A Tribute to Dominican Heritage, “Hay un país en el mundo” Screened at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA

Last Thursday, October 11 a tribute to Dominican heritage took place with the screening of “Hay un país en el mundo” (There is a country in the world) at the Smith Campus Center on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event was organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), the Student Diversity and Inclusion Program Student Affairs Office of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and Comunidad
Latinx at HGSE in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States.

Yamile Eusebio, Director of the GFDD office in New York, was present at the event and introduced the documentary to an excited audience full of Dominican community members from the Boston, Massachusetts area as well as Harvard University students. Eusebio explained that the documentary was shown for the first time in Santo Domingo in December 2017 and again in New York in May 2018.

Katy Berndt, GFDD Liaison in Massachusetts and Ariana Aparicio Aguilar, M.A. candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, welcomed the spectators. Mrs. Berndt gave a special thanks to Mrs. Tracie Jones, the
Harvard Graduate School of Education Assistant Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion Programs, and to Mrs. Aparicio for working to make the event a great success.

Later GFDD’s institutional video on the vision and mission of the organization was shown. Mrs. Berndt explained that GFDD seeks to build collaboration and exchange between the Dominican Republic and institutions and the Dominican Diaspora in the United States.

A short video
explaining the academic context of the film, and especially created for the occasion by writer Hugo J. Pirela, Ph.D., M.A, was also presented.

The event included musical performance of popular Dominican dance and song by a group of children from the Cultural Latina Dance Academy under the direction of Yaya Rodríguez. The audience was also able to enjoy some typical Dominican foods, courtesy of Mr. Alejandro Castillo and Mrs. Clara López, owners of the restaurant
Alex”s Chimis.

At the end of the screening Mrs. Jones made some comments of her own. Mr. Tony Barros, Special Assistant to the Boston Mayor’s Office and local community leader, mentioned his support of the films to be presented in Boston public schools to “relive the patriotism and pride of being Dominican.” Mr. Alberto Vasallo and his colleague Miriam, both owners of the newspaper El Mundo Boston, expressed their gratitude for having been
invited to the presentation and commented on the exceptional quality of the videos shown.

About the Film:
“Hay un país en el mundo” (There is a country in the world), directed by José (Pinky) Pintor, is a walk-through of the natural landscape of the Dominican Republic, describing the country’s historic, cultural and social values as explained by experts in specific areas of interest. The documentary’s
musical score was produced by distinguished Dominican artists. The film was produced alongside the support of the Dominican bank BHD-León.