Desiderio Arias: Caudillo, Bandit, and Culture Hero

Abstract

A LEGEND IS IN THE PROCESS of formation in the Dominican Republic. It concerns a man named Desiderio Arias, a guerrilla chieftain (caudillo) who outlived his time and was killed by the orders of the dictator, Rafael Trujillo, in I931. After his death the general populace ceased talking about him publicly for fear of being linked with him in any way, and even during the summer of 1970 there were a few elderly persons who spoke about him with reluctance and only after great urging and reassurance that no possible harm could come to them as a result. There is no doubt whatever that Desiderio Arias lived, although it is interesting that during fieldwork I was unable to locate any documentary proof of his birth, baptism, or marriage. Many older persons still living claim to have known him well, and a few claim kinship links with him, even though these are tenuous at best. No confirmed direct descendants have been located, and many who knew him well insist he had neither legitimate nor illegitimate children. Desiderio is today described by most Dominicans as having been generous, honest, shy, humble, intelligent, though only self-educated, as well as intensely proud and patriotic. He is also remembered as handsome, very tall for his time (6 feet or over), with regal posture, and, contrary to the usual macho mystique, not addicted to chasing women. It is said that the country people loved, rather than feared, him, and that he never killed anyone or betrayed a trust. He was given food and shelter for the asking, but he never stooped to robbery. A popular merengue sings of him in ballad style, as follows: