Music Performance, Special Guests and Dominican Pride at the Launch of “Lo Dominicano/All Things Dominican” in New Jersey

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister institution Funglode presented their newest publication, Lo Dominicano/All Things Dominican, last night at the William V. Musto Cultural Center in Union City, New Jersey. A book that compiles 5 years of research and presents the essence of the Dominican Republic through fun facts, images and perhaps unknown information to the new generations and people from other
cultures.

The event was organized in collaboration with leading members of the Dominican community in New York, such as Mr. Tilo Rivas, businessman, journalist, member of the Hispanic Culture Foundation in Hudson County, New Jersey; and Eliezer Bueno, cultural appointee and community activist of the Dominican Diaspora in New York.

The event began with the participation of Dominican singer and song-writer, Tony Bravo, who interpreted famous songs from
various Dominican composers such as Juan Luis Guerra, Victor Victor, Anthony Rios, Charlie Mosquea, Mickey Taveras and Rafael Solano. The audience was delighted and accompanied Tony through some of the melodies.

This musical moment was followed by welcoming remarks from Yamile Eusebio, director of GFDD New York and the presentation of
GFDD’s institutional video. Eusebio went on to explain that “All Things Dominican is a bilingual (Spanish and English) publication that offers a quick and fresh take on the main features of Dominicanness, and the country’s cultural and natural endowments, all from a modern and innovative perspective that’s easy to understand, with an emphasis on intriguing and little-known details and the preserving of our
roots.”

Eusebio encouraged the audience to share the book with their children in order to teach them the importance of tradition and Dominican Republic’s prolific heritage.

The commentary on the publication was made by Dr. Edilberto Mejias Torres, anchorman at the Univision Radio morning show Buen Día New York, produced and directed by Ino Gómez. Mejias Torres compared the book to an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image)
because it draws you to see all aspects of the Dominican culture and traditions without escaping any little detail such as an MRI will do with the human body. He also explained that the book travels through the different stages of human development because it shows traditions that range from childhood games to adult activities.

Moreover, the anchorman underlined: “This book celebrates the Immortality of Dominicanness”.

After the
remarks of Dr. Mejias Torres, Eliezer Bueno thanked the audience for their support and invited them to keep participating and promoting the values of the Dominican culture.

Mr. Tilo Rivas closed the event with some kind words of gratitude for everyone who made the event possible.

At the end of the evening guests had the chance to socialize while enjoying traditional Dominican appetizers and refreshments.

About Lo Dominicano /
All Things Dominican
A publication by GFDD / Funglode light and fresh, bilingual (Spanish and English), which presents the main aspects of Dominican, the natural resources and culture of the country reading from a modern and innovative perspective, easy to understand, with emphasis curious and little known information. The tangible and the intangible, the traditional and the modern, the spirit that creates new trends and the conservative emphasis on preserving our
roots, the creative expressions that stimulate the finest senses of rhythm, sound, sight, smell, and taste, inviting us to think, feel, and dream – all this forms part of what we call lo nuestro, lo dominicano, which infuses our daily lives, our homes, our streets, our workplaces, and follows us when we travel abroad or live out of our home country. What brings us together identifies us, makes us proud, and inspires us to keep creating and contributing to this abundant and prolific heritage
of very particular expressions of what we are – expressions also appreciated, enjoyed, and shared by people from all corners of the globe.