Alongside Author Jimmy Sierra, Leonel Fernández Will Bring Dominican Art and Culture to the Miami Book Fair

Dr. Leonel Fernández, former President of the Dominican Republic and Dr. Jimmy Sierra will debut the Diccionario cultural dominicano next month in Miami. The ceremony will take place during the Miami Book Fair on November 12th at 2:30 p.m. at Miami Dade College – Wolfson Campus, Building 2. Both Fernández and Sierra will speak primarily about the importance of culture and the arts in the Dominican Republic.

The Diccionario, published by Editorial Funglode, an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister institution in the Dominican Republic, Funglode, features a prologue written by Dr. Fernández and is written in the manner of an
encyclopedic dictionary. The ultimate goal for the Diccionario is for it to become a reference tool for the Dominican Republic’s diverse artistic and cultural expressions. Though the idea of the Diccionario came about 50 years ago, it can be used today by academics, students, and the general public to assist in their appreciation and understanding of Dominican culture.

Alongside collaborators Reynaldo Disla, Héctor Martínez
Fernández, Carlos José Peña, and León Félix Batista, Dr. Sierra has compiled difficult-to-access dates and materials, generated synopses of biographies and key cultural events in the history of the Dominican Republic. The result is a compilation that exhibits the historical and current cultural and artistic trends of a rich and diverse country; the Dominican Republic.

The publication, which is the newest addition to the catalogue of books produced by Editorial Funglode,
directed by Noris Eusebio, will be transformed into an interactive webpage to make it accessible to a broader swath of technology-oriented readers, providing them free access to photos and videos related to the Diccionario’s entries.

About Dr. Leonel Fernández:
The three-time President of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Leonel Fernández is a renowned politician, lawyer, professor, and writer that has played a
prominent role in the advancement of political and ideological affairs nationally and internationally. During his presidential terms, Dr. Leonel Fernández pushed for democratic institutional reform, sustained economic growth, the implementation of social policies aimed at poverty reduction, and a notable development of the country’s infrastructure. A holder of a Juris Doctor degree from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, he has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by
top universities in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

About Jimmy Sierra:
Jimmy Sierra is the holder of a Juris Doctor degree from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Dr. Sierra has been involved in the creation of different cultural institutions in the Dominican Republic, including the Pro National Institute of Film Studies Committee and the Pro Modesty in Mass Media Committee. Jimmy Sierra has also filmed various
fiction and documentary movies. He has received awards such as “The Very Short Story Award” from El cuento (Mexican magazine), the Rafael Campusano Award for theatre, an honorary mention from the Latin American Literary Competition (Panama), and the OCIC Award for Best Screenplay (Switzerland).

About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and
Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin
America.