Scherezade Garcia

Scherezade Garcia was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in October, 1966. As a child she became involved in the arts by participating in mural painting projects with visual artists Elias Delgado and Nidia Serra, influenced by their portrayals of racial and sociological themes.

In 1986, she earned an A.A.S. Degree in Fine Arts from the Altos de Chavon School of Design, in La Romana, an affiliated with Parsons School of Design in New York City. That same year, Garcia moved to New York as a student at Parsons School of Design, where she obtained the Parsons Institutional Scholarship and the Dana Foundation Work Grant.

In 1988, she earned a BFA degree from Parsons, and in 2010, she recieved an MFA in Sudio Art from the City College of New York.

My visual narratives generate energy, alluding to the emotional physicality of art making; and there is the urgency of a concept to keep alive. The physical and emotional experience of drawing is essential to my art making process.

Her work as a fine arts artist has been continuously exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1990. Among the museums and galleries that have exhibited her work are the Newark Museum, The Jersey City Museum, and El Museo del Barrio in NYC, Lehman College Art Gallery and The Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, DR.

View more of Scherezade Garcia's work at her websites: scherezade.net and scherezadegarcia.com

Bird migrates 1,780 miles from Dominican Republic to Vermont, USA

A Bicknell’s Thrush, a brownish-gray songbird native to the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, was tagged in the Dominican Republic, and then found in the Mount Mansfield region of Vemont, US.

The species, which numbers less 150,000, migrates to the Caribbean in the winter, with almost 90% concentrated in the island of Hispaniola.

The species is at risk from a variety of threats to its breeding habitats, including recreational development, telecommunication construction, wind power development, acidic precipitation, mercury deposition, and climatic warming. On its Caribbean wintering grounds... loss of forested habitats has been severe and is ongoing.

Story: sfgate.com
Image: bicknellsthrush.org

Duba Cruz, artist from San Pedro de Macorís

Duba Cruz, artist, poet and writer, was born in San Pedro de Macorís Dominican Republic, on August 11, 1973.

A student of the prominent Dominican artists, Orlando Diaz Fortuna (Lan) and Bladimir Diaz. He is a member of Dominican College of Visual Artists (CODAP), the International Association of Visual Artists (IAA) UNESCO, and a member of the International Literary movement metapoetry, New York, USA.

Duba Cruz has had solo exhibitions in more than 15 countries in America and Europe. He has in his career more than 45 national and international group.

He has lived and worked in France for several years now, where he has recieved a great support from friends and the art public. His work has received rave reviews from renowned artists and critics, such as Candido Geron, Abil Peralta Agüero, Virginia Goris (Santo Domingo) and Silvia Felipe Franco (Spain).

Follow the career of Duba Cruz on Facebook.

A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic

“Un Siglo de Arte Moderno en la República Dominicana” (A Century of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic), a selection from the collection Fernando Guerrero Báez at the Museum of Modern Art of the Dominican Republic.

 

The Dominican Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with el Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM),will inaugurate on June 25, 2014, the exhibition “Colección Fernando Báez Guerrero/Un Siglo de Arte Moderno en la República Dominicana”, with works from 93 Dominican and international artists.

This exhibition is focused on the importance of studying the presence and contributions of cultural patronage in Santo Domingo, and is the first exhibition solely and entirely from the proceeds of a private collector, as in the case of Fernando Báez Guerrero, spanning more than a century of modern and contemporary art of the Dominican Republic.

The production and organization of the exhibition is headed by art collectors Fernando Guerrero Báez and Nancy Báez, together with María Elena Ditrén, art historian and executive director of the Museum of Modern Art; Danilo De los Santos, senior artist and historian of Dominican art; Abil Peralta Agüero, director of the Technical Unit of Culture of the House of Representatives and Amable Lopez Melendez, art critic and curator head of MAM.

The Dominican Museum of Modern Art is located in Plaza de la Cultura at Av. Pedro Henriquez Urena in Santo Domingo.

The exhibition will run until the end of August from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Freddy Rodriguez (1945 - 2022)

Freddy Rodrguez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic in 1945 and moved to New York City in 1963, at the age of 18, where he studied painting at the Art Student League, and the New School for Social Research, and textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. On October 10th, 2022, Freddy Rodriguez died of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

He received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, was a Gregory Millard Fellow in Painting, and served as a New York State Council for the Arts Artist in Residence at El Museo del Barrio.

Rodríguez's work has been purchsed by the Bronx Museum, the Queens Museum, el Museo del Barrio, the Newark Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Museo de Las Casas Reales in Santo Domingo.

One of Rodriguez's most recognized work, is the Flight 587 Park Memorial in Rockaway Park, New York. The memorial also features a quotation, in both Spanish and English, from Dominican poet Pedro Mir.

Iván Tovar, Artist, Painter, Sculptor

Iván Tovar (1942-2020) was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, where he began to forge his artistic personality at a young age.

Tovar studied fine arts at the National School of Santo Domingo, and during this time, he would meet with many European artists, that had emigrated because of the catastrophic times.

In 1963, he moved to Paris where he achieved his greatest successes as an artist, becoming as one of the most important contemporary painters in Europe.

Tovar has exhibited in Luxembourg, Stockholm, Lisbon and New York, among many other imprtant art meccas.

Iván Tovar Exhibition at Eugenio Granell Foundation in Spain

The Eugenio Granell Foundation in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, will host a retrospective exhibition of Dominican artist Iván Tovar, which will include works produced by Tovar from 1961 to 2008.

The exhibition, which will run from June 19, through October 5, 2014, consists of 60 works of painting, drawing and sculpture, and is the first opportunity for the Spanish to view up close the work of this artist, as explained by the curator of the show, Fran Pimentel.

La Casa del Artista's Second National Art Competition

La Casa del Artista, an art supplies store, located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is hosting its Second Annual National Art Competition.

The contest, based on three categories, Portrait, Abstract and Figurative,  is open to artists from the Dominican Republic that have reached the age of 18 before August 15, 2014, and

Artists can submit up to three works in each of the categories.

Entries must be original work, and made ​​using oil based paint, acrylic or a mixed, in a size of 18x24 or larger.

Ten entries from each category, total of 30, will be selected for the finals.

Further contest rules have been posted online.

All contestants must also complete a registration form for each entry.

Dominican Documentary wins the 2014 We Art Water Film Festival

Maria Victoria Hernandez’s documentary “Saneamiento” (Sanitation), took first place in the 2013/2014 We Art Water Film Festival by the We Are Water Foundation, winning a cash-prize of €2,500 ($3,400) and a camera.

Hernandez topped more than 2,000 other submissions with her 3min short, which was shot on location using only an iPhone 4, in Los Praditos, a neighborhood in Santo Domingo.

Watch Saneamiento on YouTube.

The documentary is narrated by Rodolfo William Moquete Rodriguez, a 13-year-old boy from Los Praditos, and tells the story of Rodolfo's family and neighbors, and the process they must endure to get water  for their everyday needs.

Water only flows from one faucet, and only on Sundays, where Rodolfo lives.

Every Sunday, Rodolfo's family and neighbors which share the sole water source, must hurry and fill up their tanks to store water for the following week.

However, the water source has very little pressure, and they must use an electric water pump to increase the pressure so that water can be claimed and stored quickly.

But there's a small catch. The area only receives electricity, which is needed for the electric pump, for 3 hours on Sundays. Making the process even more difficult.

Watch Saneamiento on YouTube.

Photos from Barbarella 2014

The biggest electronic music festival in the caribbean, Barbarella by Presidente, moved the crowd last night at the Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo.

Some of the biggest names, including Hardwell, Dyro and Steve Angello were a part of this amazing spectacle.

Here are some photos from the event.

You can view more photos on Facebook.

Pascal Meccariello, Multidisciplinary, Abstract Artist

Pascal Meccariello, born 1968, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is a multidisciplinary artist, spanning installation, drawing, ceramic, video art, photography and performance.

Meccariello originally studied theatre, working as an actor and on set productions, before dedicating his career to the visual arts, taking up courses in ceramics, printmaking, and performance.

In 2009, he joined with fellow artists Tony Capellán, Raquel Paiewonsky, Jorge Pineda and Belkis Ramírez, and founded the Quintapata Contemporary Artists Group.

In 2013, together with Mónica Ferreras de la Maza, Jorge Pineda and Quisqueya Henriquez, Pascal Meccariello was selected by Davidoff Cigars for the Davidoff Art Initiative.

In may 2014, Quisqueya Henriquez was the first of the four artist to unviel artwork for a set of Limited Art Edition set of cigar boxes and wrapping, with work from Meccariello and the rest to follow by the end of the year.

Pascal Meccariello has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions inside the Dominican Republic and abroad, and is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including a Fulbright Scholarship, a UNESCO-Aschberg Bursary for Artists, and Grand Prize at the XV National Biennial of Visual Arts in Santo Domingo.

You can follow Pascal Meccariello on his Facebook page, facebook.com/pascalmeccariello

Cuban Cinema in Santo Domingo

The Cuban Embassy in the Dominican Republic has partnered with Banreservas to bring the "Ciclo de Cine de Cuba," a series of Cuban films to the Banreservas Cultural Center, located in the heart of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo.

The event officially kicked-off on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, with the screening of "El Benny," a Cuban film released in 2006, directed and co-written by Jorge Luis Sánchez, and starring Renny Arozarena.

El Benny, is a fictional story based on the life of the famous Cuban musician Benny Moré. The film won the "First Work" (Opera Prima) award at the New Latin American Cinema festival in Havana in December 2006. Arozarena, won the Boccalino prize for best performance for protagonist, at the Locarno International Film Festival, in Locarno, Switzerland.

The exhibition will last through July 8, in which a new film will screen every Tuesday.

Three other films are scheduled to be screened, which includes "Y, sin embargo," "El cuerno de abundancia," and "Jose Marti: el ojo del canario."

Bani, Mango Capital of the Dominican Republic

In 2013, the Dominican Republic exported and estimated 10 million kilos of mangoes to countries around the world, generating more than $11.5 million in revenue for the industry. And since the first ExpoMango in 2005, the city of Bani in the Peravia province, has played a pivotal role in the commercial rise of this wonderful fruit, earning the city the nickname "Capital del Mango" (The Mango Capital).

ExpoMango is an annual fair, held not only to celebrate the harvest of the Dominican mango, but to also promote the production of the fruit, while emphasizing its social, economic and cultural value to the country. Since its start, the fair has brought together growers and exporters from around the country and the world, to encourage global consumption of the Dominican mango.

The mango, is a very common fruit throughout the island, but most of the commercial production is found in the southern region of the country, in the provinces of Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Peravia, San Cristobal and San Juan.

Global destinations for the Dominican mango exports include the UK, Netherlands, USA, Germany, Canada, Spain, Netherlands Antilles, Belgium, France, Japan, Italy, Ukraine, Poland and Switzerland.

Dominican Film Festival 2014

The 2014 Dominican Film Festival at the Alumni Auditorium in Washington Heights, featured more than 30 films, with a variety of independent films, including documentaries, features and shorts.

A South Bronx Family

Directed by: Nelson Peña
Plot Summary: A South Bronx Family is a feature length documentary that spotlights a struggling family that is half Dominican, half Puerto Rican and that resides in the tough Melrose Projects, one of the poorest public tenements in the South Bronx, New York
Length: 90 min.

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Al Sur de la Inocencia

Directed by: Héctor M. Valdez
Plot Summary: Step-siblings Vera and Andres embark on a road trip to the south of the Dominican Republic with best friend Santiago, a photographer, after their father is arrested for money laundering and embezzlement during Vera’s graduation party.
Length: 88 min.

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Arrobá

Directed by: José María Cabral
Plot Summary: Tells the adventure of Pedro, Samuel and Pilon who decide to rob a bank together to solve their personal problems, but because of lack of experience, everything goes wrong.
Length: 97 min.

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Biodegradable

Directed by: Juan Basanta
Plot Summary: In the year 2031, a drastic landscape in Latina America has ignited. The global crisis has destroyed the current political system, ultimately leaving a new form of government as an alternative.
Length: 90 min.

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Blanco

Directed by: Melvin Duran
Plot Summary: Blanco is an observational documentary that portrays the personal lives of six people of different ages who live with the condition of albinism in a small rural mountain community of the Dominican Republic, called Constanza.
Length: 71 min.

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De Pez en Cuando

Directed by: Francicso Adolfo Valdez
Plot Summary: Ben, a frustrated writer has decided to end his life. But when his suicide attempt is unknowingly interrupted by his neighbor, who has come to ask for a favor, his life will be thrown in disarray following a series of misadventures that will bring his world truly upside-down, giving him the reality check he may be needed.
Length: 80 min.

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Despertar

Directed by: José Maria Cabral
Plot Summary: Rene, a prop maker for the film industry, has recently married Naomi. Following a disagreement one evening, Naomi disappears without trace. Rene then receives a phone call from someone who claims he saw her in a car accident.
Length: 84 min.

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Duarte Traicion y Gloria

Directed by: Leo Silverio
Plot Summary: As a liberator and main patrician of Dominican Republic, Juan Pablo Duarte Diez embarked on a trail that cemented him into history. It focuses on his discovery of Dominican Republic along with the women who gravitates into his life and his forced exile to Caracas, Venezuela where he finally died.
Length: 96 min.

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El Gallo

Directed by: Juan Fernandez
Plot Summary: Gallo has to return to his homeland, Dominican Republic, deported from the US after serving 25 years for a crime, after being implicated by his wife and former friend. Upon his return, he is thrust into the underbelly of contemporary Dominican life, where he meets Gaby and a fierce group of trans prostitutes and drug dealers living on the edge.
Length: 89 min.

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Greencard Warriors

Directed by: Miriam Kruishoop
Plot Summary: The story follows a 14 year old boy Angel, an undocumented Latino teen and his family, who struggle to find a place in American society. With the promise of naturalization papers, the US military presents Angel’s father with the opportunity for a brighter future for his family if he sends his eldest son into the US Army.
Length: 91 min.

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Locas y Atrapadas

Directed by: Alfonso Rodríguez
Plot Summary: Trapped in an elevator for 12 hours, it is a tale of five women who find common ground in their daily struggles under a forced circumstance.
Length: 96 min.

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Lotoman 003

Directed by: Archie Lopez
Plot Summary: With their justice served to their community after two kids steal a woman’s purse, the Marchena brothers made the news with their bravery. The cause of the event led them into becoming secret agents where they had to detect the suspects of an illegal activity called “That Thing”.
Length: 95 min.

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Mala Mala

Directed by: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini
Plot Summary: A unique exploration of self-discovery and activism, featuring a diverse collection of subjects that include LGBTQ advocates, business owners, sex workers, and a boisterous group of drag performers who call themselves The Doll House, Mala Mala portrays a fight for personal and community acceptance paved with triumphant highs and devastating lows.
Length: 89 min.

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Noche de Circo

Directed by: Alan Nadal Piantini
Plot Summary: A group of people from different professions and occupations, are trapped within a kind of narrow circular room, to which they have no idea how they got there, nor who took them there, much less know when they’ll be able to leave.
Length: 85 min.

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Ponchao

Directed by: Josh Crook
Plot Summary: Ponchao is the story of Alex Ramírez, a man who’s destined to be best baseball player that ever lived, and to fulfill that dream he will do anything. The unexpected events he encounters and the way he chooses to handle them just to play his beloved sport, land him in way more than a little bit of trouble.
Length: 85 min.

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Quien Manda

Directed by: Ronni Castillo
Plot Summary: Alex and Natalie have understandings similar in ways. Alex does not find value in sentimental relationship lasting pass three months, which Natalie shares the same view. However, that suddenly changes as love has more in store for them.
Length: 87 min.

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TRACKED

Directed by: Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Plot Summary: Based on true events, TRACKED tells the story of the federal investigation of Mimi Ferrero, a drug dealer from Washington Heights. With a group of female runners working the clubs, the girls deliver the party favors and sex appeal. The team's determination is a simple one: Make. That. Money.
Length: 93 min.

Japan donates equipment to National School of Visual Arts

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), donated to the National School of Visual Arts a set of materials and a large ceramic furnace, presented at a ceremony attended by faculty and students of the educational institution, located in the historic El Conde.

Akiko Oda, director of JICA in Dominican Republic, presented the materials and the furnace, to the Deputy Minister of Institutional Development, Carlos Santos.

Barceló Con Hielo, at the Repertorio Español

Barceló Con Hielo, a new play by Marco Antonio Rodriguez, is now playing at the Repertorio Español on east 27th Street in Manhattan. The play will run from Friday, June 13th to Sunday, July 6th.

Barceló Con Hielo (Barceló On The Rocks), tells the story of Nino Antonio Cruz, a Dominican from el Cibao living in New York City. In the course of one night, Nino must confront his own mortality and the dark secrets that have plagued his family for generations. Secrets intrinsically tied to the island’s political history.

Marco Antonio Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, was born and raised in New York City. He is a graduate of La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts in NYC, and holds a MFA degree from Southern Methodist University.

The play is directed by José Zayas, a Puerto Rican native, co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Immediate Theater Company. Zayas has held residencies at numerous theaters including Repertorio Espanol, the Ensemble Studio Theater and INTAR, where he served as co-producer of the 2006 New Works Theater.

Tickets for Barceló Con Hielo start at $15, you can purchase tickets at Repertorio Español.

Pollution and Harmful Bacteria in the Ozama River

Slaughterhouse waste, industrial waste, bacterias that can cause meningitis, tonsillitis, streptococci; Also salmonella; schigella, which causes diarrhea; klebsiella, which causes infection of the airways -- This is just a short list of the pollutuion and harmful bacteria found in the Ozama River.

The findings are according to a study developed by environmental consultant William Gutierrez, who also noted that the Ozama River exceeds ten times the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which is usually found in a river with clean water.

Gutiérrez further adds that, about 90 thousand tons of waste per year are dumped in the urban basin of the Ozama.

Source: Diario Libre

Dominican Republic at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale

The Dominican Republic, for the first time, had a presence at the Venice Architecture Biennale with "Fair Concrete/La Feria Concreta," which was curated by Laboratorio de Arquitectura Dominicana (LAD).

La Feria Concreta focused on the works of the 1955 Fair of Peace hosted in Santo Domingo, which was commisioned by Trujillo.

Follow LAD on Facebook for more updates.

Jose Anico Exhibition at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ

Dominican artist Jose Anico, will be exhibiting some of his work, together with fellow New Jersey artist, Jane Adriance, at the Artists' Gallery, located at 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ.

The exhibition is et to run from June 5, 2014, until July 6, 2014.


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Jose Anico

José Anico es un artista figurativo que integra elementos conceptuales como temas políticos, ambientales y emocionales en sus temas. Sin embargo, es reacio a explicar su trabajo, comparándolo con un comediante que tiene que explicar sus chistes: algo se pierde en la traducción. Su cuerpo de trabajo incluye pinturas, dibujos y esculturas.

Nacido el 17 de marzo en la República Dominicana, José Anico tiene una Maestría en Bellas Artes en pintura y dibujo de la Academia de Arte de Nueva York, donde recibió la Beca Eric Fischl y la Beca Príncipe de Gales, y una Licenciatura en Bellas Artes de la Escuela de Diseño Parsons, donde adquirió una amplia experiencia. en grabado, serigrafía y litografía.

Joel Rosario from Dominican Republic wins at Belmont Stakes

Joel Rosario & Tonalist - NYRA

More than 20 million viewers tuned in on Sunday June 8, 2014, to watch California Chrome's shot at the Triple Crown at Belmont Stakes. It was the second largest audience on record, setting an all-time NYRA records of $19,105,877 on-track handle, and all-sources handle of $150,249,399.

But it was Tonalist, ridden by Joel Rosario, a native of the Dominican Republic, that took the win by a head.

Joel Rosario was born January 14, 1985, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

He grew up on a farm outside of Santo Domingo and decided to be a jockey after attending the races when he was 13. After six months in jockey school, he turned pro at the age of 14. Rosario was the leading rider in the Dominican Republic four times before deciding to test his skills in California. He came to the U.S. in 2006 and rode in Northern California for much of 2007. Rosaria moved to Southern California late in 2007 and by early 2008 was riding stakes horses for major trainers. He moved into the upper echelon in 2009 when he finished fifth in earnings with $13 million. Rosario climbed to third place in 2010. He won his third-consecutive Del Mar and Hollywood Park titles and his first Santa Anita crown in 2011. 

2014 Dominican Film Festival in New York

The 2014 Dominican Film Festival in New York has announced its official program for its third annual film fest.

Starting on June 18, and running through June 22 at the Alumni Auditorium, Columbia University Medical Center and the Hall of Fame Theater, Armory Foundation.

The fest will open with the premiere of the film "Al Sur de la Inocencia" directed by Hector M. Valdez, starring Frank Perozo and Jullieta Rodreguez and will close with the documentary "Mala Mala" directed by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini.

This year, the festival will feature more than 30 films from the Dominican Republic, also hosting a series of offerings and red carpet premieres, industry panels, and exclusive parties as part of the 5-day event.

On June 19th, a special panel discussion will be held at the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center with actor/producer Manny Perez.

Advance ticket purchase for every film and events are available via Eventbrite.

Barbarella Music Fest 2014

For the fourth consecutive year, Presidente Beer is hosting the biggest electronic music fest in the Caribbean, in Estadio Quisqueya, on June 18th.

In a statement, Melissa Martinez, brand manager for President, said that the consistent growth and public support of Barbarella by President, has elevated the festival into the largest in the region, and positioned the Dominican Republic as a major destination for electronic music.

The current DJ lineup for Barbarella 2014 includes Capital Cities, Connor Cruise, Icona Pop, Nervo, Showtek, Dyro, Steve Angelo and Hardwell.

In addition to the list of world renowned DJs, the Dominican quartet of electronic music Local Superheroes, comprising of Joseant Hidalgo, Omar Andino, Dav Motta and Conrad Wittkop.