Eight people from Providence - including a family of five visitingrelatives for the holidays and a 66-year-old woman returning to builda home for her elderly parents - died on American Airlines Flight 587bound for Santo Domingo yesterday, officials of the DominicanRepublic confirmed.
They were among those who died when the plane nose-dived shortlyafter takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in NewYork.
"This is such an incredible tragedy. I feel like this is a signalfrom God that the end of the world is near," said
Ramon Cabrera, the son-in-law of Marcelina Guerrero, who died inthe crash. "We don't know what else to think."
The crash sent shock waves through the Dominican communities ofBoston, Lawrence, and Providence, which spent all day trying to makesure loved ones were safe. People spent hours watching TV news,scanning the Internet, and making phone calls to the DominicanRepublic and New York, only to get busy circuits messages.
"We hope this wasn't an act of terrorism, but we don't really knowyet," said Abraham Jorge, assistant defense attache for the DominicanEmbassy in Washington.
Dominicans were returning home for the holidays and for weeklongfestivals held in honor of each town's patron saint. They left withlarge suitcases and boxes filled with presents and electronics forfamily back home.
During November and December, the Dominican government pays bandsto play traditional Dominican music like bachata and perico ripiao atthe airport as a welcoming. People are also allowed to bring goods inwithout paying duty taxes.
More than 10,000 Dominicans from New England return home for theholidays, said
Josee Osiris de Leon, Dominican consulate general for New England.
"Dominicans, we say we have one foot here, one foot there," Osirissaid. "We are so strongly connected to our homeland."
Flight 587, a direct flight from New York to Santo Domingo, leavesevery morning. It is so popular that merengue singers Kinito Mendezand Johnny Ventura recorded a song that mentions it by name.
The song "El
Avion" exclaims in Spanish, "The plane has arrived! This is flightnumber 587, destination is Santo Domingo."
Set to a pulsating beat, the song talks about happy peoplearriving with arms full of Christmas gifts. "That was a happy songthat you play every year during the holidays," said Raphy Compress, aDJ for La Mega, a Spanish radio station on 1500 AM. "Now it is a songof sadness."
In Lynn, Ada
Hernandez, was mourning the death of her parents - Luz MariaHernandez, 59, and Teofido Hernandez, 69 - Bronx residents whoplanned to vacation in their homeland.
The door to Ada Hernandez's apartment was propped open, and fromthe hallway sobs could be heard. Inside, Hernandez sat in anoverstuffed chair, tears streaming down her face, comforted by herfive children and husband.
And in Providence, sadness reverberated throughout the Elmwoodsection, where more than 50 mourners packed into a sprawling, two-family home to ponder the loss of an entire family of five and thestange premonition the head of that household felt before he boardedyesterday's ill-fated flight.
Leonardo de la Cruz, 51, and his wife Clara, 48, were on thatflight with their 19-year-old son, Glen, their 13-year-old daughter,Karla, and Leonardo's 77-year-old father, Leonte, according toofficials of the Dominican consulate general's office in Boston.
Leonte de la Cruz, 77, had not drunk a drop of alcohol in 20years, his relatives said, but on Sunday night at the farewell partyheld for his three-month visit home to the island, the elderly mangot drunk on homemade wine and gravely talked of who should inheritwhat in the event of his death.
"He said, `I want to give this to you, this to him, and this toher.' He gave away every little thing he owned," said hisgranddaughter, Belkis Rollins.
Although de la Cruz had flown back and forth many times a yearover the past two decades, this trip frightened him, Rollins said.
"My grandfather was so excited about this trip. I've never seenhim so excited. But yesterday, he said, `I'm scared.' "
Family members bid goodbye on Sunday night to de la Cruz and hisfamily, who joined him on what was to be a two-week trip for thebaptism of an infant relative.
As family members described the clothing the five were wearing toa brother trying to identify bodies at the crash site in New York,some pondered whether yesterday's news was easier to take because theclose-knit family had already said goodbye at the farewell party.
Late last night,
Ramon Abreu, a vice consul for the Dominican Republic, confirmedtwo more deaths: Ubencia and Hipolito Algarroba - a Providence couplewho flew standby on Flight 587.
For Guerrero, who retired from her machine operator job at GemCase in Cranston, R.I., last year at age 67, this trip to SantoDomingo was going to be special.
Unlike other trips, she was going to stay longer, a few weeks, tooversee construction of her elderly parents' dream house, said herdaughter, Rhudy Hernandez.
Guerrero's four children didn't stray far. Her son lived with her,one daughter lived next door, and the two others just a short drivefrom the family's Providence home, where they moved in 1989.
"I cannot imagine living without my mother, I saw her just lastnight," said
Hernandez, of Cranston. "It hasn't even been 24 hours yet. I can'teven imagine what it's going to be like. I already miss her so much.You just can't even imagine. One day you have a mother and the nextday you don't."
Cabrera, the son-in-law, said Guerrero - a devoted Pentacostalchurch leader who loved to give advice - returned to build a home forher 99-year-old father and 87-year-old mother. She recently boughtland and was returning to oversee construction, he said. "She wantedto keep her promise."
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