Archive for March, 2019
“Lo que siento por ti”, a film by Raúl Camilo, was the big winner of the Premios La Silla, on Friday, 8 March 2019 at the auditorium of the Sports Hall of Fame at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. The awards are organized by the Asociación Dominicana de Profesionales de la Industria del Cine (Adocine).
The film starring actors Frank Perozo and Nashla Bogaert won Best Movie, Best Producer (Oscar Villanueva and Gabriel Tineo), Best Script (Giovanna Bonelly), Best Editing (Gina Giudicelli and José Miguel Mejía), Best Score (Sergio Jiménez Lacima and Peng Bian), Best Sound. The movie is the story of Ana, a woman abandoned by her husband and her two autistic children and how they positively impacted the people around them.
Leticia Tonos’ “Juanita” won awards for Best Director, Best Lead Actress (Cheddy García), Best Song (“Juanita no come cuento”, with Milly Quezada), Best Secondary Actress (Ruth Emeterio) and Best Artistic Direction (Lorelei Sanz). Juanita is the story of a Dominican migrant in Spain and her return to the country with her Spanish husband.
The list of winners:
Best Movie
“Lo que siento por ti”, Raúl Camilo
Best Director
Leticia Tonos, “Juanita”
Best Lead Actress
Cheddy García, “Juanita”
Best Lead Actor
Iván Aybar, “Un cuarto de Josué”
Best Comedy
“El fantasma de mi novia”, Francis “El Indio” Disla
Best Producer
“Lo que siento por ti”, Óscar Villanueva y Gabriel Tineo
Best Script
“Lo que siento por ti”, Giovanna Bonelly
Best Visual Effects
“El fantasma de mi novia”, Ariel Morales y José Rodríguez
Best Special Effects
“El fantasma de mi novia”, Óscar Gutiérrez y Carlos Nin
Best Sound Design
“Lo que siento por ti”
Best Editing
”Lo que siento por ti”, G. Giudicceli y José Miguel Mejía
Best Makeup
Anny Torres, G. Sánchez y G. Jiménez, “El fantasma de mi novia”
Best Documentary
“Solano”, Patricia Solano y Juan Basanta
Best Costumes
Gina Terc, “Rubirosa 1”
Best Cinematography
“Rubirosa 1”, Francis Adames and Frankie Báez
Best Song Track
“Juanita”, “Juanita no come cuento”, Milly Quezada
Best Secondary Actress
Ruth Emeterio, “Juanita”
Best Secondary Actor
Yasser Michelén, “Trabajo sucio”
Best Score
“Lo que siento por ti”, Sergio Jiménez y Peng Bian Sang
Best Artistic Direction
“Juanita”, Lorelei Sanz
Source: DR1, Hoy
Mar 13, 2019
The Association of Entertainment Businesses (ASECEDI) has placed an appeal against Law 16-19 that forbade the use of hookahs. The association that represents owners of hookah lounges says the law is discriminatory. They allege there are 15,000 to 16,000 bars where at least three patrons use the hookahs in each. That is 48,000 people that will be affected by this law, they argue. They also say thousands will lose their jobs.
Law 16-19 prohibits the use of the hookah in public and private areas throughout the country in closed spaces and in vehicles used for passenger transport. The fine for breaking the law is five to ten minimum salaries for those owners of establishments where the hookah is used. The consumers can also be fined.
Hookah business owner Farid Chalhoud criticized recent confiscations of hookahs for sale in stores. He said that while the new law bans the use of hookahs in closed public and private places or in vehicles for the transport of passengers, there is nothing against a person smoking hookah from his own balcony or back yard with friends.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Mar 13, 2019
The Center for Integral Orientation and Investigation (COIN), a non-governmental organization for sexual and reproductive health in the Dominican Republic, estimates that around 250,000 women make a living from sex work in the country.
COIN research reveals that in addition to the traditional prostitutes, there are those involved in virtual sex, and the “chapiadoras” (female sanky pankies) and “chapiadoritas.” The latter are minors that do sexual favors in exchange for gifts or cash for around 200,000 Dominican women involved in sex work.
Likewise, COIN estimates at around 6,000, the number of foreign women who offer their services primarily in tourist destinations. Of these, around 3,000 are Venezuelans, and 2,000 Haitians.
The most popular tourist areas where the women find work are Sosúa and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, Boca Chica in Santo Domingo, Punta Cana in the East and Las Terrenas in Samana.
An estimated 100,000 women have gone abroad to earn hard currency for their trade and live in Antigua (16,000), Guadeloupe (10,000), Curacao (1,000), Dominica (900), Haiti (500), Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. COIN says that the contacts for the overseas work are either via organized networks or family members.
The director of COIN, sociologist Santo Rosario told Listin Diario that 90% of the women know they are going to work in the sex trade and are not lured abroad under false promises. Nevertheless, Rosario said the women take on the work for the money. He says in most cases they need the money to maintain their children. They are victims of social exclusion, unemployment and low wages in the Dominican Republic.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Mar 13, 2019
Sosúa.- Frankely Toribio known in social networks and YouTube as EL BONITILLO EN LA CALLE, announced this morning
that he was arrested last Tuesday night without any justification, at the time he was in front of the hotel where he was staying. He was stripped off cash and gold earrings by members of the police patrol, who then took him to the police station.
Bonitillo said he was taken to the police headquarters of Sosua, where he was beaten just for asking why he was detained and the head of the barracks ordered the prisoners to beat him up and they did that.
The urban singer, said they did not return the money or his clothes. He said “I came to Sosúa to promote my songs and I found this outrage.”
The 30-year-old singer made a call to the competent authorities for this to be investigated.
Source: Detras del Rumor
Mar 13, 2019
Air Europa announced a Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) layover to its Madrid-Caracas service to ensure the safety of their crew. Last week, according to sources quoted by several Spanish news sites, Air Europa crew that had arrived in Caracas over the weekend were attacked by armed robbers while travelling in a minibus from the airport to their downtown hotel. Three motorcycles surrounded the crew bus but the driver never stopped and was able to arrive at the hotel where private security guards engaged the robbers resulting in a shootout.
As reported, none of the 16 crew members were injured. Yet these refused to stay at the hotel and a police convoy took them back to the airport from where they flew back to Madrid.
Air Europa is one of only a handful of airlines that are flying to Caracas. The airline had been the only one to still allow its crew to stay in Venezuela in between flights.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Mar 13, 2019
The drought affecting the country has now begun to be felt in the National District. The Corporation for Aqueducts and Sewers of Santo Domingo (CAASD) announced it has begun to implement a water-rationing action plan.
The lack of rain has caused a significant decline in the water the main storage systems are receiving. The water level in the dams and aqueducts that service the capital city is now below normal.
The main systems affected in the CAASD area are the Haina, Isa, Mana, Duey and Isabela rivers. Alejandro Montás, director general of the CAASD, said that water supply to the Greater Santo Domingo from these sources has declined from 420 million gallons a day to 369 million gallons.
The CAASD released a list of neighborhoods that will be affected by the water rationing. These include:
Invi Sur, Miramar, Solimar, Dominicanos Ausentes, Urbanización Tropical, El Cacique, Ciudad Nueva and Costa Brava.
Invi Norte, Buenos Aires del Mirador, Alfimar, Atala Portal, Honduras, Mata Hambre, La Julia, Roca Mar, San Miguel, Los Kilómetros, Jardines del Sur, Ensanche La Paz, Los Cacicazgos, Mirador Sur y Norte, Bella Vista, El Millón, Los Millones, Los Prados, Piantini, Serrallés, Quisqueya, Naco, Paraíso, Villa Francisca, San Carlos, Don Bosco, El Timbeque, San Carlos, Borojol, San Miguel, Gazcue and San Lázaro.
The CAASD says areas that piped water supply service will be cut to four days a week for areas that had received the service seven days a week. Those that previously had five days service will receive three days. Service to areas receiving four days will be cut to two.
Montás says that 125 water tanker trucks will be available. He urged the population to ration their use of water.
Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Service (Onamet) says there will be scant rain through May of this year. The forecast is that the drought situation will continue in the northwest, south and southwest through the next 60 days. The drought has severely affected farming activities and water supply in those regions.
The director of the National Hydraulic Resources Institute, Olgo Fernandez says the nation did not prepare for the extreme dry spell. He said it is the worst drought in 50 years. Only two of 34 dams have adequate water levels.
The Caribbean Drought & Precipitation Monitoring Network reports: “A weak El Niño currently exists, contributing to the continued drier than normal conditions in January 2019, particularly in the east and south of the region. Short term drought that impacts soil moisture and surface water resources is already being felt in some countries, and there is the likelihood for long term drought, that can impact groundwater, large rivers and reservoirs, to evolve by May 2019.”
Source: DR1, Eldia
Mar 13, 2019
Cattle ranchers say the drought affecting the northwest is the most severe in 60 years, affecting the provinces of Montecristi, Dajabón, Santiago Rodríguez and Valverde. It has affected the farms and environment, and the people say all they can do is pray.
Some farms have benefited from the trucked water sent in by the government. The cattle farmers say they are losing their cattle every day to the drought, and fear worsening of the situation as the cooler days of winter give way to warmer Easter and the summer months.
As reported in Diario Libre, Pedro José de Jesús Marrero (Chichito), of the Asociación de Ganaderos de la comunidad La Horca, of Las Matas de Santa Cruz said he had prepared by planting corn to feed his cattle, but this has not been sufficient. He is hoping on Ministry of Agriculture will deliver molasses to feed the cattle.
Reports are of major losses in the tobacco, rice, banana farms due to the drought.
Urban areas are also affected and many are having to purchase tanked water at RD$2,000-RD$2,500 for a cistern truckload.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Mar 13, 2019
The Central Nacional de Transportistas Unificados (CNTU) is the first transport company to announce it will be investing in a fleet of electric cars for taxi service and school transport. The president of the CNTU, William Pérez Figuereo said the company is working with Zero Emision RD that promotes electric cars in the country. He said the CNTU would import 3,000 electric cars from Korea. He says the company expects to replace at least 20% of their fleet, around 110,000 vehicles, in a five year span.
Pérez Figuereo expects to pass on a 30% savings in fares to consumers. As reported in El Dia, electric cars only pay 50% of the import taxes. Likewise, car owners will benefit from a 70% savings on operational costs.
Zero Emision RD president, Charles Sanchez says that the vehicles will cost US$18,000 to US$25,000 and the purchase also benefits from the trust fund for their import created by the government’s Transport and Transit Institute (Intrant).
CNTU will be importing buses and taxi vehicles to be used on the Los Alcarrizos, Km. 9, Bonao to Santo Domingo routes. They will also serve passengers demanding the service at supermarkets and mega stores in Santo Domingo.
CNTU says there are already 20 charge points for the vehicles in Santo Domingo, the Cibao and the East. These feed off solar energy so are not a burden for the national power grid.
Source: DR1, Eldia
Mar 13, 2019
On Saturday afternoon, March 9th, at half past two, a mile long parade of carnival groups started from Playa Dorada to the Malecón of Puerto Plata. Opposite the Tropical Bar of Belgian owner Mik a large stage was set up, on which the carnival groups were giving dance performances. An expert jury judged the performances according to a variety of criterias (clothing, originality, implementation, etc.) For the winners, great cash prizes were made available by the business community and government. The groups came to this final event from all over the country. There were groups from Santo Domingo, Santiago, Barahona, Mao, San Juan, San Francisco, Macoris, Cotui, Samana, Constanza, Fantino, Navarrete, and Bani.
The parade was preceded by a throne with King Momo and Queen Alenny Victoria. Thousands of interested people attended the event. Fortunately for the tourists, they could now and then rest for a while in Mik’s Tropical Bar, where, of course, ice-cold beer was always available. In the evening the party continued with performances by DJ Butterfly, the Lucian and Regina Blue and with the rhythm of the salsa band Sexappel. The event, eventually, ended up with a performance by the local artist Don Miguelo from Puerto Plata.
More pictures and Video:
www.dominicantopten.com
Source: Sosua News
Mar 13, 2019
