Culture concludes the 10th Regional Book Fair Peravia 2014

Culture concludes the 10th Regional Book Fair Peravia 2014
Baní, Peravia Province, November 4, 2014

With the attendance of some 160,000 people, the release of more than 20 new literary works and the donation of a million pesos in vouchers, concluded the 10th Regional Book Fair Peravia 2014, and the Hermanas Mirabal Province was announced as the host of the 11th Regional Book Fair 2015.

The ceremony was chaired by Carlos Santos, Deputy Minister of Institutional Development; Editrudis Pichardo (Edilí), Deputy Minister of Cultural Identity and Citizenship; Valentín Amaro, Director General of Books and Reading; Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the Book Fair; Wilton Guerrero, Provincial Senator; and Municipal Trustee Nelson Camilo Landestoy, among other authorities. Amaro announced that, according to conservative technical evaluations, some 160,000 people from the Southern region, the capital and from across the country, gathered at the cultural event, which was organized under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture.

In this regard, he pointed out that during these past ten days, the Southern region became a faithful witness to an unprecedented series of events, given the massive attendance of cultural, educational and artistic groups, as well as of poets and writers with innovative proposals.

He expressed his satisfaction because the event, not only met the goals and expectations that had been created, but even exceeded them due to the large participation of the people in each of the activities prepared by the organizing team.

He also echoed the comments made by many Baní citizens who said that during the days of the fair even the criminal activities that sometimes occur among the population decreased.

Pedro Valdez was in charge of naming the provincial directors of the Southern region who played a more prominent role during the preparation of the event; they received a tablet. These were the provincial directors of Pedernales, Azua and San Cristobal.

Then, Mr. José Aníbal García, from the National Development Council of the Hermanas Mirabal Province, together with a large delegation, received the invitation to organize the event.

Edilí also spoke at the ceremony. She described the fair as a model that began on October 24th and concluded today, November 2nd, saying that “it will be remembered for the quality and diversity of the events that took place there.” She added that the fair adheres to the objective of President Danilo Medina of creating a nation of readers, and follows the work undertaken by Minister José Antonio Rodríguez in this regard.

The slogan of this tenth edition, which took place from October 25th to November 2nd in the Marcos A. Cabral Park, was “Reading begins at home” and it was organized as a tribute to prominent journalist from Baní Rafael Herrera Cabral.

During the ten days of the fair, leading figures in this region put on display the best of the Southern literature and received the support of all the attendees.

During this tenth edition of the fair, thousands of children and members of the various literary workshops throughout the region were able to purchase works by national and international authors thanks to a donation of nearly a million pesos in vouchers from the Directorate General of the Book Fair, a Department of the Ministry of Culture.

Furthermore, Baní citizens had the opportunity to attend one of the most memorable concerts of our times, which took place in the Luis María Herrera stadium located in this Southern city, in which Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez and the lovely voice of Dominican Maridalia Hernández participated.

During this edition of the fair there was a broad and varied program that included poetry recitals, lectures and conferences, reading workshops, the release of new literary works, handicraft exhibits, and other cultural attractions.

The provinces that participated with their respective pavilions were: Peravia; the Enriquillo region, which included Bahoruco, Independencia, Barahona and Pedernales; and the south central pavilion which housed Valdesia, El Valle, Azua, San José de Ocoa, San Cristóbal, Elías Piña and San Juan.

The official sponsors of the Regional Book Fair were: Banco de Reservas, the Directorate General of the Internal Revenue, Café Santo Domingo, Orange Dominicana and Café Indubán.