The Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic and the District Institute of the Arts (Idartes) of the Office of the Mayor of Bogota, closed the series of conferences and workshops on bachata and merengue, rhythms declared by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which took place throughout the week.
The training cycle, which took place at the Casa de la Música, was part of the first phase of the project “Capacity building for collaborative work and networking in arts and culture programs focused on the dance of the heritage rhythms of bachata and merengue in Bogota”, with the support of the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia) and the Dominican Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development.
The meeting was held since last Monday, August 5 and was the first country offer through South-South Cooperation, for the teaching of bachata and merengue to managers and teachers of dance in the city of Bogota, led by the Dominican Republic, is one of the most important projects and of greater perspective due to the technical and pedagogical skills of specialists in the music sector for the cultural wealth that the country possesses.
Closing program
The day’s closing program began on Friday with the workshop “Teaching the rhythm of bachata”, given by maestro Natanael de la Cruz, and continued with a presentation entitled “Experience of Idartes-Bogotá in bachata and merengue dissemination programs”, given by the delegation of Colombian dancers and choreographers participating in the event.
In the afternoon, cultural manager Alexis Méndez gave a lecture entitled “Concepts of the internationalization of bachata”, in which he addressed the global phenomenon of this rhythm, analyzing the factors that have contributed to its international expansion. The specialist also highlighted the challenges and opportunities currently facing this genre.
Friday’s event culminated with a presentation by Alberto Zayas entitled “Dominican Republic, a Republic of Records” where he presented the process to achieve two Guinness World Records for the largest merengue and bachata dances in the world, highlighting the unity of a country to achieve it.
On Saturday 10, the training of trainers cycle was closed with a visit of the Colombian delegation accompanied by Dominican managers and dancers to the entertainment center “Super Terraza El Grande”, located in Manoguayabo, where a style of bachata called Los Carrandales is danced.
The initiative is part of the programming of the VII Joint Commission for Technical, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation between Colombia and the Dominican Republic for the period 2023-2025.
Source:presidencia.gob.do
