to violent and unpredictable consequences. He stressed that residents are not asking for special privileges or gifts, but demanding coherence and efficient service for a community that pays its electricity bills promptly.
Having power generation next door while living in internal darkness is no longer justifiable, Triffolio stated. He concluded that Jarabacoa requires and deserves reliable electricity to safeguard its status as an ecotourism center and protect the well-being of its population.
