The Ministry of Culture announces its work plan for 2013

The Ministry of Culture announces its work plan for 2013
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, January 27, 2013

The Ministry of Culture (MINC) announced that it will implement a comprehensive program of innovative artistic, literary and folkevents, to highlight the importance of the Dominican culture, which will focus on the bicentennial of the birth of Founding Father Juan Pablo Duarte.

The official stated that, following an explicit instruction from the President of the Republic, he is personally supervising the delivery of raw and cooked food to provide assistance to families who are in need of a helping hand from the Government.

The 2013 Work Plan, which was announced this Friday at the modern Juan Bosch Auditorium of the Pedro Henríquez UreñaNational Library, provides information on the celebration of the Juan Pablo DuarteNational Congress on Culture: “The importance of the Dominican culture in a Globalized World.”It also announces the opening of the Dominican Orchestra Theatre, which consists of 90 people with special needs, as well as the creation ofCultural Villages in various tourist destinations in the country, such as La Romana, Higuey and Puerto Plata.

Additionally, for the first time, there will be presentations by the ColonialCityCarnival and the National AmateurDance Festival.The Ballet Conciencia, which will address issues of social interest, will make its debut and the Juan Pablo DuarteNational Orchestra will be created with the purpose of recovering Dominican popular music.

The agency will also modernize and redesign the greatest events that traditionally take place in the country, such as the International Book Fair, the regional fairs, the National Carnival, the art biennials, the dance and theaterfestivals, the National Symphony Season, the Long Night of the Museums and the National Crafts Fair.

Furthermore, the programmed activities will strengthen the schools of fine arts around the country, as well as the Free Schools program. One goal of the currentcultural administration is to raise student enrollment in the artsthroughout the country, because, at present, it barely reaches some 6,000 enrolled students.

Likewise, there will be a significant investment in cultural and heritage infrastructure, in order to make more efficient the cultural services that are being offered to the public by state agencies, such as thecultural centers (Casas de la Cultura), libraries and museums.

Another highly relevant activity will be the implementation of a new concept for the management of national carnivals, starting with the carnivalschools, which will contribute to a better organization of the carnival groups.

Accompanying Minister Rodríguezat the head table were: Carlos Salcedo, Coordinator of the Cabinet of Culture; Carlos Santos, Coordinator of the Offices of the Vice Ministry of Institutional Development; Mirtha Olivares, Coordinator of the Offices of the Vice Ministry of Creativity and Popular Participation; Edda Grullón, Director of the Monuments that are part of the Heritage of the Vice Ministry of Cultural Heritage;and Diómedes Núñez Polanco, Director of the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Library.

The Coordinators of the Offices of the Vice Ministries of Culture spoke during the event. A video of the actions that have been taken during the first hundred days of the current administration was screened.

The event concluded with the screening of the videoabout the release of the song “Mi Cultura (My Culture),” with lyrics by José Antonio Rodríguez, musical arrangement by Manuel Tejadaand interpretation by Laura Rivera.

Activities by the units and the directorates

During the year 2013, the organizational units of theMINC will implement a diverse and attractive schedule of activities, designed to showcase the dominicanidad (what it is to be Dominican) as a banner of our national pride.

Among the most significant activities, those that are worth mentioning are the participation of the Dominican National Ballet at the VIII International Ballet Festival in Cali, Colombia; also, the dance troupewill complete a program of presentations at universities and schools in Santo Domingo and in various provinces throughout the country.

The Dominican Folkloric Ballet, meanwhile, will perform at the galas “De fiesta en carnaval” and “De la Independencia,”and will travel to different schools with the didactic presentation “Floklore paralas Escuelas (Folklore for the Schools).”

The National Theatre Company will organizeworkshops to teach classicalactingand will also hold a series of dramatic readings. On the other hand, the Teatro Rodante Dominicano (Dominican Traveling Theatre) will carry outthe 2013 Patriotic Tour, with the presentation of the play “Duarte, Fundador de una República (Duarte, Founding Father of a Republic),” whose author is Franklin Domínguez, in four Dominican Provinces and in New York.

The National Theatre Festival and the International Theater Festival will take place again. Since December, 2012, a committee that has been established by the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, is developing the work proposals for these events.

The National Symphony Orchestra began its agenda in January with the AltagracianoConcert, and will continue performing the concert to benefit the Hogar Escuela. It will also offera concert marking the anniversary of the APEC University, the National Symphony Season, lectures on Symphony Appreciation and the ChristmasConcert.

The Narciso González Cultural Center will host the Cultural Festival for the Homeland, and the Directorate of Neighborhood Culture will host the Neighborhood Musical Talent Festival.

Other activities that will be implemented are: the editorial units of the MINC will publish important works; the Directorate General of Cultural Management and Carnival will hold the National Murals Competition titled “¡Pinta tu patria, tus tradiciones, valores y sueños! (Paint your country, your traditions, values ??and dreams!);” and the Directorate of Children and Youth will hold the School Cultural Olympics