Duarte Day 2009

Today, January 26, is Duarte Day in Dominican Republic.

Celebrating the birth of The Father of the Country or in Spanish Padre de la patria. The day is celebrated with a parade of different military groups and some school children. They all meet at Duarte Park and honor Juan Pablo Duarte with some speeches, music and by placing wreaths around the statue.

These are some pictures I took today.


In front of the monument


Military band playing the Himno a Juan Pablo Duarte/ The Hymn to Juan Pablo Duarte






I love this picture with the dog sitting and joining in the ceremony

More information on who Duarte is and what he did for Dominican Republic at www.colonialzone-dr.com/people_history-Duarte.html

Road Trip - Palos Videos

I went on a road trip last week (more about that later) but we stopped in San Jose de Ocoa for their Virgen de Altagracia festival. The festival wasn't really started yet but there was some good palos drumming and some people dancing and having some fun under the kiosk. I wish I could have stayed for the entire festival but we had to get back to the city. But at least I got a few videos and pictures (I'll post them soon) to share.
I even danced a bit and thank goodness no one video taped me!

Some Old Santo Domingo Pictures

This is a Power Point Presentation with some great old pictures of Santo Domingo. Enjoy!
Old Santo Domingo in PPS form