Santo Domingo

The most beautiful land human eyes have ever seen" is how Christopher Columbus described the island of Hispaniola during his first voyage to the New World in 1492.More importantly, it was here that the epic traveler put down roots and paved the way for Spanish expansion into the Western Hemisphere.The Dominican Republic, which occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island, is busy preparing for the 500th anniversary of that discovery in 1992. Historic sites are being restored, celebrations are planned and even the pope is invited.

On an ordinary day, Katie Goldsmith would be monitoring political and security conditions in West Africa from Catholic Relief Services' Baltimore headquarters. But on Thursday, with Haitians still waiting for international help in recovering from the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, Goldsmith was working the phones at the agency, trying to find a port where it could begin landing food, medicine and supplies in the Caribbean nation of 9 million. "We've heard that the commercial port in Port-au-Prince is nonoperable," Goldsmith said in between calls.

Zino Davidoff, 87, a flamboyant Russian emigre known as "King of the Cigars" who helped make Cuban cigars world famous, died Friday in Geneva. The son of a cigar merchant, he fled to Switzerland from his native Ukraine in 1911. He later went to Cuba, where he became the world's largest supplier of hand-rolled Havanas. In 1989, he dumped his Cuban suppliers, complaining about the quality of their cigars and switched to suppliers in Santo Domingo.

On an ordinary day, Katie Goldsmith would be monitoring political and security conditions in West Africa from Catholic Relief Services' Baltimore headquarters. But on Thursday, with Haitians still waiting for international help in recovering from the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, Goldsmith was working the phones at the agency, trying to find a port where it could begin landing food, medicine and supplies in the Caribbean nation of 9 million. "We've heard that the commercial port in Port-au-Prince is nonoperable," Goldsmith said in between calls.

A State Department official who worked at U.S. embassies in Antigua and the Dominican Republic has been indicted in Baltimore on eight corruption charges tied to his alleged sales of guns and cars, money-laundering and misuse of his official position for profit.The defendant, George R. Mitchell, 42, of the 3500 block of Menlo Drive, has been released on a $50,000 bond pending trial after an appearance this week before a magistrate in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Welsh said Mitchell, the former regional security officer at the two embassies, has been relieved of those duties and now is working in an administrative job at the State Department in Washington.

CUZCO, Peru -- Five centuries after seeing their holiest temples demolished and rebuilt as Catholic churches, the Incas are fighting back.When the Spanish destroyed Incan civilization in the 16th century, they asserted their presence by building on sites worshiped by the Incas. In this wind-swept town, for example, Franciscan monks built the monastery of Santo Domingo on top of Koricancha, or Temple of the Sun, the holiest shrine in an empire that stretched from Colombia to Argentina.But now, the survivors of that Andean culture and their allies are trying to unearth Koricancha -- much to the concern of the church that rests precariously on top.The fight is being closely watched throughout Latin America, as native Americans in this former Inca capital fight to reclaim their buried cultural heritage -- even if it threatens the European culture grafted on top.Symbolic of the changing times is that the Incas have found allies in government and business.

A State Department regional security official from Baltimore who worked at the U.S. embassies in Antigua and the Dominican Republic has been convicted of illegally exporting weapons and committing three other federal crimes tied to his sales of guns for profit in the islands.George R. Mitchell, 42, of the 3500 block of Menlo Drive, was convicted Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore by a jury that ,, deliberated slightly less than two days at the end of a three-week trial.The jury convicted Mitchell of the weapons exportation count, the most serious in the indictment; accepting illegal payments for using his official status to avoid customs duties on eight vehicles he exported for sales in the islands; and two counts of failing to report his importation of cash from those sales into this country.

Brunilda Jimenez was making coffee yesterday morning when she got a frantic call from family in the Dominican Republic - her sister, Carmen Medina, was flying to Santo Domingo and no one was certain if her plane was the one that crashed minutes after take-off from New York. As she watched the news on television, she got the call confirming her worst fears - her sister was on American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, that had departed John F. Kennedy Airport bound for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- "Hey," said the very American relief pitcher, listening to the salsa music between innings, "I see where Maryland's football coach resigned."The equally American reporter from Baltimore, who was sitting on the bench in the visitors' dugout -- the manager had invited him -- looked up. "Where did you hear that?" he asked.Said the relief pitcher: "I get CNN at the hotel. . . ."CNN? Hotel?"Yeah," he said. "I get HBO and the Movie Channel, too. All the American networks.

Discover the arts of Veracruz, Puebla and Tlaxcala on a cultural tour that begins Jan. 12. The 11-night tour focuses on the art, archaeology and history of the region, east of Mexico City. "We see archaeological sites, and we see a lot of different types of art - from ancient pre-Columbian to cutting-edge," said tour leader Jean Grimm. In Veracruz, the group will tour the fortress of San Juan de Ulza and trace the trail of Hernando Cortes, the Spanish explorer who landed there in 1519.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - There's something about firsts, and Santo Domingo, the oldest city of the Americas, boasts many. In the Dominican capital for the first time, I sat in the courtyard of an apartment complex, listening as the neighbors relayed a long list of must-sees: among them, the first street, military fortress and cathedral of the New World. Lucky for me, my friend (and Dominican native) Alex knew where to go and what to do. We had only a long weekend, and had been en route to the car when his neighbors' chatter led us to peek in for a quick hello.

In an attempt to improve an international scouting system widely considered among the worst in Major League Baseball, the Orioles have agreed to an extended lease on a new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, just east of the island's capital city of Santo Domingo. The facility, which is more than half-completed, will be in Boca Chica, between Santo Domingo and San Pedro de Macoris, where the Orioles currently run a Spartan operation that basically consists of two barracks and a field for 50 players.

PAMPLONA, Spain -- The skies were overcast on that July morning as I made my way through a thick crowd of people on Calle Santo Domingo. I was searching for my new Spanish friends, but everyone was dressed the same - white shirt and pants, red neckerchief, sneakers - and for a moment I began to think I was on my own. Alone among all these faces. But I found them, and then I knew this crazy thing might really happen. I was standing in the street where I would soon be running for my life, holding a rolled-up newspaper in my hand, my feet shifting nervously in the cool air. In a few minutes, a flare was going to be fired into the sky, a corral door would swing open and six bulls weighing 1,000 pounds each would hurtle toward me - toward all of us. We would have to run with every ounce of energy just to stay in front of their horns.

Discover the arts of Veracruz, Puebla and Tlaxcala on a cultural tour that begins Jan. 12. The 11-night tour focuses on the art, archaeology and history of the region, east of Mexico City. "We see archaeological sites, and we see a lot of different types of art - from ancient pre-Columbian to cutting-edge," said tour leader Jean Grimm. In Veracruz, the group will tour the fortress of San Juan de Ulza and trace the trail of Hernando Cortes, the Spanish explorer who landed there in 1519.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - It has been nearly two years since Spanish scientists asked to examine the contents of this Caribbean nation's most celebrated tomb to determine whether the centuries-old bones are those of Christopher Columbus. They've been told yes, no and maybe. The protracted deliberation through two Dominican administrations has deepened suspicions that authorities here don't really want a definitive answer for fear that the mammoth lighthouse mausoleum they've built into a tourist draw isn't the bona fide resting place of the explorer.

FORTY YEARS AGO, on the morning of April 26, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson spoke with a top State Department official about fast-moving events in the Dominican Republic. A popular rebellion was on the verge of toppling a military junta and restoring the country's democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, to power. "This Bosch is no good," Mr. Johnson said. "He's no good at all," replied Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Mann, who added: "If we don't get a decent government in there, Mr. President, we get another Bosch.

FORTY YEARS AGO, on the morning of April 26, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson spoke with a top State Department official about fast-moving events in the Dominican Republic. A popular rebellion was on the verge of toppling a military junta and restoring the country's democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, to power. "This Bosch is no good," Mr. Johnson said. "He's no good at all," replied Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Mann, who added: "If we don't get a decent government in there, Mr. President, we get another Bosch.

When he recorded the song "El Avion," Dominican merengue star Kinito Mendez was singing of sheer joy -- the thrill of flying home for Christmas, of saving money all year for a blissful month of food and rum, dancing and family. It's such a specific experience, so firmly etched in the Dominican consciousness, that he mentioned the most popular flight from the United States. "The plane has arrived," he sang. "Flight number 587, direct to Santo Domingo." That number is infamous now, forever linked to the American Airlines flight that crashed last Monday in New York.

MAZATLAN, Mexico - Miguel Tejada has said one of the highlights of his inaugural season in Baltimore was playing with Rafael Palmeiro, a member of the 500-home run club. The Orioles" shortstop sounds even more thrilled knowing a second member of that elite group will be joining him in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this month when spring training opens. "I can't wait to see me and Sammy Sosa playing every day together." Tejada said. "Being on the same team with Sammy Sosa is a dream come true.

MAZATLAN, Mexico - Miguel Tejada has said one of the highlights of his inaugural season in Baltimore was playing with Rafael Palmeiro, a member of the 500-home run club. The Orioles shortstop sounds even more thrilled knowing a second member of that elite group will be joining him in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this month when spring training opens. "I can't wait to see me and Sammy Sosa playing every day together," Tejada said. "Being on the same team with Sammy Sosa is a dream come true. Now, I'm going to be playing with two guys with more than 500 home runs.