XII International Merengue Festival to be held in Montreal July 19 and 20

Everything is ready for the International Merengue Festival of Latin Music which annually gathers more than 25,000 people in Jean-Drapeau Park on the Isle of Notre Dame, in Montreal, Canada. This 12th annual festival will take place on July 19 and 20, 2008.

The Dominican community of this city looks forward to this event every summer where they can soak up the warm temperatures, the ardent rhythms of the Merengue…

Located in the heart of the Saint Laurent River, 10 minutes from the center of Montreal, the park offers beautiful expansive green areas and spectacular panoramas of the city. Formed by two scenic islands, Sainte-Hélène y Notre-Dame, the Jean-Drapeau Park also hosts the Canadian Formula One Grand Premier every year.

The Dominican community of this city looks forward to this event every summer where they can soak up the warm temperatures, the ardent rhythms of the Merengue, folklore groups and other musical genre such as the Bachata, Salsa and Regatón.

Jara Production Inc., which has been organizing the festival since 1996, has made a tremendous effort to make July 19 & 20 truly a day of Dominican music. On the top of the list are the hosts of the event, two wildly popular Dominican musicians Krisppy and El Chaval whose international performances have made the Dominican Republic popular around the world.

On stage Saturday July 19 will be the Merengue typical of Krisppy and on Sunday the 20th, La Bachata of El Chaval as well as Tito Nieves doing Salsa and Regatón by Hector the Father.

The show will begin, both days, at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon and go on until 11:00 p.m. The International Merengue Festival of Latin Music is one of the main Latin American events held in the city of Montreal.

The event, a colorful blast of musical rhythm, is dotted with kiosks where people can buy food. All this goes on while musicians and orchestras from the Dominican Republic and around the world play music. Local and folklore groups also participate in the fun and play their own variety of traditional music.

The International Merengue Festival seeks to offer high quality musical content and culture while representing the highest of values and traditions of the Dominican people as well as the people of the rest of Latin American, Canada and Quebec.