191 Dance Troupes and Floats Will Take Part in Sunday’s National Carnival Parade on the Malecón

A total of 191 dance troupes and floats, from the various municipalities of Santo Domingo, the District Capital and some 30 provinces, will participate in Sunday’s National Carnival Parade, being organized by the Ministry of Culture.

This most important event of the Dominican Carnival is dedicated this year to the carnivals of Greater Santo Domingo as part of its declaration as the First City in the Americas and the Capital of American Culture.

This most important event of the Dominican Carnival is dedicated this year to the carnivals of Greater Santo Domingo as part of its declaration as the First City in the Americas and the Capital of American Culture.

It will also render homage to composer and singer Marcos Caminero who, last week, was declared by the Culture Ministry to be the Grand Composer of the Dominican Carnival in honor of his 20 years as the producer of important carnival songs and music. Caminero, a native of San Pedro de Macorís, will attend the parade in a special float along with his orchestra.

There will also be a special remembrance for singer/songwriter Luis Días who died last year. Indeed, last year’s 2009 Carnival Parade was dedicated to Días’s famous song “Dancing in the Street” which was celebrating its 25th year anniversary.

The Carnival Queen will be Esther Mieses from Santo Domingo. Esther, a dentist by profession, has participated for many years and has also made costumes for Carnival and for this huge cultural event. The King will be well-known La Vega resident, César Arturo Abreu, a successful professional who has also been involved in and has contributed to the Carnival’s annual success in his hometown.

The Ministry of Culture gave the Felipe Abreu Prize, the most important Carnival award, to renowned carnival enthusiast Jorge Guini, creator of carnival in the city of San Cristobal.

The Parade will begin at 3:00 pm on Sunday at the Obelisk and will end, for the first time, in front of the Agriculture Bank on Alma Mater Avenue. There will be six parade categories this year: Devils, Popular Creativity, Fantasy, Historic, Traditional and Ali Baba. In addition, prizes will be given for the best Individual Character, Traditional Mask and Fantasy Mask. Each category will be sharing cash prizes between 50,000 and 100,000 pesos to be awarded by the Ministry of Culture and the Dominican National Beer Company, co-sponsors of the event.

THE START OF THE PARADE

The first group to step off in Sunday’s parade will be the National Police Music Band and the Fire Department of the National District to be followed by the new Batton Ballet group and the Children’s Band from the Free School of Rio San Juan.

Later, the Ministry of Culture will step off carrying the King and Queen of the Parade. They will be followed by a troupe called “Rise Up Haiti,” in honor of the Haitian people.

Marcos Caminero, to whom the parade is dedicated, will circulate in his float with his orchestra to be followed by the modern dance troupe Calife, which was selected this year to be on the poster advertising the event.

Later, international dance troupes from Curazao and Aruba will pass by followed by the five winning troupes from the Grand Gala of Carnival, the Ministry of Tourism float, the Dominican Culture Commission of the United States in honor of the Dominican Diaspora and finally the famous carnival character, Wampa, who will be back in the National Parade after a two-year absence.

Once the initial groups have stepped off, troupes from the 30 provinces around the country and Greater Santo Domingo will begin their march. It is estimated that the parade, scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm, will end around 7:00 pm. It will be broadcast on TV and radio throughout the whole country.

JUDGES

This year, there will be two teams of judges – one for the initial selection and the other for verification. The team doing the selection will be located in front of the Jaragua Hotel and includes Luisa Mateo Dicló, the president of the team; Awilda Reyes (Leon Center), the sociologists Carlos Andújar and José Guerrero; theater person, Claudio Rivera; anthropologists Juan Rodríguez and Virginia Roca; folklorist Eddy Sánchez; choreographers Edmundo Poy, Jochi Muñoz, Manuela Feliz, Miriam Bello and Patricia Ascuasiati; writer Mateo Morrison; painter Milán Suero; and culture promoters Verónica Sención and Víctor Piñeyro.

The verification jury, which will be in front of the Malecón Center, includes choreographer Attabeira Germán Feliz; designer Denisse Pérez; journalist Jonathan Liriano; folklorist Ivette Reyes and Kenia García, from the UASD Ballet Company.

SECURITY

A total of 3,500 individuals form part of the large professional security team that will oversee the day’s event, the National Carnival Parade, where upwards of 500,000 people are expected to attend.

The parade route, spread out over 7 blocks, will be under the protection of the National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation (DNI in Spanish), the General Preventative Office of the National Police, the Municipal Police, the Tourism Police (POLITUR), the Navy, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (AMET) and Private Security.

In addition, the Civil Defense will install 8 command posts and the Dominican Red Cross will be providing another 8 posts for medical assistance, equipped with ambulance service. The Fire Department will be on hand to provide specialized attention in the event of fire or the need for rescue. There will be 3 mobile hospitals and 4 jails set up for preventive detention. Four boats will be docked and ready for rapid response rescue operations if necessary. For the first time, four emergency exits have been set up along the parade route.

The security operation will be in effect from Palo Hincado Street to Jiménez Moya Avenue and from George Washington Avenue to February 27 Avenue, covering the entire access perimeter of the Carnival Parade along the Malecón where it will take place.

The security operation will be directed by Colonel Fernando Hernández Calcaño, of the Dominican Air Force and Colonel Justino Rodríguez, of the National Police.

ORGANIZING TEAM

The organizing team of the National Carnival Parade of the Ministry of Culture includes

Bernarda Jorge, Deputy Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation; Orlando Lora, Deputy Minister of Culture for the City of La Vega; Ramón Lachapelle, Director of Promotion and Carnival; Xiomarita Pérez, National Director of Folklore; Domingo Guerrero, National Director of the Provinces; José Cuello, Director of Neighborhood Culture; Yiyoh Robles, National Director of Popular Participation and Carlos Mena Pérez, Operations Coordinator. The sociologist, Dagoberto Tejeda, is participating as an advisor.