President Medina to Inaugurate International Book Fair

President Medina to Inaugurate International Book Fair
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 4/20/2013

The XVI International Book Fair Santo Domingo 2013 will be inaugurated on Monday April 22 in a ceremony led by President Danilo Medina, who will be accompanied by Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.

“We just ended a huge series of events around Dominican and Latin culture, actually, world culture,”…

Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, made this announcement in a press conference held to release the program details of the Book Fair. The gathering took place on Thursday at the Juan LockwardBar in the National Theater in Santo Domingo.

“We just ended a huge series of events around Dominican and Latin culture, actually, world culture,” said Minister Rodríguez, who hosted a cocktail hour in which the 27 books by Dominican authors that will be in the Book Fairwere presented.

He pointed out the importance of having President Correa as a guest who “has decided to come and share in the inauguration of this manifestation of culture.”

He also invited all Dominicans to come and take part in this rich cultural experience of books and reading, which will run for 13 days in the Juan Pablo Duarte Culture Plaza.

Minister Rodríguez was accompanied by Culture Ministry’s Director General of the Books and Reading, ValentínAmaro, and the Executive Director of the Book Fair, Pedro Antonio Valdez.

The novelties at this year’s 2013 Fair include the presence of several well-known foreign writers, such as the renowned US film director and writer Spike Lee, who will arrive in the DR on April 23rd to give a conference.

Other notable writers from abroad who have confirmed their attendance are: Juan Gelman, Argentine writer (Cervantes Prize, 2007) and the Reina Sofía Prize (2005); José Ovejero, Spanish writer (AlfaguaraPrize 2012); Santiago Gamboa, renowned Colombian author; Silvio Rodríguez, Cuban singer/songwriter; Leonardo Padura-Estelar, Cuban novelist; César Aira, Argentine novelist; Alfredo Fressia,Uruguayan poet; Daniel Mordzinski, photographer for the writers, Mayra Santos Febres and Ana María Shua.

Others attending this year include Ecuadoran writersCristóbal Zapata, Francisco Herrera Arauz, Carlos Gustavo Rodríguez Jaramillo, Daniel Leonard Wild Stapel, Paola Sánchez Perugachi, Andrea Moreno Wray, Patricio Montaleza, Yonny Marcil Nazareno, and more.

This year the 2013 Book Fair is dedicated to Hilma Contreras and the Guest of Honor Country being Ecuador.

This year the 2013 Book Fair is dedicated to Hilma Contreras and the Guest of Honor Country being Ecuador.

Valentín Amaro stressed the importance of the central topics at this year’s Fair. They include a commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Birth of the Father of the Nation, Juan Pablo Duarte; the Centennial of the National Poet,Pedro Mir; the 50th anniversary of Professor Juan Bosch’s inauguration as presidentof the nation in 1963; the 150th anniversary of the Restoration of the Republic and the 50th anniversary of the ManoloTavárez Justo Uprising in Manaclas.

The program contains all activities that will take place over the 13-day duration of the Book Fair, which ends May 5th as do the various conferences, reading workshops, book presentations, film screenings, theater presentations and other novelties.

Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the Fair, emphasized the presence of notable Dominican writers and intellectuals.

He mentioned José Miguel Soto Jiménez, Jorge Tena Reyes, Jaime de JesúsDomínguez, HéctorLuísMartínez, José Miguel Soto Jiménez, IlonkaNaciditPerdomo, Ángela Hernández, Jeannette Miller and Indira Sierra Suero.

He continued with Manuel Matos Moquete, Mateo Morrison, Tomás Castro, MarcioVelozMaggiolo, Euclides Gutiérrez Félix, DiómedesNúñezPolanco, Mu-Kien Sang Ben, Raúl Pérez Peña (El Bacho), Fidelio Despradel and Juan Germán Arias Núñez, and others.

In terms of the artistic program, they announced the presence of renowned national and international figures including Cuban singer/songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, who will put on a concert called “Continenteacuático” (Aquatic Continent). He will be accompanied by José Antonio Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Pérez Soto, Fernando Osorio Venezuela, Manuel Jiménez, VíctorVíctor andPavelNúñez. The concert is scheduled for April 26 at 8:00 p.m. in the Carlos Piantini Hall of the National Theater.

Valentín Amaro, Director of Books and Reading.

Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez.

Ambassador from Ecuador Carlos LópezDamm and Dominican Culture Minister José Antonio Rodríguez.

Pedro Antonio Valdez, Carlos López Damm, José Antonio Rodríguez and Valentín Amaro.