Fefita La Grande at La Terraza Paraiso, El Limon, Samana

On Sunday, December 26^th, El Limon played host to one of the music legends of the Dominican Republic, Fefita La Grande. We had heard of Fefita from a friend in Santiago and couldn’t believe she would actually be performing in our neighborhood. The venue was La Terraza Paraiso in El Limon, Samana – a quick 10-minute ride from our house in La Barbacoa.

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According to Wikipedia, Fefita La Grande was born in September of 1925 1944. She is internationally known for her impressive accordion skills. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, Fefita la Grande has played a key role in the development of Merengue Tipica – one of the national music genres of the Dominican Republic. Her longevity on the music scene here has made her a very influential performer and composer – she has essentially played merengue since it was invented and helped it evolve throughout the last century.

You would never guess she was 85 67-years-old watching her play her accordion. Fefita was definitely the lead attraction – Tina Turner could learn a few moves for her next show here. Fefita plays with a well-rounded merengue band and she towers over the rest of the performers in high heels and big auburn-blond hair. She also provides much of the vocals and sets the pace for the group to ensure the dancers have an up-tempo beat.  She was dressed in a fuchsia pantsuit reminiscent of some of Michael Jackson’s Thriller wardrobe – lots of zippers and snaps.

La Terraza Paraiso also makes sure anyone who wants to dance has a blast. They have a large raised dance floor adjacent to the stage that easily holds forty or fifty people twisting and spinning to the beat. We had plenty of room to scoot to the back and practice our merengue without being seen or interfering with the more seasoned dance partners at the front of the dance floor.

La Terraza Paraiso charged a $250RD cover per person and served well-chilled grande el Presidente beer for $75RD all night long. They also have bottle service available for any cocktails and plenty of ice to keep it all cold. Eat before you go, though. La Terraza doesn’t serve food and that can be a drawback when the show advertised to begin at 6pm doesn’t start until 9pm.

Come prepared to drink and dance – load up on food before the event and plan to merengue the night away. La Terraza Paraiso is located in El Limon, on the left side of the road heading out of town to Samana. If coming from Las Terrenas, turn right at the main intersection in El Limon, shown below.

The intersection to Samana in downtown El Limon