Dr. Yomare Polanco will receive the top award, El Gran Latino at the 2021 Latino Awards to be held this Tuesday, November 23 at the “Brasier Lounge” at 7:00 p.m. located on West 202nd Street in Upper Manhattan with the participation of other outstanding Dominicans during the year who will also be recognized.
Journalist Felix Jerez, organizer of the annual event, said that the awards selection panel, after an airtight evaluation, chose Polanco for his extraordinary contributions dedicated to community work, social works, altruism, solidarity and scientific research that have led him to produce some of the most effective anti-viral (flu) medicines, immunological and slimming compounds such as the famous brand “Fibrasina” to award him the Gran Latino.
Jerez explained that a high-level commission composed of notables from different countries will present the award to Dr. Polanco, consisting of a golden trophy symbolizing the flame of triumph.
He explained that the selection panel chose Polanco among 100 candidates for his great contributions to society and science, the manufacture of medicinal products and for being the owner of the most important laboratory in the northeastern region of the United States, Polanco Industries, which manufactures worldwide consumer brands such as Tylenol Aspirin Bayer and its own line of products.
“For the Latino Awards organization it is a privilege to be able to recognize Dr. Polanco with the highest award of El Gran Latino,” added Jerez.
He highlighted that Polanco is one of the outstanding Dominicans, graduated with honors in Russia and is the founder of a music school and other cultural and civic organizations based in New Jersey and extending to numerous states in the Northeastern United States.
Jerez recalled that Polanco recently donated shipments of medicines valued at US$1 million to vulnerable sectors in the Dominican Republic and has done the same for other countries hit by natural phenomena and tragedies such as Puerto Rico.
Polanco was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 26, 1961. Married for 36 years to Josefina Polanco, they have three daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter.
He is a native of the populous Los Mina neighborhood in the Dominican capital.
He completed his elementary and high school education in Santo Domingo at the Virgen de la Altagracia Catholic School and the Fabio A. Mota High School.
He studied acting and classical guitar at the National Conservatory of Music in Santo Domingo. From 1978 to 1980, while studying at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), he received a scholarship to study chemical engineering in Moscow, Soviet Union, graduating in 1984 with “Summa cum Laude” as a technological chemical engineer at the Moscow Technological University of Food Industry.
In 1986 he completed his master’s degree in engineering specializing in food science and biochemistry at the same university.
In Moscow, Polanco was recognized on several occasions, including the Olympic Prize in Physics and Chemistry in 1983 and 1984. During his studies in Russia, he was elected President of the Organization of Foreign Students (1983-1986).
Upon his return to the Dominican Republic from the former Socialist Orbit, he joined some of the most important industries in his field where he stood out for his ingenuity, creativity and skill.
He has received dozens of recognitions and awards for his scientific and professional achievements and his community leadership, among them, The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (President Bill Clinton, 1999), the Dodge Fellowship Award (State of New Jersey 2000), Toyota Tapestry Award (Toyota Corporation, 2006), Outstanding Example and Role Model of Society Award (Organization for Latino Advancement, 2004), Politician of the Year 2015 (New York, 2015), Dominican of the Year 2016 (FASTIVA, New York 2016), Merit Duartiano (New York 2017), Press and Community (New York 2018), Orgullo Nuestro (Paterson State Parade, New Jersey, 2019).
