The Ministry of Culture announced the re-launching of the Annual Music Awards, with an edition that will be dedicated to the merengue genre, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Minister Carmen Heredia de Guerrero revealed that on this occasion a posthumous tribute will be paid to “Caballo Mayor”, Johnny Ventura, with a gala scheduled for November 26, as part of Merengue Day in the Dominican Republic.
Details of the Annual Music Awards, which had not been convened since 2017, were offered at a ceremony led on Thursday by the Minister of Culture, at the Casa de la Música. “After four years of long waiting, the Annual Music Awards 2021 are a fact; but, more than that, this contest is a right that has been returned to our artists, who will once again be able to count on this platform to project their talent,” said Heredia de Guerrero, encouraging the country’s musicians to participate in this contest.
The institution officially declared open the call for the reception of the musical works to compete, whose deadline will end on October 31. The awards ceremony will take place on November 22, coinciding with Musician’s Day.
In this edition, “the dedication to merengue obeys the institutional strategies to revalue our national rhythm, in order to promote its projection worldwide”.
Present at the announcement were Juan José and Jandy Ventura, representing the family of the late merengue singer.
The children of the “Caballo Mayor” thanked the Minister of Culture for the initiative to pay a posthumous tribute to their father, and at the same time valued the contest as a very positive event for the country’s music.
