Plaza Espana On an evening in March

    Plaza Espana is a popular night spot in Santo Domingo. There are events and live music here. but, this evening, early, people are just beginning to arrive as the moon rises just above Columbus’s right shoulder. The Alcazar de Don Colon is closed and there is only a light on in the front entry where a night watchman fixes himself a cup of hot tea before he walks the Palace and talks with ghosts. Tables in front of the restaurants will be filled before long and waiters wearing red pirate bandana’s will be shuffling out drinks till the wee hours of the morning. In the old days, this Plaza must have been filled with shrubs, tropical plants and trees with secluded alcoves where men and women  exchanged carefully worded letters sealed with wax and lipstick. Today, through the night, cell phones light the romance way, fingers moving like those of a nervous groom just before his wedding. The Plaza Espana, this evening, is just beginning to heat up.     .