On March 21, GFDD's initiative Dominican Get-Togethers headed south to the city known as the "Capital of Latin America," Miami, Florida to add its own dose of Dominican culture.

GFDD hosted a screening of the film Sugar, followed by a question and answer session with the protagonist of the film, Algenis Pérez Soto, at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus Auditorium. This event was organized in collaboration with Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives, Consulate of the Dominican Republic in Miami and the Dominican Student Association.

Sugar is the moving portrait of Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a 19-year-old baseball prodigy struggling with the isolation and culture shock that come after he's drafted into the minor leagues, placed in a small Iowa town without knowing English and yet remains desperate to succeed. It is a well-known fact that the Dominican Republic is the country that contributes the greatest number of baseball players to the Major Leagues -- but this movie revolves around what happens to the vast majority of those that don't make it and what befalls them. In the film, Sugar ultimately lands in New York, where life takes him on another path entirely.

The striking parallels between the script and Pérez Soto's own experience are palpable as we learned during the Q and A. Like the movie in which he plays Miguel "Sugar" Santos, in real life, professional baseball was Pérez Soto's dream. He grew up in Quisqueya, a suburb of San Pedro de Macoris, home to many a famous baseball player including Sammy Sosa, George Bell, Rico Carty and Julio Franco.

The film's directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, discovered Pérez Soto playing baseball with friends, and interviewed him for the role. He was one of about 500 actors interviewed for the part. The charismatic actor lauded the directors, saying that making the film was an organic experience in that they spent a lot of time communicating and putting him at his ease. Aware that he and some of the locals had never acted before, they allowed them to amend the script and use colloquial speech to give the film an added layer of authenticity.

The young actor said the movie's message to have education or a "Plan B" in place is very clear. Starring in the movie changed his life - he has learnt English, met a lot of interesting people on his travels, and now feels prepared to take on more acting roles. Pérez Soto knew little English until he prepared for and starred in the film, which was shot in the Dominican Republic, New York City, Arizona and Iowa. He had never pitched before and faced months of intense and grueling training to successfully pull off the part. Ironically, he had dreamed of visiting the US to play baseball, but never imagined that he would do so as an actor playing a baseball player.

He is currently doing a film short and is in talks with a Director at the NYC Film School about a movie project this fall.

Dominican Get-Togethers are part of GFDD's mission to promote appreciation of Dominican culture and to create opportunities for discussions on contemporary issues relevant to Dominican society in the homeland and abroad. Every three months, GFDD creates opportunities to come together and meet a prominent Dominican figure, enjoy a Dominican-themed movie, and/or engage in conversation on topics of importance to the Dominican community. Watch the video here»