Jorge Pineda at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany

Jorge Pineda, the second of four Dominican artist taking part in the Davidoff Art Residency Program, hard at work at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany.

Quisqueya Henríquez was the first to reveal her contribution to the Davidoff Art Initiative, with a set of Limited Art Edition set of cigar boxes and wrapping.

Pineda is set to remain at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien from April 1st – June 22nd, 2014.

Photographer: Saskia Hubert — at Künstlerhaus Bethanien.

A Digital Voucher for Poor Families

INDOTEL, the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications, announced the implementation of programs that will lower the costs of internet access in the Dominican Republic.

The program will include a digital voucher for poor families, which they can use to purchase computers at low cost, and towards the installation of internet in the home.

To qualify for the digital voucher, a user will first have to participate in digital educational programs, provided by INDOTEL, where they can learn basic computer and internet lessons.

DR reducing the digital divide

The digital divide in Dominican Republic "has progressively closed." The country in 2013 exceeded three million lines of Internet, said Mirna Gonzalez, in charge of the Technical Support Unit of the National Commission on Information Society and Knowledge of Indotel.

Merca Santo Domingo: Photos and Video

Merca Santo Domingo is a government funded project, a part of the Medina administrations initiatives to improve and promote the Dominican Republic's agriculture and fresh products.

The market provides customers a direct link to producers, cutting out the middleman and the time between consumer and product, and slashing prices.

Dominican Artist Jorge Pineda Exhibits 'Mambrú' in France

Mambrú, Jorge Pineda - 2006

Jorge Pineda, the visual artist born in Barahona, will exhibit his installation 'Mambrú' at the 2014 European Night of Museums at UNESCO, in Paris, France.

Mambrú, which will be on display on Saturday, May 17, 2014, consists of nine sculptures of children, life-size, carved in wood and lined metal pieces.

Pineda exhibited Mambrú at the Brooklyn Museum in 2006, and provided this statement.

Childhood is the time when we start to build up our personality, and it is supposed to be the happiest time of our lives, but social violence makes it difficult to adjust. In order to be strong, children make masks where they can hide fear, so they can play with the negative idea they have of themselves. These masks shield the feelings reflected in society as I show in Mambrú, with its child soldiers who have been taken away and used as instruments of destruction.

Alongside Pineda, will be another contemporary artist from Barahona, Polibio Díaz.

Davidoff Cigars' Limited Art Edition by artist Quisqueya Henríquez

Davidoff Cigars has unveiled the first of their Limited Art Edition set of cigar boxes and wrapping by Dominican artist Quisqueya Henríquez, "whose finely layered images of tobacco leaves capture both meaning and time."

According to Henríquez, her work for Davidoff was inspired by the process of cigar making, which she witnessed while touring and photographing Davidoff's Santiago tobacco fields and factories.

Quisqueya Henríquez, was born in Havana, Cuba in 1966. She studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana and the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo. Henriquez has exhibited her work throughout Latin America, Europe, and the US.

The Davidoff brand has been making cigars for over a century, spanning the globe in countries such as Russia, Geneva, South America and Cuba.

Another inspiration cited by Henriquez is the iconic 1922 photograph by Max Halberstadt of Sigmund Freud smoking a cigar.

Davidoff Art Initiative

The Davidoff Art Initiative seekd to make a lasting contribution to the contemporary art field, in particular in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean region, where Davidoff's products are cultivated and crafted.

Quisqueya Henríquez is one of four artist that are currently part of the Davidoff Art Iniative of Dominican Heritage, which includes Mónica Ferreras de la Maza, Jorge Pineda and Pascal Meccariello.

OSS#01 Garden at Duarte Square taking shape

The Outer Seed Shadow #01 Garden at the Juan Pablo Duarte Square in lower Manhattan has begun to take shape.

Since May 3, 2014, the OSS#01 crew and volunteers have been down there setting things up, and yesterday the planting began -- You can track the progress on their Facebook page.

Photos from OSS#01 at Duarte Square

TV adaptation of "The Feast of the Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa

Televisa has announced the start of filming in Colombia, of the tv series "El Chivo," based on the novel by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa on Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, "The Feast of the Goat."

In a statement, Televisa stated that the series will feature performances by an international cast, led by Mexican actor Julio Bracho, who will play the role Trujillo, and indicated that filming will take place at various points through the Atlantic coast of Colombia.

The project is a collaboration between Televisa and the Colombian television producer RTI.

The novel, which was published in 2000 under the title "La Fiesta del Chivo," was previously adpated for the big screen by Luis Llosa, cousin of Mario Vargas Llosa, and was also adapted for the stage, by Jorge Alí Triana and his daughter Veronica Triana, directed by Jorge Triana.

See " La fiesta del chivo" Trailer on YouTube

Gabriel Abreu / Gabz

Se califica como un artista sin límites, tanto en técnicas como estilo, en su búsqueda de lo inusual. Sus proyectos artísticos ilustrados se pueden apreciar en el barrio Santa Bárbara de la Zona Colonial, en Pantoja, y en diferentes localidades del Malecón. Su experiencia en esta creativa forma de hacer arte le ayudó a representar el país, visitando lugares como las islas Guadalupe en el “Hip Hop Sessions 7”, del año 2013, en el festival y proyecto independiente Chia 2013, en la ciudad de Bogotá, y en el presente año, en La Habana, con el proyecto Transitando Cuba.

– Solángel Ortega Reyes

Gabriel Abreu, artista del graffiti conocido como Gabz, nacio el 1976 en la ciudad de Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana. Estudio diseño grafico en la Universidad APEC.

Miguel de Jiménez Camps, Dominican historian, recognized for his work

Writer, historian, broadcaster and lawyer Miguel de Jiménez Camps, was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate of the XVII International Book Fair 2014, for his contributions to the Dominican culture.

The ceremony was presided over by José Antonio Rodríguez, Minister of Culture, with the participation of Valentine Amaro, director of Books and Reading, and Pedro Antonio Valdez, executive director of the Fair.

Jiménez Camps is the founder of Editora Manatí. He earned a master's degree in graphic arts and another in Dominican and Caribbean history.

He is the author of the book Understanding the Dominican National Anthem, which analyzes the history and patriotic values ​​of the Dominican Republic. Jiménez Camps overs the meaning of each stanza of the Dominican National Anthem and offers insights into the reasons that led to Emilio Prud'homme to write it.

Belen Pereyra, Dancer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Belen Pereyra, born in Lawrence, MA, began her formal dance training at the Boston Arts Academy, where she graduated as valedictorian.

She is of Dominican descent, as both her parents are from the Dominican Republic.

Both my parents were engineers who had their degrees but had to start from scratch when they immigrated here to create a better life for their kids. Dad had excellent rhythm but it was my mother who was passionate about the arts. Seeing something within me she pushed me hard to pursue my career. She’s my biggest fan. I get my strength from her.

Pereyra, was a member of Origination Cultural Arts Center in Boston. Upon moving to New York City, Ms. Pereyra was closely mentored by Earl Mosley and danced with Camille A. Brown & Dancers for three years, during which time she performed at The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and Dancers Responding to AIDS’ annual events, Dance from the Heart and The Fire Island Dance Festival.

She was an apprentice for Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company, and has performed with Lula Washington Dance Theater, Nathan Trice, and Roger C. Jeffrey.

She assisted Matthew Rushing with his ballet Uptown for the Ailey company in 2009.

Belen Pereyra joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company in 2011.

Sources for this article: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater