Amid developments in the David Ortiz shooting, Philly Latinos talk about the implications

On Monday, the world was gripped by the news that former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz had been shot in his native Dominican Republic — no one more so than Dominicans, there and abroad.

Since then, developments have kept Caribbean Latinos closely monitoring their social accounts for Dominican media posts. They’re talking about it in WhatsApp, barber shops, and dining rooms.

For Philly Latinos, the case of the beloved player known as “Big Papi” hit even closer to home Thursday: One of the suspects, Luis Alberto Rivas Clase, is also wanted in a 2018 shooting in Reading. And the Ortiz shooting followed other unwanted attention for the country — four tourists died there in the span of a week.

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We spoke with Philly Dominicans, the second-largest Latino community in the area, about how they have grappled with the shooting and the implications they believe it has for their community.

Wellington Frías, 33, a barber in Juniata Park/Feltonville, born in the province of Sánchez Ramírez, said he’s felt so much rage about what happened that he can’t find the words to express it. He knows this: The shooter couldn’t have known it was Ortiz or he wouldn’t have targeted him.

“One does not have to hang out with David Ortiz to know who he is and what he has done for our country and the name of our people,” he said.

His clients haven’t stopped talking about the case. “Everyone is moved by this right now: me, my family, the neighborhood, everybody,” he said.

Because of Ortiz’s high profile, people outside of the country are now aware of the island’s gangs and assassin squads.

Rafael García, 58, a taxi driver who lives in Feltonville and is from Santiago de los Caballeros in the northern region, has been monitoring the news via WhatsApp chat groups. The shooting, he said, merely reflects a reality for the typical Dominican, which leaves him indignant.

“Thank the Lord that David Ortiz is a charismatic, well-known, and cared-for personality that has been taken in by Boston," he said, “because this is not the case for every Dominican.”

Jimmy Durán, too, worries how the shooting has cast the country and its people in a bad light.

“We are mourning," said Durán, 44, a Dominican banker who lives in East Falls, "because he represents the achievement of our nation in the United States.”

It also highlights how corruption and a lack of leadership has led to an increase in violence and crime there, he said. What Dominicans need, Durán said, is a new generation of leaders on the island and elsewhere.

But if there are no ramifications in some of the most infamous corruption cases in Latin America — bribery by Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, for instance — why would anyone fear repercussions in the shooting of Ortiz? “Our youth see that our leaders face no consequences in this culture of impunity that exists,” he said.

(Other Latino major league players have been victims of gun violence in their home countries. Carl Herrera Allen, who played for the Houston Rockets and was the first Venezuelan in the NBA, was shot and wounded during an attempted robbery in a Caracas restaurant in 2014.)

Leotulfo Giménez, 69, may not be Dominican (he’s from the state of Lara, Venezuela), and he may be a Yankees fan, but he said he has nothing but admiration for Big Papi, in his view the best designated hitter in MLB history.

“David Ortiz is bigger than Dominican Republic," said the Poplar resident. "Bigger than Boston. Bigger than the sport. He deserves the respect and consideration of all Latinos around the world.”