Colonial Zone Will Host Upcoming Santo Domingo International Book Fair 2019

Santo Domingo, April 1, 2019 – Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone is getting ready to host the country’s most important cultural event: the 22nd International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2019.

This year the event will be held in the Colonial Zone because the Fair’s traditional venue, the Juan Pablo Duarte Cultural Plaza, is being completely refurbished.

The annual Fair, organized by the Ministries of Culture and Education, will open on April 25 and will be dedicated to Dominican writer Virgilio Díaz Grullón. The invited Guest of Honor will be the neighboring island of Puerto Rico.

During the event the Colonial Zone’s museums, churches and other historic buildings and plazas will open their doors and spaces to the Fair’s events such as lectures, conferences, workshops, as well as exhibits and the sale of national and international books.

In the Zone’s iconic Spanish Plaza (Plaza España) government institutions, publishers and foundations will set up their individual stands. At the Plaza, organizers will also set up a stage where important cultural events will be held, such as concerts, theater productions and other activities. Next to the Spanish Plaza is the Museum of the Royal Houses (Museo de las Casas Reales), and that’s where the Café Bohemio will host keynote conferences as well as other cultural events.

The Capilla de los Remedios (Chapel of Remedies) will be the official Puerto Rico Hall and the Casa de los Jesuitas (Home of the Jesuits) will operate the stand of Dominican authors. The Centro Banreservas will sponsor an exhibit on the life and literary works of Dominican writer Virgilio Diaz Grullón.

In the Fortaleza de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Fortress) the local book stores, government institutions and a food court will be set up. The Escuela Nacional de Artes Visuales (National School of Visual Arts) will provide space for literary workshops and exhibits sponsored by various local universities.
In this year’s event, the space dedicated to Literary and Youth will be set up at the Dominican College of Plastic Artists. The Academy of Science of the D.R. will host the University Hall of Conferences.

The store Cultural Bonus will operate at the Museo Trampolín (Trampoline Museum) and the Casa de Bastidas (House of Bastidas) will be the children’s area. The Borgellán Palace will also feature a children’s area, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, and the Auditorium of the Archbishop will be where the Ministry of Education will hold its activities.

The Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) and the Dominican government-sponsored Republican Digital (Digital Republic) will be in this same space. Theatre groups will present their particular program in this area.

The Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors will be used for special reading programs.

It is important to highlight that Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone is the oldest urban settlement in the Americas. It was the first permanent European space built in the Americas, founded in 1502 by the Spanish colonizers.

The Zone is known for its colonial buildings and streets, and it is a major tourist attraction. In 1990 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Colonial Zone as a Patrimony of Humanity

Video: 22° International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2019 https://youtube/ftnRV9_PQmY