Among the main novelties to be exhibited at the First Dominican Cultural and XII Dominican Book Fair to be inaugurated at the educational campus of the George Washington Media and Communication High School in Upper Manhattan this Friday, October 15, are the film, fashion, health, gastronomy and beauty pavilions that will be exhibited for the first time in the history of the event organized by the Dominican Commissioner of Culture in the United States (CODCUL), led by Commissioner Lourdes Batista Jakab and General Director Javier Fuentes.
The aforementioned pavilions have generated great expectations among both young people and the community in general for the attractive and up-to-date information that will be disseminated on these shelves.
The school is located at 549 East Audubon Avenue and 193rd Street in Upper Manhattan and hundreds of visitors are expected to attend, attracted by the multiplicity of events, exhibits, conferences, performances and the presence of high-ranking Dominican officials, celebrities in different fields and representatives of state and city agencies.
The commissioner and Fuentes assured that everything is ready for the assembly of the cultural and book fair.
“It is the first time in the history of this activity that the pavilions of cinema, gastronomy, fashion and beauty are inaugurated, which will have a great number of activities for the enjoyment of all the public in general for children, adults and adolescents who participate”, explained Fuentes.
The film pavilion will show the film on the life, struggle and assassination of revolutionary engineer Amín Abel Hasbún, murdered by the secret police (SS) of Joaquín Balaguer’s government, a documentary on immigration, among several microfilms and short films.
In the fashion and beauty pavilion, there will be a conference on the socioeconomic contribution of beauty salons and the chabacana as a country brand, among other presentations by different designers and designers where the folkloric group “Los Guloyas”, declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and the Lechones de Santiago will also perform. The gastronomy area will be coordinated by husband and wife team Amilkar and Pamela Gonell, and Dominican Michelin chef Maria Marte, winners of the Guinness World Record for the largest mangú in the world.
The health pavilion will be performing different types of free exams that in any clinic or hospital without medical insurance cost more than $300 dollars, which will be performed by Dr. Douglas Méndez, his wife Denise, Dr. Roa and other doctors.
Fuentes expressed that the commissioner feels highly motivated by the response of the community leaders who are supporting the events and that it had four years without being held, and despite the uncertainty for COVID-19 the official and a great team of outstanding specialists, activists, cultural managers, artists and volunteers, decided to mount it in faith, not knowing if they would receive financial support from the Ministry of Culture in the Dominican Republic.
“There is great enthusiasm on the part of employees and collaborators who are working on the smallest detail so that the Diaspora will have a quality fair,” said Fuertes.
“We are developing a new Cultural Fair project in which the sponsors are representatives of different agricultural and mining sectors of the country as a way not only to promote and encourage reading, but also for other nations to get to know our cultural heritage and our production so that this can serve as motivation to visit our land and strengthen the tourism coffers,” explained the director of the fair.
He invited to the Gala Dinner for funds to be held at the Beverly Hills Manor event hall in the building at 1700 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.
