Salve and Atabales Haina Festival 2009

As tradition has it, the roar of the drums announced the beginning of the Salve and Atabales Haina Festival for 2009. This year’s festival was dedicated to Dominican folklore maestro, Esteban Martínez Mota (Bolo).

Throughout all of Saturday, Haina shook to the rhythm of the drums, impregnated by their trembling and ancestral sound.

With the colorful parade of cultural and religious groups, the Festival prepared a musical program that included the participation of original folk music groups which are known to be the most important in the Dominican Republic. The entertainment included such groups as Los Congos of Villa Mella, the Atabales Yogo Yogo, Enerolisa Núñez and the Salve de Mata los Indios, the Salve Raíces San Cristóbal, the Salve de Nigua Group, the Atabales of Capotillo and the Salve de Caña Brava Group, among others.

In addition, the event also featured presentations by Luis Díaz, José Duluc, the Sangre Mulata Folkloric Ballet, the Folkloric Ballet of the Culture House of Haina, the Atabales of Cambita Group, the Typical Group of La Palmera de Yaguate, Feliz Cumbe, the Queco Band of Villa Mella, the Salve Caña Andrés Group and the Tambu Capotillo. There were poetry recitations led by Cubilete. There was also a public recognition of various local folklorists.

Throughout all of Saturday, Haina shook to the rhythm of the drums, impregnated by their trembling and ancestral sound. The celebration, one of the country’s most important events, offers the public free workshops on painting, making handicrafts and drumming, to name a few. There is a domino tournament as well.

The festival was organized by the Gagá Art and Folklore Cultural Center, the Salve and Atabales with the support of the Dominican Network of Local Cultures, the Ministry of Culture, the Haina Town Hall and the Culture House of Haina.