Sunday, December 16, students of the dance school ‘Emily Watson School of Dance’ gave a beautiful dance performances in the theater hall ‘Sosúa Bay Convention Center’. As early as half past six the audience started coming in. Guests could enjoy snacks and drinks in the foyer and outside on the terrace. The theater doors opened just past seven o’clock. Soon the theater was occupied to the last seat with an enthusiastic audience. Especially the dance show of the little ones, age 3, was rewarded with a thunderous applause. And the young people with their hip hop show also got a lot of applause. In addition to modern dance such as hip-hop and reggaeton, classical ballet dances were also demonstrated. The frail dancers gave beautiful demonstrations of their abilities.
The tap dance show was also beautiful. During the break, a lottery was held under the guidance of Carlos. The prizes for this lottery were made available by various companies in Sosúa. After the break, the spectacular dance performance continued. Eventually, the show ended with a pianist and singer Isa Hecht playing the piano. During the second song of Isa, all dancers came back to the stage with loud applause from a grateful audience. Emily now gave all the participants a diploma for participation. About 600 visitors enjoyed an unforgettable show. Emily and Carlos once again thanked all the sponsors (companies in Sosúa) for their contributions and above all, those volunteers who made this SHOW a success, helping with stage decorations and costume design.
PUERTO PLATA.- The Marriott International hotel chain, which is the leading hospitality company in the world, announced that with the investment of 350 million dollars in partnership with real estate developers, it will build three luxury hotels in Cabarete, in the eastern part of Puerto Plata province.
It is specified that Marriott International and the real estate developers The Ocean Club Group, joined to establish a new standard of tourism in the Dominican Republic, for which they announced the construction of luxury hotels and a change of brand to one of their existing properties.
This will represent three hotels of the most captivating luxury brands of Marriott International: The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton Reserve and will entail an economic investment of more than 350 million dollars which is expected to create more than 2 thousand new direct jobs.
It is already expected that these new hotels will increase the hospitality offer in the market and create a new niche for luxury tourism in the country, because the distinctive offers in each property and the stunning natural beauty of the North Coast from the Dominican Republic, they aim to establish Puerto Plata as one of the most desirable luxury destinations in the Caribbean.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring three of the most extraordinary and distinctive brands of Marriott to the Dominican Republic, and in particular, to the North Coast.” This exclusive set of properties will make the area a truly irresistible destination for visitors of all the world, “said Laurent de Kousemaeker, Development Director, Marriott International Caribbean and Latin America.
Marriott International currently operates six properties in the Dominican Republic and will offer even more options for travelers with the introduction of these three unique luxury resorts, while the Ocean Club Group has been redefining tourism in the North Coast in recent years.
“Marriott International is pleased to expand its presence in the Dominican Republic, and we look forward to the day when we can welcome guests to enjoy the natural beauty, warmth and culture of the country.” Our goal is to transform the North Coast of the Dominican Republic placing it on the map as a luxury destination, “said Ian Schembri-Sant, CEO of The Ocean Club Group.
In this regard, said: “We are happy to work together with a prestigious company such as Marriott International and see the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, especially Puerto Plata as a precious stone that, if polished, will shine extraordinarily.”
The representatives of Marriott International indicated that the virgin nature of the destination Puerto Plata and other locations on the North coast is what makes the region so special, so the three projects will focus heavily on preserving the surrounding environments of the resorts to provide guests with a true Dominican experience.
Antonio Marte of Conatra is well known for acting beyond the law at his helm of the powerful transport company. Now he has made known that he has prohibited his affiliated units to transport Haitian nationals, regardless of whether they are legal or illegally in the country.
Marte announced in his Twitter account that the measure is to “avoid inconveniences with Migraiton, the Armed Forces and the Attorney General Office. He said that over the past months, 10 of his buses have been seized by the authorities. He pointed out that his company’s bus drivers are not migration inspectors and should not be responsible to check the validity of the documents of passengers.
He wrote: “To avoid inconveniences with the soldiers, Migration and the whole world, it is forbidden to board Haitian foreigners. Excuse me, our Haitian foreigners. But we cannot continue paying the consequences. We have 10 busses held up. The buses have been kept for eight months. It would seems that the Attorney General is going to eat them up.”
Conatra is the largest beneficiary of transport routes in the country and has imposed their market share with vandalism and violations of the Constitution and Dominican laws throughout the years, with the lenience of Dominican governments.
18-year old Dominican model, Maite Tiburcio, is optimistic she will reach the finals in the Top Model of the World contest in Egypt. Already she was selected among the 40 participants for the photo shooting at the Meraki Resort in the Hurgada beach area. The contest is taking place in the beach area. The finals will be on Saturday, 15 December 2018, at the same Meraki Resort. In 1996, the title was won by Dominican Selinee Mendez.
Prior to being named the Dominican Top Model, in 2017, Tiburcio had won the Princesa Miss Beauty Teenager RD 2017 title.
The director of the Fideicomiso RDVial, Eyla Vargas announced that the renovated toll station is in operation with four new lanes since Tuesday, 11 December 2019. The toll station was expanded to 17 booths, with three rapid pass lanes, a return lane, and one lane to be used only for motorcyclists.
During the announcement, Vargas urged motorists to purchase a rapid pass to improve traffic flow and save time.
The tollbooth is located a short distance west of the Punta Caucedo Port and Las Americas International Airport on the highway that links the capital city of Santo Domingo with eastern tourism destinations.
The announced investment of US$600 million in the construction of high rises and hotels in Macao, in northern Punta Cana beach area, including an 18 floor tower for the Hotel Moon Palace, has been agreed to by the majority of the members of the community as it is seen as a great opportunity to increase economic development of the municipality.
Interviews carried out among the local population have confirmed their approval but have insisted that the authorities and the private investors allow them unrestricted access to the beach at Macao.
Those interviewed recalled that the beaches that were once full of mosquitoes, wild boars and terrapins and that hunting was a favorite activity. The old-timers are amazed at the transformation and development of the beach areas.
Uvero Alto which was where people from Macoa used to go to look for crabs is now full of hotels. Some are concerned that their artisanal fishing and foraging for wildlife in Macao is coming to an end because of development. However, many local residents welcome the investment as it will provide employment opportunities specially for the young people.
PUERTO PLATA.- On the occasion of the opening of its new 5-star Resort & Spa in Puerto Plata, the Spanish chain Senator Hotel & Resort will bring the Colombian singer and songwriter Carlos Vives to Puerto Plata with his concert at the La Puntilla amphitheater.
In a press release sent to this medium, it is specified that it will be next Saturday, December 22, starting at 8:30 p.m., when Carlos Vives winner of the Latin Grammy, will do his performance in Puerto Plata.
From now on, there is a great expectation for the concert that has been offered by the outstanding Colombian artist, author of the songs “La Gota Fría”, “La Tierra del Olvido”, “Déjame entrar en tu Mirada”, among other hits that will entertain 4 thousand people.
The show will take place on the occasion of the Christmas holidays in addition to the inauguration of the Senator Puerto Plata Spa Resort 5 Stars, located in the beautiful, historic and tourist bay of Maimon in the western part of Puerto Plata.
Cabarete sportsmen and tourists rescued and released a large Hawksbill Turtle that had been dragged onto the shore entangled among the Nylon Maya of a chinchorro, last Monday afternoon at Kite Beach, in front of Punta Goleta.
Rains of congratulations for such a considerable action in favor of an endangered species, such as the Hawksbill Turtles.
Every so often in different beaches of Sosúa, these species visit us and vent in our sands, including Sosúa beach.
On Thursday, 6 December 2018, the oldest known Dominican in the country died, as reported in Listin Diario. Jaime (Jaimito) Vicente was born in January 1901 in Hondo Valle, Elías Piña, and would have been 118 on 28 January 2019. He was a farmer, and enjoyed singing, especially bachatas, as reported in Diario Libre.
He lived to see two US interventions, the regimes of Ramón Cáceres and Horacio Vásquez, the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, and the long governments of Joaquín Balaguer and Leonel Fernandez.
According to statistics, only Jeanne Calment, from France, aged 122 and Sarah Knauss of the United States, at 119, are older than him. There are another seven citizens of Japan, United States, Canada, Jamaica and Italy who reached more than 117 years old.
Even though Hondo Valle is a poor area on the border with Haiti, there are many citizens there who work up to an advanced age with mentally agile.
Vicente leaves behind an extended family. He had 15 children all with his one-time late wife, Angela Encarnación (Lola) who died in 2005 at 78 years. He is survived by six daughters and one son. His eldest daughter is Celia, who is 90 years old. He had 47 grandchildren and 114 great-grandchildren.
The board of the National Commission in Defense of Competition, (Procompetencia) has announced a fine of RD$46 million against the Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (CND) for the abuse of its ‘dominant position’. The CND is the manufacturer of Presidente beer, now under ownership of Ambev, a Brazilian brewing company that is itself owned by Belgian company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The fine was immediately rejected by the company. The fine is the maximum sanction established by law, and corresponds to 3,000 minimum salaries as announced in a press conference held by the director of Procompetencia, Yolanda Martínez.
Procompetencia also ordered CND to stop what they called abusive behavior and the cancelling of contracts underwritten under these conditions.
Procompetencia said that CND “was abusing its dominant position holding more than 98% of the market, imposing restrictions which had neither objective or economic justification, such as the imposition of resale prices, closing markets by means of exclusive distribution contracts, commercialization, promotion and publicity, restrictions of the visibility and space in the competitor brand displays”.
CND said that it would appeal to the Higher Administrative Court (TSA) and that its commercial activities, defending that its activities are carried out in the spirit of free competition with transparency.
